Food Foraging Lessons for the Recession
by Bonnie Alter, London 
on 01. 7.09
image from ajooma.net
Food foraging has moved from being something out there on the fringe to an almost mainstream hobby. Or necessity, if things continue the way they are going. Given the mood of these times, more and more people are taking it up. Courses are being offered to city slickers so that they can become educated in the ways of the forest--a good idea because there are dangerous plants that can be eaten mistakenly. Even a pro like Nicholas Evans, author of the Horse Whisperer, recently needed dialysis after eating the wrong wild mushrooms in Scotland.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef and author of The River Cottage Cookbook, has been offering an 'Edible Hedgerows' day, where participants can spend a day learning about the plants in the Dorset countryside. Ray Mears, t.v. star and wilderness specialist has been offering courses that include foraging.
image from ajooma.net
There are specialist courses delving into the mysteries of mushrooms. For example, Mrs. Tee's Wild Mushrooms offers a day-long course in the New Forest where students learn how to identify 8 species, how to pick them properly and even how to cook them. Different mushrooms like different forests and trees, so with 3,000 types in the New Forest alone, one had better learn the lessons well.
The National Trust is getting into the act too. They are giving working holiday courses of a week long, where foraging is part of the programme. Participants can learn how to make nettle soup and wild leaf salad in June, while in September the group will look for mushrooms and forage hedgerows for blackberries and nuts. The Telegraph
More on Food Foraging
Food Foraging for the Faint-hearted
Food Foraging: Gourmet Food Hunting
A Year in the Woods Eating Wild Food
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I do quite a bit of foraging myself here in Japan. The spring and fall are excellent times to harvest the bounties of nature. From bamboo shoots to fern saplings to ginkgo this country has a lot to offer. I wouldn't want to get into the mushroom realm though -- some of those things can be pretty scary. Good luck and safe hunting to those with more courage than I !
Great if you live somewhere moderate. Try foraging when there's 2ft of snow on the ground, with a nice layer of ice on top, as is the case in much of the northeast for the past month and likely for the next two.
And never pick any windfall fruit. Fruit on the ground is often contaminated with ecoli from deer droppings. Pick fruit from the tree!