Foraging in Sussex
Everyone has picked wild blackberries from the hedge at least once and some, like me, may have also stuffed bags and pockets with sloes for a gin based tipple during the colder months. The more adventurous may have picked rose hips and elderberries, or, with a little more knowledge, collected mushrooms and other fungi on misty autumn mornings. I have many happy memories of picking blackberries with my English grandmother or listening to my mother's tales of picking wild bilberries on the heaths of the Hoge Veluwe. On long summer holidays, I followed my father out into the fields at dawn to search for mushrooms before eating the spoils greedily with a cooked breakfast on return. I've always been fascinated by the wealth of wild food just there for the taking but this has also been tempered by a healthy survival instinct, just because its natural doesn't mean it's safe. After a few decades of office based work I'd begun to doubt my own knowledge of identifying even the commonest wild plants, something I'd prided myself on as a girl. Just goes to show how easy it is to become distant from the earth that feeds us. With these thoughts in mind, my father, brother and I planned a day out with an experienced forager, hoping to pick up some tips on good things to eat and more importantly how not to poison ourselves.
After a very early start, we found ourselves in a pretty part of West Sussex, meeting our guide, Robin Harford of Eat Weeds, beneath an ancient yew tree. There were a small group of us, all keen to learn, with the thought of hidden edible bounty our common interest. After a round of introductions, Robin got us all stuck in, reminding everyone to use all our senses rather than just our sight. Just beneath our feet were tiny leaves of Ground Ivy and each of us picked a leaf, following Robin's instructions to take note of where the plant was growing before feeling, sniffing and finally tasting the leaf. Cautiously we nibbled and most of us detected a slight peppery minty flavour. Robin explained that this plant, Glechoma hederacea, is a member of the mint family and has been used for centuries from everything to flavour beer before the addition of hops to use as an alternative rennet for cheesemaking. His tales linking the plant's use to social history were fascinating, I was hooked.
Leaving the churchyard, we walked down a country lane before turning into a footpath following a small river. Here and there we stopped as Robin pointed out another edible plant and we knelt, touched, smelt and nibbled as before. Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), a plant so common I'm sure I've spent many a time pulling it out of the allotment, tasted like a strong cress, delicious. It's slightly furry leaves didn't put anyone off at all. Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) followed on, its common name pungently obvious when eaten, then Nipplewort (Lapsana communis), giving an indication of medicinal use as we grazed along the footpath.
Pink and white late flowers poked up through the grasses on a field's edge, this was Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Robin suggested a leaf or two as a stuffing for trout and stately Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), a beautifully fragrant member of the same family as Wormwood, swayed gently in the breeze. This particular plant has so much folklore attached to it and is used as food and medicine both here and in Asia. Looking back at my notes, it seems as though the suggestion of a leaf in sloe gin caught my attention too!
There were so many plants to explore. Some I recognised and some I'm sure I've seen but never really taken note of before. Many were interesting but perhaps not one to pursue further. We tasted Common Hogweed (Heraclium spondylium) seeds picked from dried seed heads and intriguingly they tasted of cardamom, however Robin provided plenty of cautionary anecdotes about eating this plant and especially of the danger of touching the green plant, so most probably this is one I will avoid. His tales of making oak flour from acorns were very detailed but if it takes something about 5 days to make it edible I think I'll park that knowledge as useful in a survival scenario. On we munched, Wood Avens, Sorrel, Cleavers before returning to a large bed of nettles. I'm sure everyone can identify the Common Nettle (Urtica dioica), I mean if in doubt just brush your hand through the leaves, if it stings, it's the right one! This plant has such a long history with us, and provides us with yarn as well as food. It's high in protein, iron, vitamin C and calcium and I have cooked with it many times before, normally soup or as gnocchi. Robin advised including a courgette or two if using in soup (note to self for yet another use of courgettes), making pesto or, as he does, into a vibrantly pink cordial, something I will definitely try. As a 'warrior plant' its good for men too.
Sadly, Robin is closing his foraging walks to concentrate on other areas so I feel very lucky to have attended one of his sessions. His website Eat Weeds, is an fantastic treasure trove of information and one I'd suggest you refer to. There can be a lot of misleading information about foraging online and you must also remember that these are wild plants and may differ slightly from place to place. I'd strongly recommend that you learn from an expert, it's better to be safe than sorry. I had a great morning and learnt a lot. Now I'm scanning the hedges and fields for edible material every time I'm out on a walk.
Note: Please refer to a respected source of information. The photos and names of plants in this post are not meant to be used as a reference for identification.
Leaving the churchyard, we walked down a country lane before turning into a footpath following a small river. Here and there we stopped as Robin pointed out another edible plant and we knelt, touched, smelt and nibbled as before. Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), a plant so common I'm sure I've spent many a time pulling it out of the allotment, tasted like a strong cress, delicious. It's slightly furry leaves didn't put anyone off at all. Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) followed on, its common name pungently obvious when eaten, then Nipplewort (Lapsana communis), giving an indication of medicinal use as we grazed along the footpath.
Pink and white late flowers poked up through the grasses on a field's edge, this was Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Robin suggested a leaf or two as a stuffing for trout and stately Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), a beautifully fragrant member of the same family as Wormwood, swayed gently in the breeze. This particular plant has so much folklore attached to it and is used as food and medicine both here and in Asia. Looking back at my notes, it seems as though the suggestion of a leaf in sloe gin caught my attention too!
There were so many plants to explore. Some I recognised and some I'm sure I've seen but never really taken note of before. Many were interesting but perhaps not one to pursue further. We tasted Common Hogweed (Heraclium spondylium) seeds picked from dried seed heads and intriguingly they tasted of cardamom, however Robin provided plenty of cautionary anecdotes about eating this plant and especially of the danger of touching the green plant, so most probably this is one I will avoid. His tales of making oak flour from acorns were very detailed but if it takes something about 5 days to make it edible I think I'll park that knowledge as useful in a survival scenario. On we munched, Wood Avens, Sorrel, Cleavers before returning to a large bed of nettles. I'm sure everyone can identify the Common Nettle (Urtica dioica), I mean if in doubt just brush your hand through the leaves, if it stings, it's the right one! This plant has such a long history with us, and provides us with yarn as well as food. It's high in protein, iron, vitamin C and calcium and I have cooked with it many times before, normally soup or as gnocchi. Robin advised including a courgette or two if using in soup (note to self for yet another use of courgettes), making pesto or, as he does, into a vibrantly pink cordial, something I will definitely try. As a 'warrior plant' its good for men too.
Sadly, Robin is closing his foraging walks to concentrate on other areas so I feel very lucky to have attended one of his sessions. His website Eat Weeds, is an fantastic treasure trove of information and one I'd suggest you refer to. There can be a lot of misleading information about foraging online and you must also remember that these are wild plants and may differ slightly from place to place. I'd strongly recommend that you learn from an expert, it's better to be safe than sorry. I had a great morning and learnt a lot. Now I'm scanning the hedges and fields for edible material every time I'm out on a walk.
Note: Please refer to a respected source of information. The photos and names of plants in this post are not meant to be used as a reference for identification.
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