Top 10 Autumn Wild Food Finds
10. Rose Hips
There are a number of wild rose species in the UK, including the Dog and Field Rose. Roses are low-growing or climbing shrubs, often thorny, with pretty flowers in a range of colours. All roses, even garden varieties, produce edible hips - red or orange, oblong-to-round, seed pods that develop on the stems after flowering, usually in the Autumn months. These hips are packed with flavour and are used primarily in the kitchen to make teas, syrups, jams and other preserves.
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9. Apples
Many people think that wild apples are small, horrid sour things, and whilst there are some cooking apples out there that fit this description such as Crab Apples, there are, equally, some wonderfully sweet varieties of escaped or naturalised eating apples, too. Apple Trees can be found almost anywhere, from inner-city environments, urban parks and green spaces, the edges of woodland, Hedgerows and even forests.
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8. Shaggy Inkcap
The Shaggy Inkcap, also quite wonderfully known as the Lawyer's Wig, has to be one of my most favourite edible mushrooms. Inkcaps have a unique way of releasing their spores and do so by dissolving and turning into a gloopy mess of ink! For this reason, Shaggy Inkcaps are quite recognisable and easy to ID. They are also wonderfully tactile, having very soft, delicate scales; a fragrant mushroomy smell; and a wonderful flavour.
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7. Mugwort
A relative of Sage, Mugwort is a tall, fragrant plant that is native to Europe. It is very common in the UK, growing mainly on uncultivated land, in waste places, and roadsides. The plant produces long stems with small red to greenish-yellow flowers in late summer and early autumn. As a fragrant herb, Mugwort can be used to add flavour to a range of dishes and is the traditional herb used to flavour the Christmas Goose in Germany.
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6. Blackberry
Everybody knows what a blackberry looks like! And most people know where to find them - whether you live in the middle of nowhere or the middle of a city, Brambles are absolutely everywhere - and those sweet, plump and delicious berries epitomise sunny september childhoods, complete with purple-stained lips. The simple blackberry is where most people start their foraging journey, in fact most people have actually been foraging for years and never realised it!
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5. Wood Hedgehogs
The Wood Hedgehog has to be one of the best, most delicious edible mushrooms out there. Arthur loves them and always looks forward to the onset of Autumn so we can go out and gather them. Perfect for beginners, this pale, chunky and flavoursome mushroom is so easy to identify due to the tiny spines on the underside of the cap, which give it it's common name. There are no other pale, firm, chunky mushrooms with spines instead of gills, so it's very difficult indeed to confuse it with anything else.
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4. Hen of the Woods
Hen of the Woods, or Maitake, is an edible polypore mushroom that is mostly found in association with oak trees in late Summer or early Autumn. It is a perennial fungus that often grows in the same place for a number of years in succession. This mushroom has a long culinary history and is extremely popular in Japan and other East Asian countries. It has a lovely mushroom aroma and a firm texture similar to chicken when cooked. With a mild mushroom flavour, it has a huge range of uses in the kitchen.
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3. Cauliflower Fungus
One of our favourites, The Cauliflower, or Brain Fungus, is an unusual large edible mushroom with an irregular, dome-shaped, labyrinthine fruiting body. It varies in colour from light brown / buff, to yellow, grey or creamy white, and is quite delicious! One of the best things about this fungus is it's ability to regenerate - if you harvest not to close to it's stem, it will regenerate itself, provided fresh, edible new growth in a week or two. A mini-mushroom farm!
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2. Chanterelle
The Golden Chanterelle, also called the Girole or Pfiferling, is an extremely tasty mushroom that is found in both coniferous and deciduous woodlands. They taste sweet and peppery and are great in a range of recipes such as soups, stews and omelettes, or cooked on their own on toast. These are Arthur's favourite mushroom (and mine!), and are simply delicious. If you come across some, be sure to add them to your foraging basket!
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1. Penny Bun
Boletus Edulis, also known as the Penny Bun, Porcini or Cep, needs very little introduction, as it is, without a doubt, one of the tastiest mushrooms you'll ever find, and a king of the edible mushroom world. It is found mostly in deciduous woodland, often in association with Beech, Oak or Pine. Although this mushroom is quite common, there is often only a small window of opportunity to find them due to a short fruiting season. This makes them quite elusive, if you don't know when and where to look!
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