Tag Archives: Wild foods in England

Green shopping, Mushrooms of Britain, Wild foods in Britain

New Forest Wild Mushrooms

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Mrs Tee’s Wild Mushrooms, based in the New Forest, supplies individuals and restaurants and runs wild mushroom courses for the public.

All the wild mushrooms they sell are harvested by hand from the New Forest by an experienced team of local pickers. They also have a wide range of exotic cultivated mushrooms

They sell these wild mushrooms:

  • Ceps
  • Ceps Rufus (Red)
  • Girolle
  • Pied du Mouton
  • Chanterelle Brown
  • Hen of the Wood
  • Beefsteak
  • Chicken of the Wood
  • Mousseron de Pres
  • Mousseron St George
  • Honey Fungus
  • Sparissis Crispa
  • Mixed Boletes
  • Bay Boletes
  • Trompette de Mort
This one-day course enables guests to learn invaluable information about the identification, seasonality, preparation and use of both wild and cultivated mushrooms that they can take back and use in their own kitchens at home. The day includes a guided excursion into the New Forest with the expert herself, to forage for and pick their own mushrooms. Importantly, guests will also be taught which mushrooms are not safe to cook and eat.
The Guardian reviewed these fungi courses last year

I’m on a seminar at Gorse Meadow Guest House near Lymington with 10 other fungi fans, delving into the fascinating world of mushrooms. There are, I learn, around 3,000 types in the New Forest alone, but we’re only interested in identifying about 10 edible varieties. Read

If youy fancy going it alone the New Forest Park website offers the following guidelines on picking wild mushrooms:
  • Go out with someone who knows what they are looking at
  • Follow the fungi pickers code
  • Don’t mix edible & non edible species in a basket
  • Identify the exact species
  • If you are trying a new one, eat a small amount

And the Fungi Collectors Code for the New Forest is:

  • No commercial collecting
  • Obey any warning signs
  • Never remove all the fungi in one area
  • 1.5kg personal limit (and if you’ve found this much you’ve done well!)
  • If you don’t know what it is, it may be rare – leave it alone
Nature tourism in the UK, Organic holidays in England, Wild foods in Britain

Wild food course

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wild greens soup
Soup with alexanders & lesser celandine.

Interesting course on gathering and cooking wild foods. The Wild Food School in Cornwall offer 2-day, day and half-day courses in which students can gain hands-on experience in identifying and using as many as 90 odd edible wild plants in the UK. There are also guided walks on the subject. Looks great fun.

“Ever eaten nettles? Or even some of the edible thistles? Well how about telling your friends that you’ve become a wild food gourmet, eating those edible weeds chickweed and bulrush, and know all about finding and cooking food from the wild? If that’s the sort of thing that tickles your fancy, then Wild Food School courses are probably the sort of thing that will capture your imagination…” .

Note: the courses are run by Ethnobotanist-Forager Marcus Harrison, author of a series of wild food cookbooks who has had an interest in wild foods for over 30 years. Prices: Day and Introductory courses – £30-85 pp. / W/E & 2-day courses – £160 pp.

Visit The Wild Food School