[beautiful_dragon]

What berries, plants etc can you eat when in the english countryside?

[eatweeds]

On December 29th my family and I foraged and ate:

gorse flowers
navelwort
cleavers
chickweed
hedge garlic
dock leaves
sorrel leaves

Robin

[Ben]

That's an impressive haul, Robin. At this time of year I'm not sure what I'd find round here, except for some delicious watercress that grows in a nearby spring.

Here are a few wild things I like to eat, roughly in season order: fresh green hawthorn leaves (in salads), wild garlic (aka ramsons), elderflower, samphire (a type of seaweed), raspberries, blueberries (aka whortleberries or winberries), blackberries, sloes (with gin or vodka).

Must admit I get the samphire from a fishmonger.

[Ben]

On December 29th my family and I foraged and ate:

gorse flowers
navelwort
cleavers
chickweed
hedge garlic

What's hedge garlic? Sounds interesting.

[eatweeds]

Hedge Garlic is what I know it as but other common names are Garlic Mustard or Jack By The Hedge. Botanical name is Alliaria petiolata.

I prefer to use the Botanical/Latin names usually as then we all know what plant we are talking about, as this example has just shown [:)]

Robin

[Coelacanth]

samphire (a type of seaweed)

It's actually a vascular plant, [i]Salicornia[/i]. We pick it each year when in season from the Fylde coast, but only take enough for our needs. I use it fresh, but it makes a really nice pickle, I've seen it in jars at ridiculous prices as cornichon du mer. Asian families also collect it, I can only assume that there is a similar plant that grows in coastal areas on the Indian subcontinent, but I've never felt cheeky enough to ask for a recipe.

[Ben]

Inspired by eatweeds I've just munched some gorse flowers. To my mind the taste was like musky lettuce, or maybe raw broccoli stalk. Tried to convince my other half to try some but she gave me a withering look. And there I was thinking the flowers might look nice in a salad. Oh well. I do my best.

[Coelacanth]

Gorse flowers do have another, very important use. On the first warm days of Spring, sometimes if we are lucky in February, you'll be out for a walk somewhere and catch the most delicious scent of coconut, vanilla and a sweet something else, and you'll realise that before you know it you'll be watching for the different Warblers, watching the Swallows and cursing the horse flies as they home in on your bare legs.
I can never resist having a good sniff, it's an incredible scent that I'm surprised hasn't been made more use of.

[drew97]

you can eat primroses, but they don't taste of anything much

[drew97]

I thought I'd mention richard mabey's food for free, but you probably know about it