Anyone Still Gather Wild Fruit?

[swaine]

im rather intrested if anyone still does this?
if you still do what do you collect?
from a small boy i was taken collecting by both mum and dad,
blackberries mainly, but as i grew i managed to collect all from the wild
the following, apples,blackberries,plums,gages,damsons,bullaces,red raspberries,billberries, red and white currants (ALL WILD)
im aged 30,and work in a hotel with many eastern europeans, who are highly intrested in collecting wild food and often go with me on a hunt,(males and females)they are very knowlegable on wild foods including mushrooms, they say its been passed down from mum dad,gran,grandad,
i have to say vastly more knowlegable on wild foods, than the british lads and girls i work with and there chefs!,
im looking for reasurrance that this skill is still in place (collecting wild food)in the uk
and being passed onto children, others etc,are we no longer in need of wild food?
your thoughts,experiances,opions much appriciated,
stew

[Shortie]

Hi Stew... Yup, we go balckberry picking each year and my little boy loves it! It's also a fab chance to spy lots of butterflies as the areas that blackcurrants are in are very overgrown areas.

Mind you, I'll be asking OH to come with me this year as there were a few problems with local "youths" which has now made me feel a tab vulnerable out on my own with little man

[smallblueplanet]

Try asking your european friends about home made drinks?

We made very tasty sloe gin & bramble brandy this year.

[Seahorse]

Despite getting scratched to pieces we had great fun collecting wild blackberries last year (still have a few in the freezer!). We also collected quite a lot of elderberries but were thwarted in our search for sloes. I've recently bought a book in the hope it will give me more pointers towards what is safely and practically edible.

[Flummery]

I collect sloes, brambles, wild plums, cherry plums, bullaces, elderberries, crab apples. I use them in jams, jellies, chutneys and wines. Wouldn't be without them!

[swaine]

well done all, im impressed,
SMALLBLUEPLANET, i now what you mean about the drinks,
i was taking to a female bulgarian chef the other day shes going home for a holiday in the summer was telling me they go into the mountains and collected all wild fruit to produce jams and drinks,i was a bit jealous lol,
they seemed to have aquired the skills to produce presevarvable items from there finds
and last year a young waiter brought his girlfriend over from france, for the weekend, and when we went out round the forest collecting ,we came across her collecting blackberries in the morning, by 5pm she presented us all with pots of blackberry jam, made from the berries, i was gobsmacked, not something i see the youth of today doing, with that sentance i now im getting old lol,stewart

[johnygreenfeet]

i collect blackberries for crumble and mushrooms but the maggots put me off a bit the apples i get are not really wild but the people who own the trees are

[Snadger]

I have gathered from the wild,blackberries, mushrooms,puffballs,sloes,plums,bilberries, rosehips,quince,hazelnuts,raspberries,strawberries.

I have my favourite secret places for gathering each of the above, some of them dating back 30 years or more!

[terrier]

Nothing secret about the locations of wild and not so wild fruit around here, you have to keep a careful eye on the ripening fruit and get in quick before the hoards move in. Fruit picking from hedgerows is still enthusiastically pursued in this area.

[veg4681]

Only ever done wild blackberry picking as I wouldn't know what other berries can be eaten safely. I still prefer cultivated berries for the practical size/taste? of berries for eating and cooking...that's why we have berry breeder, surely.

I have gathered from the wild, blackberries, mushrooms, puffballs, sloes, plums, bilberries, rosehips, quince, hazelnuts, raspberries, strawberries.

We weren't keen on puffballs, it's pretty rubbish taste/texture compared to other tastier wild mushrooms. Go for Chanterelle.

[bobleponge]

We used to collect blackberries and elderflowers in England but now we are very lucky in that our garden truly does provide all that we need. We gave away well over 20 pots each last year of plum,rasberry and strawberry jam. We gave away plum and blackberry and apple wine, we also gave away quince jam.
We do though have wild sloes growing around the edge of the garden, and blackberries, and the blackberry brandy was just to die for. Sloe gin and vodka not really my thing although the boss seems to do some damage to them.
There is very little public land in France, and so every year, during the 2 week mushroom collecting season, there is much secrecy involved in going to "Jean-Pierres special place" and grabbing what you can before the owner comes and yells the French equivalent of "Yeerrrr get off my land".

[yoanbob]

we still forage for wild things, we took our nephews rowan picking and taught them how to make rowan jelly,
we picked last year
apples
billberrys
blackberrys
crowberrys
elderflowers
elderberrys
gooseberrys
hawthorn berrys
mushrooms.
yummy and free

[shirlthegirl43]

I took younger son bramble picking last year and we had a lovely time. We had been told about a damson tree but didn't find it.

I am not sure about all the things that are edible but sometimes beat the horses to the sloes that grow in the hedge of their field. Didn't know you could use rowan berries!!

[Headfry]

I have been making Jams, jellies, and sloe gin,wine etc from 'the wild' for many years-long before it became a 'trendy' thing to be seen or talk about doing (soap box moment) sorry.
I love collecting
bullace
damsons
rose hips
hazel nuts
blackberries
mushrooms
elder berries/ flowers
horseradish
I only ever take small amounts, and leave nature plenty

[shirlthegirl43]

My mum used to take us picking as kids but we were just shown what to pick and too young to remember names and fruits. It is only recently that I have had the desire to experiment with making my own jams and jellies (we don't eat many of those anyway) and I am determined to find the damson tree this year as I have fond memories of mum's damson jam. I do pick elderflowers for wine and might try making elderberry wine this year too.