What wild foods

[FishyFolk]

I tend to stick with stuff that I know. Like blueberry, lingon berry, cloud berry and a couple of mushrooms I am sure of. Plus spruce and stinging nettle tea.
Priobably missing out on some stuff. But there simply is to much green stuff up here that will kill you if eaten.

My wife however is Thai, and believes firmly that anything the birds eat, people can too. Telling her that birds can eat some things that will make us sick or kill us
is simply hogwash as far as she is concerned. But I have made her at least run things by me before making ameal of stuff she finds in the forrest that looks just like things she
used to eat from the bush at home.

But yesterday I managed to rattle her cage a little. We found a dead bird. And I said: wonder what it was eating...for some reason her little gathering basket was empty when we came to the car...lol

So do you stick to the stuff you know, or do you adventure a little?

[AL...]

LOL well done on that one mate :)
I stick with what I know but Im making a bowl for a couple that are real hard core foregers As in they live by what they pick every day.
So they are gonna start taking me along and teach me a bit .
Not a bad deal for a stick with a hole carved into it Im thinking hehe :)

Cheers
AL

[comanighttrain]

I seldom experiment with plants I'm unfamiliar with... and never mushrooms.

Any mammals or fish though!

[Marvell]

If you're a fan of proof by example, then here is a bird easting a holly berry.

http://www.pugetsoundcamera.com/_New%20Web%20Images/O-Bird-Eating-Holly-Berry-Mary-Pease.jpg

[FishyFolk]

If you're a fan of proof by example, then here is a bird easting a holly berry.

http://www.pugetsoundcamera.com/_New%20Web%20Images/O-Bird-Eating-Holly-Berry-Mary-Pease.jpg

Sometimes it's the only way that works. Specially with stubborn asians...I only lived here all my life, so what the hell do I know about what can be eaten here...lol

[twosmokeforever]

i'm sure I have read that rabbits eat the death cap with no ill effect, i'm sure we all know that reindeer enjoy fly agaric and I know that pigeons eat ivy berries (which i'm sure we shouldn't consume to many pigeons that are full of them)

[SimonB]

As a rule, I stick to what I know... Dandylion, Nettles,Bullrush, Hazelnuts, Sweet chestnuts,Pine needles, fur and feather..

Buckthorn berries are a fairly recent addition, And for a while I was certain that the streets where I live are lined with what I believed are mountain ash...

I bought an 80's copy of Lofty wisemans survival handbook, And on the way home from school with the kids today, I picked a small branch of leaves off, and a small bunch of the orange berries, to compare to the pictures in the book... They certainly look the same in the book, the description of the bark is spot on, and the berry description was again exact... so I allowed myself just one, to make sure, and up to now, I am fine.... Even the taste described is accurate... So watch this space... If I don't post again, you know I was wrong !! LOL

[AdrianRose]

As a rule, I stick to what I know... Dandylion, Nettles,Bullrush, Hazelnuts, Sweet chestnuts,Pine needles, fur and feather..

Buckthorn berries are a fairly recent addition, And for a while I was certain that the streets where I live are lined with what I believed are mountain ash...

I bought an 80's copy of Lofty wisemans survival handbook, And on the way home from school with the kids today, I picked a small branch of leaves off, and a small bunch of the orange berries, to compare to the pictures in the book... They certainly look the same in the book, the description of the bark is spot on, and the berry description was again exact... so I allowed myself just one, to make sure, and up to now, I am fine.... Even the taste described is accurate... So watch this space... If I don't post again, you know I was wrong !! LOL

BE VERY CAREFUL!!!

If they are Rowan berries, they cannot be eaten raw and even when cooked they should only be eaten in moderation.

Raw Rowan berries contain high levels of Parasorbic Acid which is harmful to liver and kidneys. When they are cooked, the Parasorbic acid is converted into benign Sorbic acid.

However, some folk are still sensitive to too many Rowan berries.

Ade.

[SimonB]

BE VERY CAREFUL!!!

If they are Rowan berries, they cannot be eaten raw and even when cooked they should only be eaten in moderation.

Raw Rowan berries contain high levels of Parasorbic Acid which is harmful to liver and kidneys. When they are cooked, the Parasorbic acid is converted into benign Sorbic acid.

