This tastes a lot like honey, so is a brilliant substitute for vegans or anyone else avoiding honey. I prefer using the whole dandelion head. Not only is this quicker and easier, but I think the bitterness from the green parts of the dandelion adds to the complexity of the flavour of the finished honey.
I prefer muslin, or tote bags, but sometimes you’ve just got to use what you’ve got!
Method:
Put the dandelions and lemon slices in a small saucepan and pour over the water. Bring the water to the boil and let it simmer gently for a couple of minutes.
Remove from the heat, cover the pan and leave to steep for a couple of hours.
Strain the liquid through a piece of muslin or a clean tea towel to remove the dandelion heads, give it a good squeeze to get every last drop of liquid out.
Measure the liquid you have extracted. You should have about 450ml of liquid.
Put the liquid into a large saucepan and add the same amount of sugar, so if you have 450ml of liquid add 450g granulated sugar.
Warm the liquid and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.
Bring it to the boil and boil the mixture for anything from 5-15 minutes, until it thickens.
Test the honey frequently by taking a little bit on a spoon and putting it on a saucer or a plate, if is thickening even a little it is ready. It will still look very liquid in the pan, but it will thicken considerably as it cools.
Put the mixture into a warm sterilised jar, while it is still hot. Because of the high sugar content, the dandelion syrup will keep for at least 6 months but probably much longer.
For more information, a video and audio recording of the Wednesday Weed Waffle free zoom call we had about Dandelions, and an eBook with extra info and 3 recipes, have a look here: https://courses.foundfood.com/dandelion .
First up is Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum). The stems are nice and chunky in May, hollow and grooved on the outside. They smell and taste like a floral version of celery and I’ll be eating them with salad cream and chopping them into stews.
I found out recently that if you cut the stems into 5mm slices and fry until crispy, they are absolutely delicious!
Alexanders in flower
Crow garlic (Allium vineale) has been around for a while, but its green stems are hard to spot in the meadows where it likes to grow. The red flowers/seed heads make it much easier to find and I’ll be using it as a garlicky substitute for chives.
Crow garlic
Like crow garlic, Pignuts (Conopodium majus) is pretty tough to find before it flowers and that’s the best time to pick it. However, I found that they’re still good whilst flowering. Don’t forget to get the landowner’s permission before digging up these tasty tubers.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1.png13501080Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2025-05-01 11:05:462025-04-30 11:09:073 Things You Can Forage For In May
In my decade of military service, one principle stood firm: precision saves lives. This same principle guides my approach to foraging education today. Let me share how military discipline transforms into fool proof wild food identification…
The Military Mindset
Just as we used the SAFE protocol (Survey, Assess, Formulate, Execute) in military operations, I’ve adapted this systematic approach for foraging:
Survey: Observe your environment thoroughly
Assess: Identify potential edibles and hazards
Formulate: Plan your harvesting strategy
Execute: Collect safely and sustainably
Field Intelligence
In the military, we learned to read terrain like a book. This skill translates perfectly to foraging:
Understanding growth patterns
Recognizing environmental indicators
Mapping seasonal changes
Identifying safe zones
The Triple-Check System
Military protocol taught me the importance of triple-checking everything. In foraging, I teach my students the same principle:
Visual identification
Characteristic confirmation
Environmental context verification
How does this help you?
Ready to enhance your foraging skills with battle-tested precision? Join our Getting Started Foraging for Wild Food course, where I’ll share more military-inspired techniques for safe and successful foraging.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/image-1.jpg7681024Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2025-04-26 16:46:042025-04-26 22:06:43From Battlefield to Foraging Field: Military Precision in Wild Food Identification
First up is Ground Elder leaves (Aegopodium podagraria). Its primary common name comes from the fact that it grows low to the ground, and the leaves look a little like Elder tree leaves (although the two are not related). It has a strong “herby” smell, so I use it in salads, as a garnish for chicken and fish, and to flavour mashed potato. Look out for a Wednesday Weed Waffle coming soon.
