Let's go foraging
- Thread starter killer b
- Start date
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Got first elderberries yesterday - looks like it’ll be a bumper year. Many more ripe blackberries - we picked 5.5kg in about half an hour - so more wine to be started today.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I must have spent half an hour grazing blackberries yesterday on my bike ride.
Such variation in flavour and sweetness - you get a sour one then have to carry on grazing till you find a sweet one .... but can't resist taking another gamble
Probably the most disappointing ones I remember finding were growing alongside the river in bath which must have mostly layered themselves so were all sour ...
I found one solitary hazelnut.
Such variation in flavour and sweetness - you get a sour one then have to carry on grazing till you find a sweet one .... but can't resist taking another gamble
Probably the most disappointing ones I remember finding were growing alongside the river in bath which must have mostly layered themselves so were all sour ...
I found one solitary hazelnut.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I hope you put it out of its lonely misery.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
yes - just ate it - I probably should have roasted it somehow ...
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I now have a mental image of gentlegreen with a tiny bike-portable oven, in which he is roasting a single hazelnut.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Elderberries are everywhere. Time to make elderberry wine before the Apple season starts
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
My first chanterelles? Never found or ID'd them before, but got talking to a local (I'm on holiday in the Highlands) who has foraged them lots of times and he was 100%. Still fancy checking the few I took against some online stuff!
TopCat
Putin fanboy
I got a few kilos of chanterelles on Headly Heath a while back. Sold most to a local posh hotel.
Kevbad the Bad
Amiable Bowel Syndrome
They look lovely. As long as they smell of apricots you'll be fine. (Lucky bastard!)
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
I almost had to imagine the whiff of apricots off them, but ate them last night and am okay this morning. More foraging to be done today. 
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
Finally! 
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
Found more chanterelles, a cep, and what I initially thought were oysters but are probably (poisonous) Angel Wings. Also bilberries.
moonsi til
worked it out now!
Picked some sloes on Sunday -about 750gms which have been ginned.
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
C
Cauliflower fungus? And good for eating, I think?
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
This is what I'm taking home. I'm assuming chants, garlic, cream, parsley (pasta sauce) is a good combo for batch cooking and freezing? 
Kevbad the Bad
Amiable Bowel Syndrome
Can I come and live with you please?
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
I'm on holiday in the Highlands. Ayrshire, where I live, is rubbish for edible fungi IME. I didn't believe people actually found chanterelles in the wild until a couple of days ago.
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
That cauliflower fungus was in exceptionally good and fresh condition. (I've never found one before, but I've read they are usually full of bugs.) Has a very 'distinctive' smell, both raw and cooked. My mum, who admittedly doesn't much like mushrooms, was a bit grossed out by its aroma.
heinous seamus
Perfect in an empty room
How were the sloes looking? I picked some last year and put them in the freezer. Later I read something that gave me the impression I'd picked them too early, so I never actually used them.
Also, can you do anything other than gin with them
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
My price for fungi foraging in The Highlands was finding a tick attached to me when I came out of the shower this morning. Now just need to watch the bite for signs of Lyme disease.
A mate has talked me into doing something with Rowan berries (I have access to loads). Most sources say they are a faff, but I guess I should have a go at least once...
A mate has talked me into doing something with Rowan berries (I have access to loads). Most sources say they are a faff, but I guess I should have a go at least once...
Ooh I’d be interested to know what to do with the Rowan. The tick thing sounds squeaky clenchy horrible.
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
Make jelly (accompaniment to meat/cheese) - most recipes have apples in them too.
I make rowan jelly...but not just on it's own. I make a 'hedgerow' jelly using crabapples, rosehips, quince and whatever else comes to hand. If you come across a John Downie crab or small tart Dabinet or 'catshead'cider apples, they will provide the pectin you need for a good set. Additional redcurrants, blackberries, bilberries or wineberries (any of the ribes or rubus tbh) also adds a lovely claret colour. They are not really a faff - just takes time (to simmer until very soft...up to an hour) and patience, to strain without meddling. Squeezing, while satisfying, will cause loss of clarity. The resulting jellies range from pale pinks to deepest burgundy and make lovely gifts if packaged nicely.
For rowan enthusiasts, some varieties make much better jelly. S.commixta is my favourite, made with malus hupehensis or malus transitoria crabs. Same with roseheps. The large rugosa heps, along with briar eglantines and r.pomifera make the best rosehep jelly...but these are really just for boasting and pretentiousness. In truth, a decent hedgerow jelly can be made out of any varieties...although I admit to being a bit less enthused with berries grown along main roads or at dog-pee height.
For rowan enthusiasts, some varieties make much better jelly. S.commixta is my favourite, made with malus hupehensis or malus transitoria crabs. Same with roseheps. The large rugosa heps, along with briar eglantines and r.pomifera make the best rosehep jelly...but these are really just for boasting and pretentiousness. In truth, a decent hedgerow jelly can be made out of any varieties...although I admit to being a bit less enthused with berries grown along main roads or at dog-pee height.
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Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
Rowan berries, apples and rosemary in the pan.
