TEN EDIBLE BRITISH FOODS TO SCAVENGE THIS SPRING AND SUMMER

Spring is in the air and it is a fantastic time to taste fresh and delicious food from around the country, for free. Here is a list of ten edible British delights that can be foraged from hedgerows and gardens across the UK…

1. WILD GARLIC

Now is the perfect time to forage for wild garlic, or alternatively buy it in Farmer’s Markets. Although called ‘garlic’, its flavour is more like an edible spring onion when cooked. It is only softly pungent and enhances other flavours, rather than overpowering them.

2. WILD STRAWBERRIES

Wild Strawberries will be out in force soon, as spring and early summer is the perfect time of year to find them. They’re tiny but delicious, so look out for them in hedgerows around the country.

A GUIDE TO… WILD MUSHROOMS #2

Last week we warned of the dangers of foraging for wild mushrooms and provided a guide that listed the mushrooms not to eat and to take special care to watch out for. This week we return to the humble mushroom, but with a more positive compilation of wild mushrooms you can eat, where to find them, and what to do with them once you’ve got them.

There are loads of different types of edible mushroom out there; here are some of Come Scavenge’s favourites…

1.       FIELD MUSHROOMS

Picture: http://bit.ly/HlfD9t7

The Field Mushroom, Agaricus campestris, is the most commonly eaten wild mushroom in Britain. It is best cooked within hours of collecting; it can be dried but then loses much of its flavour. It is commonly found in fields and grassy areas and is found in small groups or alone. This mushroom is not commercially cultivated because of its fast maturing and short shelf life, so go out and forage for it!

Here are some of Come Scavenge’s favourite Field Mushroom recipes:

Creamy mushroom Ragout with nutmeg mash: http://bbc.in/HoiVOM

Devilled mushroom with pan-fried liver and spinach: http://bbc.in/HStBBC