Ground elder
Garlic Mustard leaves (Alliaria petiolata) likes hedgerows and woodland edges, favouring partial shade.
In early spring I’ll be eating the leaves raw, later on I’ll be using the leaves as a last-minute flavour such as stirring them into pasta or potatoes just before serving.
In the later summer I’ll be looking out for the tasty, pungent seeds!
You can find the Wednesday Weed Waffle recordings and accompanying eBook about Garlic Mustard here
Garlic Mustard leaf
St. George’s mushrooms (Calocybe gambosa). Until fairly recently I overlooked them as the smell was a little off-putting for me. What a mistake to make! Cooked, these mushrooms are absolutely delicious and widely regarded as a delicacy in Europe.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/1.png13501080Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2025-04-01 12:33:042025-03-24 12:04:373 Things You Can Forage For In April
First up is Hawthorn leaves (Crataegus monogyna). The leaves appear in early spring and have a distinctive, lobed shape. I’ll be eating the leaves raw in salads, and as a snack straight from the tree. My favourite use for them is to flash fry them in hot oil (10 seconds max) and sprinkle with sea salt for a nutty, leaf crisp.
Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) grow just about anywhere but they particularly like waste ground and road side verges. I could literally fill a day with talking about nettles, but my favourite use for them in spring time is to make cordial for refreshing cold drinks and warming hot drinks.
Wild garlic (Allium ursinum). I can’t talk about spring without mentioning wild garlic. Although nasties grow alongside it, there’s nothing that looks like it and smells of garlic so you can’t really go wrong. Much like everyone else, my favourite use is to make cheese and wild garlic scones.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1-2.png13501080Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2025-03-03 12:00:102025-02-03 14:35:023 Things You Can Forage For In March
Chickweed is nutrient and medicinal component rich, and grows just about everywhere, and in large quantities. It tastes like a mild rocket leaf raw, and is so freely available that it’s a surprise that we don’t use it more.
Habitat
Stellaria media is widespread in North America, Europe and Asia. A cool-season annual plant native to Europe, but naturalized in many parts of North America.
Description
The plants are annual and with weak slender stems, they reach a length up to 40 cm, and can form mounds 50 cm high on rich soil. Sparsely hairy, with hairs in a line along the stem. Very common in lawns, meadows, waste places and open areas. It likes growing in disturbed soil and can produce new plants from seed several times a year.
Etymology
The name Stellaria is derived from the word ‘stellar’ meaning ‘star’, which is a reference to the shape of its flowers. Media is derived from Latin and means ‘between’, ‘intermediate’, or ‘mid-sized’.
Identifying Features
Hairs– Stellaria has fine hairs on only one side of the stem in a single band and on the sepals. This like of hairs has been observed to switch sides of the stem when it reaches a leaf axil. Other members of the family Caryophyllaceae which resemble Stellaria have hairs uniformly covering the entire stem.
Leaves– The leaves are oval and opposite, the lower ones with stalks.
Flowers– Flowers are white and small with 5 very deeply lobed petals. Usually 3 stamens and 3 styles.
Seeds– The flowers are followed quickly by the seed pods. This plant flowers and sets seed at the same time.
Food Uses
Stellaria media is edible and nutritious, and is used as a leaf vegetable, often raw in salads. It is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku.
Young leaves – raw or cooked as a potherb. Very nutritious, they can be added to salads whilst the cooked leaves can scarcely be distinguished from spring spinach. I find that they taste like a mild version of rocket, so make an excellent salad leaf (although when young, I throw in the stem and all, not just the leaves).
Seed – allegedly ground into a powder and used in making bread or to thicken soups; however, it would be very fiddly to harvest any quantity of this seed since it is produced in small quantities throughout most of the year and is very small. The seed contains 17.8% protein and 5.9% fat.
