Acorns
October 2009 - There are dozens of different species of oak.
Some produce acorns that are only edible to humans after processing to remove the bitter tannins, however, they're not all like that - so I set out to try eating some
Beech Nuts
October 2009 - Beech nuts are in season - and this is one kind of nut I've never seen in the shops - so I went out to the woods gather some
Don't Eat This - Things To Avoid When Foraging For Wild Food
A considerable portion of this site is devoted to foraging for edible stuff - but let's take a look at a few things you might encounter that should not be eaten....
Oyster Mushrooms
August 2009 - I visited some very old beech woods in the New Forest - and found oyster mushrooms growing on the fallen boughs.
Brown Shrimp
August 2009 - a trip to East Wittering, Bracklesham Bay - in search of the brown shrimp.
Field Mushrooms
Another bit of urban foraging - we found a local recreation ground covered with rings of superb, delicious field mushrooms.
Dewberries
July 2009 - A trip to Old Winchester Hill in the South Downs - chalk downland is a good place to find dewberries.
Chinese Bramble
July 2009 - this is urban foraging, rather than true wild food, but it's still a great free food resource - the Chinese Bramble.
Cherry Plums
July 2009 - last year was disappointing for wild plums, but the trees are more than making up for it this year - including enormous crops of cherry plums.
Meadowsweet
A riverside edible plant in its prime at the end of June - Meadowsweet.
It has been used in the past to flavour wine, beer and mead - I'm going to try making it into a sparkling summer drink.
Comfrey
It's the end of June - we went for a walk alongside the river Itchen and saw lots of interesting wildlife and plants, including a plant I have often seen, but never yet eaten - Comfrey.
Elderflowers
June 2009 - Elder trees here have produced a real profusion of bloom this year. I'm going to try making a real old-fashioned favourite - Elder Fizz.
Chickweed
Chickweed is a fast-growing plant, common on cultivated soil - it's one of the plants we spend time and energy weeding out of our salad gardens - and yet it grows lush and green when planted crops such as lettuce may struggle.
Maybe we should just eat the chickweed.
Bittercress
May 2009 - We went for a walk and picnic in the New Forest - I added a bit of freshness and zing to my sandwiches - in the form of bittercress.
Hogweed
May 2009 - Several times in the past I've intended to try eating hogweed, but have arrived too late to get the tender young emerging shoots - this time, I got the timing exactly right.
Seakale
May 2009 - We took a walk along the shingle beach between Hamble Marina and Warsash and found seakale.
More Mediterranean Wild Food
Continuing my wild food foraging, in Spain - here are a few more things I found, including some potentially edible things I passed over this time, for one reason or another...
Mediterranean Wild Food - Prickly Pears
Easter 2009 - continuing my wild food foraging, away from home, I found some prickly pears...
Mediterranean Wild Food - Rosemary
My endearment to wild foraged food doesn't take a break when I go on holiday - in fact, quite the contrary is true - travel affords the opportunity for new wild food experiences.
Rosemary, as a kitchen garden herb is very familiar to me, but out here in Southern Spain, it grows wild everywhere.
Gorse Flowers
Gorse flowers are supposedly edible in salads - I've eaten them before, but found them disappointing - however, they do make a quite excellent and refreshing tisane
Looking For Something?
Wild Food articles from previous years have been archived here:
2008
2007
Alternatively, you can look in the Full Alphabetic Index to Wild Food articles.
