Foraging Pocket Guide: Food for all seasons from Britain’s woods, meadows and riversides

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Each field guide has both pros and cons, but all are extremely useful. They’ve been tested and used by foragers for years and are consistently ranked as the best options. Gary Lincoff and David Aurora have both written multiple books on mushrooms, but the two listed above are by far their most popular and practical. When you know what to look for you might find that many of these things are growing in your own garden; even some of the gourmet mushrooms. Blewits and Fairy Ring Champignons are frequent garden invaders, and others like Wood Ears and Oyster mushrooms are easy to introduce.

Historically we had a much stronger connection with wild food. “If you look at really old recipe books they’re full of edible flowers,” says Knight. But things shifted with the industrial revolution. “All reference to edible flowers in food disappeared because it was seen as being down-at-heel country stuff, unsophisticated.” Now, it’s gone full circle.I found the first week I felt really quite flat, quite limited carbs coming in from chestnut flour primarily. Feeling loads better now… feeling loads better in the last few days, and I'm really enjoying the project… having a great time, in fact. I don't really want it to stop. And in the interest of protecting wildlife, familiarise yourself with what woodland animals’ habitats look like – so you can ensure you’re not destroying someone’s home as you forage. Don’t forage protected species One of the most important items for mushroom foraging is having a bag to carry your finds. Mesh bags are the preferred carrying case for all mushrooms, primarily because they allow spores, insects, dirt, and other debris to fall off the mushroom out of your bag. Restaurants such as the Ethicurean in the Mendip hills, where ingredients such as hedgerow berries regularly get on the menu, have been pioneers. While not forcing information on people, they try to “have a small amount of a foraged item potentially on most dishes, with a view to sparking interest in our guests”, says Matthew Pennington, chef and co-owner. He says it’s about “encouraging people to get out there and start to have a look in nature themselves.” Once you select your mushroom, use the curved pruning blade to cut the mushroom as close to the ground as possible. Use the brush on the other end of the knife to briefly clean the mushroom before placing it in your mesh foraging bag.

To embark on a foraging journey in the UK, start by educating yourself about edible plants and mushrooms through books, online resources, and courses. Prioritize safety by learning to accurately identify species and cross-referencing multiple sources, while considering joining local foraging groups or guided walks for hands-on experience. Understand the seasonal availability of wild foods, and gather essential tools like a field guidebook, a knife or scissors for harvesting, a basket or bag, and a notepad for notes. Begin with easily identifiable plants and mushrooms, gradually expanding your knowledge and repertoire as you gain confidence in responsible foraging practices and connect more intimately with the natural landscapes. You can test this by rubbing dirt on your own hand and testing the brush on it. The majority of the dirt should be removed, without the brush scraping or gouging your skin. A good forager does not damage their environment, they are a working part of it, helping spread seeds and spores as they forage. The role of the forager is to understand the food plants and fungal species they harvest, learn how they grow and how they interact with other things. These are things which are learnt naturally over time as you forage and observe how things change and grow. It is important for a forager to know that some plants and fungi are deadly poisonous and that no risks should be taken with them. Of course, you can’t eat everything you find growing outside - some poisonous plants can make you very ill. But there’s something exciting about setting off on a culinary treasure hunt to find new edible plants for dinner.

Your pruning blade needs to be sharp so that you can collect mushrooms without damaging them. If you have to saw at the mushroom or otherwise struggle to remove it from the ground, you may as well resort to just digging it out. If you’re looking for one mushroom species in particular, or just a specific type of mushroom, use the magnifying glass to differentiate between the specimen you found and similar ones. Field guides can provide you with details to look for. At the start of the experiment this forager felt flat – low in energy, emotion or excitement, but after some weeks of wild food, fresh air and appreciation of nature, she doesn’t want the project to stop. Knight recommends nettles, which “are obviously amazing and everywhere”; garlic mustard, which grows in parks and on verges and can be put into salads; and three-cornered leek, an “invasive but delicious cross between a leek and a garlic”.

Liz Knight, a foraging instructor and author of Forage, suggests investing in a good foraging guide book, or going on one of the many walks hosted by foraging instructors to get an idea of how to recognise plants. When foraging for mushrooms, use your magnifying glass after spotting the mushroom but prior to cutting it, if possible. Use the glass to examine the specific characteristics of the mushroom that may be difficult to see with your naked eye. Making a spore print is often an important part of identifying a specific mushroom. Most guidebooks use spore prints as a diagnostic characteristic, so being able to produce a print in the field is helpful for identifying a species. What Paper Works Best fFor Making Mushroom Spore Prints? The Michelin Guide recently launched a green star for “restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices”, including the Ethicurean. Many, if not all, serve foraged items, helping to bring wild food to diners’ attention. Additionally, you should keep practicality and your own comfort in mind. Your foraging bag should have handles or straps so that you can carry it comfortably for miles, if need be. Photo by Boarding1now Mushroom Foraging KnifeYes, foraging is indeed considered a hobby. Foraging involves the act of searching for and collecting wild food resources from natural environments, such as forests, fields, coastal areas, and even urban spaces. It can encompass a wide range of activities, including identifying and gathering edible plants, mushrooms, berries, nuts, and other natural foods. For many people, foraging is not only a way to connect with nature and discover local ecosystems, but it's also a means of obtaining fresh and unique ingredients for culinary purposes. Additionally, foraging can provide a sense of self-sufficiency, a deeper understanding of the environment, and a connection to traditional knowledge about wild edibles. It's important to note that responsible foraging practices, including sustainable harvesting and proper plant identification, are crucial aspects of this hobby to ensure the preservation of natural ecosystems and safety.

In this programme, we’ll be hearing about a new foraging project taking place across the UK, and, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well. A small gardening trowel is an often overlooked but essential part of mushroom foraging. It allows you to easily remove mushrooms when cutting them isn’t sufficient or practical. Instead of tearing the mushroom, a trowel will cut through the roots and allow you to easily pull it up from the ground. Discover the edible seasonal delights of the UK’s countryside with this handy, practical field guide. From aromatic wild garlic in the spring, luscious bilberries in late summer, flavoursome blewit mushrooms in the depths of winter, and much more. Microbiome are tiny bacteria and organisms in the human gut which help digest food and strengthen immunity. White Vinegar: Soak the bristles in distilled white vinegar for at least two hours and then rinse and let the brush dry.Bleach Solution: Soak the bristles in a pint of water with a teaspoon of bleach (roughly half a capful). Alternatively, you can use one cup of water and half a teaspoon of bleach. Let the bristles soak for 15 minutes, rinse, and then let the brush air dry. Gently move your brush over the mushroom so that the bristles can clean the cap and stem as necessary. The mushroom brush should remove dirt, spores, and other loosely attached debris. Mushroom brushes are designed with dense but soft bristles so that they don’t damage the mushroom. With so many different types of mushrooms growing around the world, magnifying glasses can play a critical role in identifying the mushrooms you find and what they can be used for. Edible, medicinal, and poisonous mushrooms can often look alike. But with a magnifying glass, you’ll be able to see the key differences between the species.