The Foragers' Thread

[VelvetUnderpants]

The only mushrooms I foraged for were those with very poor culinary qualities

 

[mudsticks]

The only mushrooms I foraged for were those with very poor culinary qualities

Them were the days huh?

Not sure my poor brainium would cope with all that anymore.

Winter purslane, miners lettuce or claytonia. In amongst going to seed pak choi..
Everything wants to have babies..

Self seeds itself in spring, goes dormant for the summer then pops up for crunchy winter saladings in early winter.

Technically a weed, but a very useful one.

 

[VelvetUnderpants]

Them were the days huh?

Not sure my poor brainium would cope with all that anymore.

I have to agree.

The most adventurous I get nowadays is relaxing with slippers, a cup of Kava and my headphones with Miles Davis

 

[Mr Celine]

I found some velvet shanks growing from the horse chestnut tree at Celine Towers.

Unfortunately my ladder wasn't long enough, so I enlisted the help of my LTS (local tree surgeon)...

The mushrooms were a bit far gone by then and covered in sawdust.

The yew tree behind was the cause of a panicked phone call to A+E when Celinette #1 tried eating the berries - she didn't find them tasty as she spat them out again. The hospital confirmed the advice given above, ie the flesh of the berries is harmless but everything else yew is poisonous.

I have a copy of the Roger Philips mushroom guide, purchased after Celinette #1 sampled some of the garden fungi. (not edible but not poisonous either).
The only easily identifiable and edible fungi which appear in the garden are giant puffballs. I have tried eating them, but even fried in butter they aren't particularly tasty and even one slice is rather a lot!

Anyway, I discovered a rather more satisfying method of disposing of them.

View: https://vimeo.com/228883680

 

[theclaud]

There's a brilliant Facebook group for emergency ID if you are concerned that you or someone you know (or a pet) has consumed a plant or mushroom that might be poisonous. It's a quick response experts' network. Do not attempt to pester them for casual non-emergency ID though, unless you want your arse handed to you on a plate by the mods. They take no prisoners.

 

[theclaud]

I hope you were sat up it, until the last possible moment..

I can't say I did, TBH. I think there was a TPO on it, but usual developer calculation that it's easier and cheaper to seek forgiveness than permission. It all happened rather quickly.

 

[robjh]

Partly to stop me and @mudsticks diverting weightier threads with questions about our dinners, but also because it's spring and there's bounty in them thar hedgerows, forests and fields...

I have long been a casual mushroom forager, but since there was not much else to do last autumn, I refreshed my memory, roped in some friends, and expanded my mushroom repertoire in a more determined way. Whilst waiting for the mushroom season to get going in earnest I've decided to take the same approach to plants, and venture beyond the obvious. I've already banged on at enormous length about Wild Garlic, which might be common as muck but is still one of the best and easiest free foods around, but so far the discovery of the new season for me is Hogweed Shoots.* They need to be cooked - they are best steamed or blanched very quickly and them fried in butter, IMO. But then, what isn't? They keep their bright green colour when cooked.

Hogweed and Wild Garlic omelette for breakfast this morning . Tell us about your free food finds, CC peeps!

View attachment 583151

*Not to be a killjoy, but you need to be 100% confident that you are not picking Giant Hogweed, which is an extremely dangerous plant, and shouldn't even be touched. It's the thing your mum warned you not to make blowpipes from when you were a kid! All of this is less daunting if you do your homework beforehand and treat every walk as an opportunity to learn and observe a little more. I recommend these guys as an excellent source of info for newbie foragers - if you are going to pick something new, chances are they have an informative video on the subject.

I've only read @theclaud's opening post so far, but this is going to be my kind of thread.
Although so far this year my foraging has gone no further than young dandelion leaves, but they have made some excellent spring salads.

 

[theclaud]

Not really when you consider that in that kind of end of the world scenario, there will be no hospitals or doctors, it's very sensible advice, even in a staying alive in an emergency situation whilst awaiting rescue, the idea is to stay alive, not risk illness or even death.
He doesn't say don't eat wild food, just don't take stupid risks.

Fair enough, but you don't need to take stupid risks to enjoy chanterelles. False chanterelles are not deadly poisonous, and although they are superfically similar you just need to be reasonably careful about ID and using your SAS Survival Penknife - you can distinguish between the two by cutting them in half.

 

[slowmotion]

I don't, but does anybody here eat seaweed that they have found.

 

[uphillstruggler]

The only mushrooms I foraged for were those with very poor culinary qualities

Apparently, another fact from the MK parks trust talk is foraging those is actually illegal, the only way to legally consume them is to graze them, good luck with that 😂

 

[Poacher]

My fungi reference tome. Bargain at 99p from a local charity shop. Ideal if you're fluent in French and technically minded.
Unfortunately I'm neither, so I'll just stick to the ones I'm familiar with. Many years ago I gathered some fairy ring mushrooms for drying.
Local busybodies spotted me and alerted the council, who applied dog knows what to kill the colony. Idiots!

 

[theclaud]

Wild garlic pizza!

 

[VelvetUnderpants]

Wild garlic pizza!

Oooh that looks good. I might have a go at that.

 

[Ian H]

You can find food in the oddest places. I think this is some kind of sprouting brassica, though probably with a dog-pee marinade.

 

[DRM]

Fair enough, but you don't need to take stupid risks to enjoy chanterelles. False chanterelles are not deadly poisonous, and although they are superfically similar you just need to be reasonably careful about ID and using your SAS Survival Penknife - you can distinguish between the two by cutting them in half.

This is true, false Chanterelles aren’t deadly, but why make yourself ill, when your not foraging for fun with a guide book, but your stuck in an actual stay alive situation while awaiting rescue, your main concerns are PWLF, protection, water, location and food, along with the will to keep going.