Free for all. Why we should all be foraging no matter where we live.
The multitude of celebrity chefs on our TVs and new trendy restaurants has introduced us to foods we may never have heard of, or considered eating.
Maybe best known for its adventurous, and expensive, menu is three times voted Best Restaurant in the World, Noma in Copenhagen. It devotes its menu to finding edible food from underground, above ground, by water and among the trees. Its seasonal menu boasts ingredients that are clearly local and foraged - berries and greens marinated for twelve months in vinegar, roasted kelp ice cream, and fermented plums with wild beach roses.
Qualified chef, and professional forager, Fraser Christian, runs foraging courses in south west England. The wild food walks and coastal foraging courses at Coastal Survival teach participants to identify wild foods and preserve and cook them. “Nature can provide everything you need – shelter, fire, water and food. You just have to be prepared” he says.
How forage this summer:
In the countryside - a friend in deepest Wiltshire once took me to pick watercress straight from the stream. I’d never been calf deep, plucking the gently waving cress as the torrent pulled it downstream. Delicious as a soup, it's rich in iron, calcium, vitamins A, C and E, and devilishly peppery.Wild mushrooms grow everywhere but be sure the variety you choose is safe to eat. Autumn is the season when you’ll find the greatest number of varieties; use a knife to cut the mushroom and avoid damaging its root, then grill, stuff, add to soups or stir fry with a little wild garlic and parsley.By far my favourite is wild garlic. Its short growing season, April-June, heightens the anticipation when the shoots of bright green leaves start to sprout. Pick it from hedgerows or woodland or plant some in your garden. As a natural medicine it’s said to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol but it also makes a glorious garlic pesto or garlic oil to see you through the summer and beyond.
In the garden - as a child it maybe you were told not to touch the dandelions in the garden because they’d make you wet the bed. An old wives’ tale it may be but there’s more to the dandelion that you might imagine. Instead of using selective weed killer to banish it, let it flourish and try it whole in salads or marinate it to use like capers. Grind the roots to make dandelion coffee, caffeine-free and with a deep chocolatey flavour.My grandmother used to make my young father and his sisters collect stinging nettles. We thought that very strange but it’s now clear that this free supply of highly nutritious greens has more vitamin C than oranges. Boil to eat as a vegetable, it won’t sting when boiled, or use it in nettle tea, soup or beer.
At the coast - maybe best of all as there’s so much to gather along the coastline from mussels, cockles and clams to crab, dab and squid. Mussels are easily caught, they attach themselves to anything so you can just pluck them off. And where there are rocks you’ll find seaweed and the more rocks the greater the number of varieties you’ll find. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals with a strong salty taste. And it’s more versatile that you’d imagine – boil, steam or even smoke it, and use in paella, risotto, salads, bread and cakes. Make seaweed mayonnaise. It can improve both thyroid function and circulation.
In the city - but the best news is that you don’t have to live in the country to forage. Of course you’ll also find wild strawberries, dandelions and nettles growing in city gardens, but look further afield and you’ll find more treasures in city parks and pathways. Look out for wild rocket clinging to pavement cracks and walls, as well as sloes, rosehips and juniper.
Happy foraging!
