Edible Nature/Foraging

sNarah

Hi all

For a project I'm setting up I'm trying to compile a list of edible plants and species found in Ireland. I have 3 categories:

- Hedgerows

- Beach Foraging (Shells & Weeds)

- Mushrooms

There is plenty of information available of UK species but very little specifically for Ireland (though I presume they might be very similar).

The main idea's are
1 - It has grow/be wild
2 - It has to be safe to eat
3 - Prepare cooking suggestions and recipes

Per species I'm compiling information re. growing times, location, how to indentify them and enter possible poisenous look-a-likes.

A possible #4 would be medicinal use or a sidenote of what the species could be useful for in treating minor complaints.

So far I've entries on
Cockles, Mussels, Seaweed, Wild Garlic, Damson, Crabapple, Hawthorn, Elder, Gooseberries, Recurrants, Blackcurrants, Sorrel, Samphire, Coltsfoot, Lesser Celandine, Ground Ivy, Common Nettle and Chickweed.

I'm looking for additional suggestions + possibilities with them in the kitchen/medicine cupboard. If there any experts on this field here on Boards, do get in touch as I could use your advice.


Hope you can help!
Thanks

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

There's a mountain of material out there on this subject. Web, DVD, and Books

Some simple sites like:
http://www.scoutingireland.com/nstchat/Wild/edible.html

Excellent books such as:
Richard Mabey, Food for Free

Yes a lot is British but a bit of simple cross referencing would eliminate those species not found in Ireland.

In dealing with this subject it's important to emphasise that foraging (which is in reality what Edible Nature or Free Food is) is not a means of permanent survival but rather is suplimentery sustinance. It's all very well saying Nettles are a rich source of Iron, which they are, but consider their nutritional value and the volume that would need to be consumed. Likewise, Winkles are tasty and full of various important elements but you won't live on them for long. Consider the energy expended in gathering and preparing many wild foods and contast it with the calorific gain from consuming them. You can eat the roots of soome rushes for example but the gathering and prepartion hardly makes it worthwhile apart for the novely factor when your stomach is full from a steak and chips. In modern Ireland Wild Food can only be looked on as a tasty or interesting treat not a means of survival.

Anyway rather than list all the foods out there (most plants and animals are edible in some form or other) I'd direct you to the research and work already available to you.

IceMaiden

It’s a interesting but somewhat risky topic, take into full consideration, protected species, breeding/flowering seasons, misidentification could be most harmful as can the wrong preparation or harvesting out of season or incorrect storage.
Mushrooms & fungus are abundant in many locations, however people should be very careful with them in how they remove them or prepare them.

Elderberries can be used for chutney & jams but other ingredients are required, likewise the elder flowers being cooked quickly in hot light batter. Also the flowers can be used to taint/flavour water.
Dandelion can be used to make tea & don’t forget the wild nuts of hazel & Sweet Chestnut,. Wild Chives,basil,sage Hedge Mustard also rosehips/petal & Cranberries ,Young Cowslip leaves.

Much vegetation has medicinal uses including , Horse Chestnut, ,Red/Purple Clover,
Daffodils,Foxgloves,Groundsel,Hawthorns, Holly, Juniper Berries ,Mistletoe, Sphagnum moss, Ox-Eye Daisies, Larch[pine], Primrose, Witch Hazel & Thistles.

The beach & estuaries could provide, winkles, hermit crabs & shore crabs , on spring tides at some locations even edible crabs. Fresh waters may produce crayfish . Again finding the shellfish etc is not usually so difficult ,but being sure they are clean due to water pollutants isn’t so easy .
Hedgerows & wide overgrown verges can produce large snails & occasionally Duck/pheseant eggs , see how large the cluster is will indicate if they are fresh ,[water test is better] never take them all.
Of course you could add to the list some road kill Rabbit, hare, pigeon & rook etc. or visit the local take away.

Velvet shank

Here's a link to some current research on edible forest fungi in Ireland

http://www.coford.ie/iopen24/pub/ccn-sm16.pdf

magicbastarder

there is a two hour introduction to foraging on in sonairte near laytown tomorrow afternoon, 2pm-4pm.

http://sonairte.ie/education-community/courses-training/87?coursename=The%20Wild%20Larder%20-%20Foraging%20for%20Wildfood%20%28Autumn%29

magicbastarder

an obvious one to add to your list above would be hazelnuts.

CJhaughey

IceMaiden wrote: »

Fresh waters may produce crayfish .

The Irish freshwater crayfish population is in bad shape, advising people to go and try a few just for giggles is not really the best advice one can give.

