Eat the weeds/foraging

[nepia]

9 hours ago, Ty Korrigan said:

Mrs Lee tells me the Malva eaten by her tribe is softer, less woody and no hairs on the stem.

 

Could she be referring to M.moschata?

[trigger_andy]

6 hours ago, nepia said:

Could she be referring to M.moschata?

I thought she was talking about something else entirely. 😮

[sime42]

 

Looks like some are a bit too early but they're dropping now anyway. Hopefully they'll keep as well as last year. We had more than that and barely a couple of handfuls that went mouldy or wormy.

 

[Dan Maynard]

I was at Calke Abbey NT last week and there were loads of chestnut cases on the ground, and loads and loads of smug looking squirrels bouncing around. Sadly didn't get to gather any.

[sime42]

Here's the answer; Roast Squirrel stuffed with Chestnut! Sounds good to me.

[Dan Maynard]

Ah didn't think of that, maybe should have let the dog run after them instead.

[peds]

Are there edible ferns in the UK or Ireland? Anyone ever foraged fiddleheads?

 

I know they all turn wildly carcinogenic when they crisp up and start throwing spores, but are there any edible varieties at this time of year? 

[sime42]

Never heard of eating ferns, but it's definitely a thing, by lots of accounts.

They certainly look appetising. I imagine they'd be lovely boiled and then fried in butter, garlic and maybe some chorizo for a special treat.

 

Fiddlehead - Wikipedia

EN.M.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

[Steven P]

Vaguely that rings a bell, and young ferns are OK for sheep too - vague memory.

[Paul in the woods]

I would be very careful with ferns, fiddleheads are a north american fern which isn't native over here. I didn't think our native ferns were edible.