However, some folk are still sensitive to too many Rowan berries.

Ade.

Hence just the one... It does say they taste sharp raw, which indeed they did, and that they can be cooked down to make a jelly... I ate it just to confirm what was written... But thank you for highlighting the potential problems..... Something I will most definitely remember for the future.

Si.

[AdrianRose]

Hence just the one... It does say they taste sharp raw, which indeed they did, and that they can be cooked down to make a jelly... I ate it just to confirm what was written... But thank you for highlighting the potential problems..... Something I will most definitely remember for the future.

Si.

No worries buddy. Glad I could be of help. I'm a really keen forager and it is the reason I got into bushcraft in the first place.

I have seen so many people come to harm or poison themselves by just using a single book/point of reference to identify something.

One day when I have more time, I'll recant the tale of a fella I "caught" harvest Black Briony berries for a pie!

Ade.

[SimonB]

Oooooops !!!!!!

[twosmokeforever]

we have ate cooked rowan berries in autumn pie, plenty of times. and the pie is lovely. i'm sure what you say is true but I thought this is why a varied diet is so important as if you look into the depths of all foods you will be afraid to eat

will have to think of a plan to get the misses to venture into the kitchen to make a another fruit pie, it would be easier to take the walls of jerusalem!

somone was telling me the ill effects of spinach recently, made it sound more like the death cap

on berries I have eaten yew (important not the seed you have to pick it out), which I always thought was bad but not according to my books, only eaten small amounts. but its very sweet. THE BOOK IS VERY CLEAR, DO NOT EAT THE DARK SEED IN THE CENTRE

and at the mo woody shade berries are everywhere, they are so colurful just wish I could trade them for mushrooms

[fish]

i think you would need to eat a lot of rowan berries to have a problem,ie a good couple of hand fulls,we use them for making a jelly that is good with meats.

as for foraging ,well i know more plants than i actually eat,there are a lot of burdock and reed mace round here,i need to be eating more wild plants! at the moment we forage all the berries,plantain,nettles,nuts,dandylion,and a whole lod of fur and feather.

[twosmokeforever]

awesome, our community are having a curry cook off this weekend with an autumn party

and we have opted for a dandylion & orange curry, if only to keep the kids busy picking the dandylions

always ment to try reed mace, any tips to cook it on a fire?

[JonnyP]

awesome, our community are having a curry cook off this weekend with an autumn party

and we have opted for a dandylion & orange curry, if only to keep the kids busy picking the dandylions

always ment to try reed mace, any tips to cook it on a fire?
Clean it, wrap it in tin foil and chuck in the embers.. Or just chuck it in the embers as is and peel off the outer burnt layers.

[Marvell]

The course I've been writing has been very much centred around slowly building confidence in the sphere of new foods, including fungi.

Here's a link to the summary so far. It's Facebook link, since the Survival's Cool page is the most likely place people will want to get updates.

http://www.facebook.com/survivalscool/posts/359316317486446

[Mountain Goat]

I stick to what I know, and always brings a book along.
Nettles
Wood Sorrell
Common Sorrell
Dandylion
Bilberry
Pine Needle Tea
Beech Leaves

and all the 'normal' fruits and berries - blackberry, raspberry, plums, crab apples etc.

no mushrooms yet.

[twosmokeforever]

tried a few more lately

plantain
ribwort
ground ivy

can't find any bull rush but I am keen

picked another small horse mushroom with the cog wheel, but was under pressure in the kitchen and when I washed the cap a little rough it went yellow so tossed it for fear of the yellow stainer/sickener. its was a shame just to have nettles in the omlete, but served with grown and wild greens with wedge chips

found some wallnuts, what do I do with them? the outer shell seems almost squirrel proof

[fish]

found some wallnuts, what do I do with them? the outer shell seems almost squirrel proof

leave them in a pile in the corner of the garden for a week or so,the green outers will decay and can be removed easily,not too gooey a job wear gloves though the outers contain a black dye.

[Mountain Goat]

I've tried picking bulrushes, but the insides were all pink - didn't think this was right, so I didn't eat them. Were these bullrushes or something else and is it edible?