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

Product Information

Mushroom knives are used to cut the mushrooms above the ground, which better preserves them and prevents tearing and other damage that may be caused by digging them out. As an added benefit, using a mushroom knife also prevents you from inadvertently damaging nearby plants. Dish Soap: Like any natural hair brush, a few drops of dish soap will also effectively clean (but not necessarily sanitize) your tools. Wet the brush, lather the bristles, and then rinse and let dry. Make sure all the soap washes out. The paper you use can be light or dark, depending on the mushrooms you’re looking for and the expected color of the spores. If you’re unsure or just want to be prepared, you can bring wax paper, clear paper, or glass or plastic slides. Fruit, berries and nuts are also great food for nature attracting animals from far around to the feast. This is not only good for the birds though as the plants and trees want them to eat their fruits so that they can then spread their seeds.

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. If you’re feeling funny about a plant, trust your gut. There are a lot of toxic plants out there and even foods that look friendly, like mushrooms and berries, can be extremely toxic if the wrong ones are foraged.Almost all creepy crawlies and other animals will do their best to avoid you if you give them the chance. Some you need to look out for though and help out or avoid if you can.

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. Fun fact: it seems like ibotenic acid and muscimol have a chemical structure analogous to glutamic acid and glutamate, so it is said that they too are flavour enhancers. But I suppose neurotoxins aren't the safest spices to cook with?

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

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. 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. However, please note that the best book can vary based on personal preferences and the specific region you're interested in. It's a good idea to also explore other well-reviewed options, such as "Food for Free" by Richard Mabey (Collins Gem). Depending on your region, you may benefit from guides that are specific to geographic regions. There are guides for North American species, western mushrooms, coastal regions, the Midwest, and more. Mushroom Mesh Bag for Foraging 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.