The Wonders of Wild Food and Foraging

Learn about the wonders of wild foods and how best to discover, gather, prepare and store them

Hi, I’m Sue and I write about the beauty and ingenuity of Nature, and how we can deepen our connection for our optimum health and wellbeing. Discover more Nature-inspired content on Spiral Leaf, Twitter and my video Nature Channel.

Discovering, collecting and preparing wild foraged food is a process that teaches us how to connect more closely with Nature and how to enjoy her abundance through the seasons. There is something about gathering, cleaning, storing, preparing, cooking and eating wild food that brings so much joy and many benefits.

The process of going organic requires us to revisit, reshape and adapt our way of living to accommodate a more holistic approach to life. It takes time to learn so that we understand how best we can cleanse and nourish our body, and which foods we need to consume to support the healing and maintenance activities it is designed to perform.

Sourcing organic food is an essential part of the process and foraging for wild food is a natural next step. It’s not going to replace your everyday diet unless you live off-grid perhaps, but I am continually amazed to find so many wild plants, flowers and fungi that we can eat compared to the comparably few poisonous plants and poisonous fungi we need to watch out for.

Every edible variety of tree, plant, flower and fungi, grown in rich soil in a natural, chemical-free environment, provides invaluable trace nutrients, minerals and healing agents that very often cannot be found anywhere else.

Wild foods are so robust they can be found growing in towns and cities in parks, fields, lanes, verges, wooded or green areas, churchyards, ancient buildings and old abandoned ground.

There are precautions to be aware of, especially in terms of avoiding private and potentially hazardous areas. It is important to take extra care when cleaning your harvest thoroughly when you get home. Generally speaking, you will be amazed to find Nature flourishing in the most unlikely places.

Wild Blackberries

Wild food is highly nutritious

I recently wrote about the joy of foraging for wild food earlier this year at the onset of Spring and its good to know that you can find things to forage throughout the seasons. 

I have increased my efforts this year to learn more about different wild foods and fungi, some of which I have added to my list of sesonal favourites. I love to try different recipes and storing methods so that I can make the most of any wild food and seeds I find.

The most favourite recipe I have perfected this year is my sweet and lemon-tangy Rose Hip Syrup which looked beautiful in jars decorated with labels and a pretty lid cover. Weight for weight, Rose Hips have over 20 times more Vitamin C of oranges so a homemade rory-hued syrup is a perfect recipe to make for someone special.

It's good to note that wild food found in natural environments (far away from fields sprayed with pesticides, etc) are being recognised as some of the most nutritious and nourishing of plants, fruits, berries, herbs, fungi, flowers, leaves and other edibles. They haven’t been saught after by chefs and restauranteurs over the years without reason.

Wild Rose Hips

Wild food is highly complimentary

Wild foods are the perfect companion to compliment and enhance nutrients found in organic food, and especially to make up for the lack of high quality nutrients in non-organic and mass-produced food. Wild foods provide vital minerals, trace elements and beneficial micro-organisms as they generally grow in undisturbed soil and can always be found growing abundantly in many different environments.

The highest quality foraged food grows naturally on ancient ground where there is rich soil and clean air. Look out for Lichen on the trees to confirm this as it can only survive when the air is pure.

Natural vitimins, minerals, micro-organisms and other trace elements are drawn up into the plant or fungi fruit, and it’s these trace nutrients that help to keep our mind and body cleansed, nourished and healthy.

All fresh organic food provides maximum benefits when prepared and eaten as close to its natural state as possible. It's fun to discover recipes in cookbooks (some of my faviourites are listed below) and I love the recipes provided by *Riverford Farm for ideas on all sorts of wild food and organic produce delivered through the season.

*An affiliate link for anyone living in the British Isles with £15 off your first order and the same for me!

Wild Garlic (buds, flowers, stems, leaves and roots)

Wild food is worth it

How we collect, wash, prepare and cook natural food is a skill that can be learned step by step. The first time your Nettle Soup tastes delicious is priceless because it takes effort and practice. When you get it just right it feels great and your body will certainly thank you for it. Nettles alone are more nutritious than spinach, kale and asparagus so it’s well worth adding certain wild foods to your regular diet.

I always take time to do plenty of research, finding out as much as I can about wild foods before using them. I especially look up their significance in pagan times, what nutrients they contain, how to prepare them and use them for medicinal, cosmetic and culinary purposes. Each plant often has many uses and you can dry the seeds to grow your own the following season.

Experiencing the infinite wonders of wild food and going for walks to find and gather Nature’s gifts is a journey and a highly fulfilling learning curve that keeps getting better as you feel the physical and spiritual benefits of consuming Mother Nature’s food.

Wild Nettle Tips

Foraging for wild food is a process

Taking the time to prepare, cook and enjoy food in a relaxed state of mind and body helps us to appreciate and properly digest our food that much more. It assists our body in absorbing the nutrients so that we benefit more from the things we eat.

In a relaxed state, our heartbeat slows down, and we take our time to savour the experience. Combine this with a few sips of filtered water before and after eating to help the food go down and your body will thank you for it in the long run.

WIld Dandelions (flowers, stems, leaves and roots)

Recipes for foraged food

I wrote a review here a while ago about The Hedgerow Cookbook and more recently, The Hedgerow Handbook which I highly recommend for beautiful illustrations and excellent recipes for foraged food. I also recommend Food for Free for identifying edible foods and for helpful useage tips and recipes.

Foraging books and cookbooks contain information and recipes for Flowers and Hips, Leaves, Berries, Fruits with Stones, Fruit with Pips, Seeds, Nuts, Seadweed and Fungi (the list goes on) and who could resist creations so temptingly named Sweet Onion and Wild Garlic Tart, Wild Garlic Pesto, Creamy Nettle Soup, Crab Apple Cordial, Old Fasioned Bramble Pudding, Chocolate Chestnut Terrine, Wild Rose Turkish Delight and Wild Rose Hip Syrup?

Combining gentle walks in places where you know Nature grows, slowing down to observe and identify editble wonders, while referring to your favourite books and notes made from various reading materials and channels, then working out how best to preserve and use all that you have gathered (phew), is a complete hobby in itself.

As you learn, experiment and improve, foraging becomes so much more than a hobby. It becomes part of life itself because now you know that a Dandelion (just like a Nettle) is one of the most nutritionally dense greens you can eat — outstripping even Kale or Spinach.

And when you know you know, you can’t not know it any more. Start small with a few select projects, do some research, then collect something, cook something, bottle something and freeze something. Before long you will see that you are onto an all-round winner for your happiness, health and general wellbeing.

Happy foraging!

Further reading, recipes and books!

Read an article or buy a book by clicking on the links below. Buy a book from my affiliate bookshop in support of independent book sellers. Spiral Leaf may earn a small commission for books sold here at no extra cost to you!

Going Organic is a Journey by Sue Cartwright

Cleanse to Heal by Anthony Williams

Food For Free by Richard Mabey

The Hedgerow Handbook - Recipes, Remedies and Rituals by Adele Nozedar

The Hedgerow Cookbook - Delicious Recipes for Foraged Food by Cara Willson & Ginny Knox

The Cranks Bible - A Timeless Collection of Vegetarian Recipes by David Canter, Kay Canter & Daphne Swann

Cranks Recipe Book - Vegetarian Classics by David Canter

Everyday and Sunday by Riverfod Farm