GRIZZLY FORAGER'S GUIDE TO FAMILY FORAGING

Foraging gives you delicious, free, unprocessed wild food, and when the Covid lockdown persuaded the author to begin foraging with his young son Arthur, he was soon completely converted to a way of life that takes you outdoors, promoting healthy exercise, mindfulness, and skills of recognition and research. The two intrepid foragers were soon joined by an addition to the family, Sybbie, and they developed a routine of 15 minutes foraging and 15 minutes play. The ancient art of foraging is good for mind and body, developing culinary and medicinal arts. Parents can be worried about the safety of taking their children foraging, and there are clear rules: explain that some plants are toxic; instruct them never to put anything in their mouths without the say-so of a grown up; supervise everything they do; intervene if they break the rules; never take your eyes off your children for a moment; and know what to do in an emergency. There are also rules for respecting the countryside, such as not taking too much because these plants sustain the lives of other species, and having appropriate equipment and reliable field guides for identification. In the internet age there are some websites that are not written by experts and which give bad advice. The second part of the book is a wild food identification guide including a calendar, photos and descriptions of colour, size, habitat, season and aroma. The book concludes with a selection of recipes for using your edible haul. Wild garlic can be made into pesto, garlic butter, or pickled garlic buds, while the leaves will add flavour to every casserole or savoury dish, for instance lemon and wild garlic chicken kebabs. Recipes for sweet dishes include wild blackberry and apple crumble, or elderflower fritters. 256pp, tables, diagrams, colour photos.