Eating Now - May / June

Wild food we've gathered or eaten recently:

Type Species (link to photo) Where Used in
Flowers Dandelions Gardens / pasture Syrup, Fizz, fritters, Vodka, Bhajis, curry etc
Flowers Wild Garlic flowers Damp woodland Salad, fritters
Fungi Jelly Ears Scrub / hedgerows / woodland Stir-fries, dried
Leaves Sea Beet A range of coastal habitats As you would use spinach - vegetable, curry, etc
Leaves Pennywort Walls / hedgerows Salad
Leaves Hairy Bittercress Gardens Salad
Leaves Crow Garlic Hedgerows Salad, soup garnish
Leaves Stinging Nettles Hedgerows, rough ground Nettle and Wild Garlic Lasagne, Nettle Soup, Nettle and Wild Garlic Soup, as a vegetable, Frittata, Nettle Curry, Nettle Beer, Nettle Tea
Stems Alexanders Near the coast As a vegetable
Leaves Chickweed Gardens, fields Pesto, Salad, stir-fry, soup ...
Leaves Ground Elder Gardens and near habitation As you would use spinach - vegetable, etc
Leaves Pine Needles Coniferous woods, parks, gardens Pine Needle Cordial
Leaves/Stems Hogweed Hedgerows Vegetable - steamed or tempura, soup (with wild garlic)
Stems Hop tips Hedgerows Vegetable, Frittata, Stir fry
Stems Japanese Knotweed Waste ground Fruit crumbles or fool.
Manage waste responsibly - Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 / Environmental Protection Act 1990
Shellfish Palourdes Clams Sandy beaches Clams and Cockles in Tomato sauce with Pasta, Steamed Clams in White Wine, Garlic, and Butter, Clams with wild gremolata
Shellfish Cockles Sandy beaches / mud Clams and Cockles in Tomato sauce with Pasta
Shellfish Razor Clams Sandy beaches Clams and Cockles in Tomato sauce with Pasta, Steamed Clams in White Wine, Garlic, and Butter, Clams with wild gremolata
Crustaceans Brown Shrimps Sandy beaches Fried with garlic, boiled
Crustaceans Shore Crabs Rock pools, around piers and jetties Shore Crab Soup (Bisque)
Seaweed Gutweed Rocky shores Salad, Crispy Seaweed, dried flakes
Seaweed Dulse Rocky shores Crisps
Seaweed Sweet Kelp Rocky shores Crisps

If you want to learn how to identify and cook these and other wild foods come on one of our wild food and foraging courses.

Wild food from the store cupboard and freezer:

Type Examples
Jams & Jellies Damson Jam, Hedgerow Jam, Sloe Jelly, Sea Buckthorn & Crab Apple Jam, Crab Apple Jelly, Cherry Plum Jam, Rosehip Jelly, Bramble Jelly
Chutney Damson, Japanese Knotweed
Sauces Hawthorn Ketchup, Crab Apple Ketchup
Drinks Elderberry Cordial, Elderflower Cordial, Elderflower Champagne, Elderflower Vodka, Rosehip Syrup, Blackberry Vodka, Sloe Gin
Dried Mushrooms Autumn Chanterelles, Horn of Plenty, Wood Blewitts, Ceps, Morels, Fairy Ring Champignon
Frozen Mushrooms (sautéd first) Oyster Mushroms, Hedgehog Mushrooms, Wood Blewitts, Field Blewitts, Autumn Chanterelles
Soups Chestnut, Fat Hen, Nettle, Chickweed, Crab Bisque
Fruit Bottled Damsons, Frozen Blackberries, Frozen Damsons, Frozen Cherry Plums
Nuts Hazelnuts, Walnuts
Dried Seaweed Carrageen - as a thickener
Frozen Fish Mackerel