IceMaiden

Actually I did try saying in my first paragraph top "be aware of protected species", breeding/flowering seasons misidentification & wrong preparation it’s a very risky business advising others what is edible where when & how to harvest/cook or what to use medicinally. Most salt water shellfish also have size statistics & I am only suggesting a few [of many ] species that are mostly wild & are edible that does not mean I advocate anyone consumes any wild product be that endangered or abundant.
A list of all truly edible species would include endangered ones unfortunately however a list of edible species that are legitimate etc to harvest would be somewhat different ,I posted according to the first not the latter & as it wasn’t stipulated in the OP however I did suggest people should take such matters into consideration.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Look, most plants or animals are edible in some form or another. It might be better to detail "What Not To Eat". Nature provides plenty of edibles but is it wise to advise people to raid an already struggling larder just for kicks? There's also the risk of picking the wrong thing, preparing it incorrectly or using the wrong part of it and endangering life.
This whole thing of edible nature has already been done to death in books and web sites, so I really don't see the gain in the OP producing more of the same.
It's not a though anybody's life depends on feeding themselves from Nature any more.

magicbastarder

Raquel Shallow Stooge wrote: »

It's not a though anybody's life depends on feeding themselves from Nature any more.

no-one is suggesting that, though. and the sort of person who is interested in this is not intending to live exclusively off the land, they're doing it because they like having the knowledge, and it's a good way of promoting greater awareness of what there is there. i suspect the good is better than the bad in it.

i'm just back from the course i mentioned above, and people were doing it for curiosity and genuine interest in the environment, rather than as a way of feeding themselves.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

magicbastarder wrote: »

no-one is suggesting that, though. and the sort of person who is interested in this is not intending to live exclusively off the land, they're doing it because they like having the knowledge, and it's a good way of promoting greater awareness of what there is there. i suspect the good is better than the bad in it.

Accepted. But this is hardly a novel idea/project; is it?

magicbastarder

no, but the motive seems to be that it's not been done specifically for ireland; but given our flora, i suspect the wild foods listed in an english book would be a superset rather than a subset of what is available in ireland.

John mac

just found this. http://www.rivercottage.net/ShopProduct637/EdibleHedgerowRiverCottageHandbookNo7.aspx

might be of interest.

Durnish

Keogh's Irish Herbal, reprinted not too long ago, lists all sorts of uses for the Irish flora. Fascinating.

There's nothing wrong with using "British" nature books as such. Most of them (the ones I read, anyways) deal with the bio-geographic entity that is the British Isles and so tell the reader where to find the species.

sNarah

Well, thanks for all the replies!

magicbastarder wrote: »

there is a two hour introduction to foraging on in sonairte near laytown tomorrow afternoon, 2pm-4pm.

http://sonairte.ie/education-community/courses-training/87?coursename=The%20Wild%20Larder%20-%20Foraging%20for%20Wildfood%20%28Autumn%29

Ah feck - only read this now, would have been good to attend!

magicbastarder wrote: »

no-one is suggesting that, though. and the sort of person who is interested in this is not intending to live exclusively off the land, they're doing it because they like having the knowledge, and it's a good way of promoting greater awareness of what there is there. i suspect the good is better than the bad in it.

i'm just back from the course i mentioned above, and people were doing it for curiosity and genuine interest in the environment, rather than as a way of feeding themselves.

My main reason would indeed not be for "surviving of the land" but pointing out what else is available and the satisfaction you get from taking something from it's original location and turning it into something yummy. Whilst, off course, at the same time stressing conservation, pollution and awereness.

It seems there is a big difference in books between the all-inclusive ones and the ones that scratch the surface of it. Sort-of too much or too little information.

magicbastarder

have you come across 'food for free' by richard mabey?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

magicbastarder wrote: »

have you come across 'food for free' by richard mabey?

:)See Post No.2, this thread.:)

zook

can anyone tell me if they have found samphire on any of the beaches at Greystones, County Wicklow?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Yes, indeed. It is widespread around the Irish coast. You should find it anywhere there is stabilised shingle.

Alun

Raquel Shallow Stooge wrote: »

Yes, indeed. It is widespread around the Irish coast. You should find it anywhere there is stabilised shingle.

It's worth pointing out that there are two kinds of samphire which are completely unrelated as species.

Marsh samphire (Salicornia Europaea) which grows in salty marshy areas like tidal estuaries.

Rock samphire (Crithmum Maritimum) which grows on rocks (!) but also hard shingle.

I've always thought that the marsh variety was the most common one used for culinary purposes, and is superior in taste, but I've seen references online from people that claim the opposite. Maybe it depends on where you are and what kind of coastline you have

Cork boy 55

magicbastarder wrote: »

have you come across 'food for free' by richard mabey?

I nearly brought that today an impulse buy
30 euros hmmm changed my mind , Is t worth it?


I love foraging always feel guilty though that I robbing frm the critters
mainly just experiment with tidbits

tricky D

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

I nearly brought that today an impulse buy
30 euros hmmm changed my mind , Is t worth it?


I love foraging always feel guilty though that I robbing frm the critters
mainly just experiment with tidbits

I have the hardback in front of me, and yes I'd say its worth it. The Marsh Samphire alone is 2+ pages and Rock is 1.5 pages with shed loads of info and a colour illustration of both Samphires. Lovely book.