Medicine Uses
Chickweed has a very long history of herbal use, being particularly beneficial in the external treatment of any kind of itching skin condition. It has been known to soothe severe itchiness even where all other remedies have failed.
Harvesting
Young leaves can be available all year round if the winter is not too severe. Seeds may also be available for most of the year.
For medicines, Chickweed is best harvested between May and July, it can be used fresh or be dried and stored for later use.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1.png13501080Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2025-02-10 12:00:542025-02-04 12:28:14All About Chickweed
First up is Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale). They sometimes persist through the winter and are always one of the first to appear in spring. I’ll be the leaves raw in salads, the roots for a flavoursome coffee substitute and when the flowers appear I’ll be making wine.
Scarlet Elf Cup fungus (Sarcoscypha coccinea) love to grow on dead wood, particularly silver birch, and in wet conditions. They grow up to 5cm and are deep red. They’re edible raw or cooked, and because of their shape and colour I like to float them in bowls of mushroom and bittercress soup.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) is nutrient and medicinal component rich, and grows just about everywhere, and in large quantities. It tastes like a mild rocket leaf raw, and is so freely available that it’s a surprise that we don’t use it more.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1-1.png13501080Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2025-02-03 12:00:172025-02-03 14:34:543 Things You Can Forage For In February
First up is ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea). It persists through the winter and is easily recognisable with its kidney shaped, scalloped edged leaves, and mint-meaty smell. I’ll be using it in stocks, gravies and sauces, as well as to flavour creams in desserts!
You can find a video recording of the Wednesday Weed Waffle zoom call, an audio recording, and an accompanying ebook here: https://courses.foundfood.com/ground_ivy
Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) which is neither noticeably hairy, nor bitter, but does taste exactly like cress! Lovely in sandwiches, salads, and of course the classic egg salad.
Judas’ ears fungus (Auricularia auricula-judae) also known as wood ears and jelly ears, and formerly known as Jew’s ears. These mushrooms really stand out at this time of year with their dark skin colour and ear shaped growths. They’re pretty versatile, you can powder them and use as a thickener, or dehydrate them then rehydrate in your favourite syrup or liqueur and dip in chocolate.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1.png13501080Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2025-01-20 12:00:572025-02-03 14:34:393 Things You Can Forage For In January
Jen Wiss-Carline is a speara and keen coastal forager. In this series of posts, she shares some tips on how to make the most of the free food waiting to be found along our shores.
In my previous posts, I’ve introduced foraging on the coastline and what you can find along the seabed at low tide. Now I hope to inspire you to take your foraging to the next level by exploring the shallow waters. If you’re willing to put on a wetsuit, snorkel, mask and fins, more impressive species await you, with many attainable from close to the surface. In fact, if you’ve ever considered spearfishing, this is a great stepping stone into the sport.
Venturing out just a little way, you can find lobsters, crabs, spider crabs (large and the easiest of all), octopus and kina – all beautiful fresh food to fill both your table and freezer. Safety rules first: don’t go out alone. Even if you’re not planning on diving down, always have a buddy with you in case you get into trouble.
Regulations
Be sure to read my first post in this series which covers regulations on coastal foraging. In particular, there are regional minimum sizes for lobsters, crabs, crawfish and the like, to ensure these species have the chance to breed before they are harvested.
Gear
I’ve written a longer guide to my recommended foraging gear here. Not all of this gear is essential but you will find it allows you to stay in the water more safely and for longer, and to search under the surface for the best finds.
A mask, snorkel and underwater torch are all essentials – these will allow you to comfortably explore below the surface without having to dive.
A float is also an absolute must: not only is this handy for attaching your catch bags, but most will have a surface marker (e.g. a flag) to make you visible to others such as boats in the water – a really important safety consideration.
You’ll also be surprised at just how much difference a cheap pair of plastic fins will make to your experience. Swimming with your feet alone is pretty slow and laborious – you’ll get nowhere fast. Fins give you more speed and control, so you’ll have a more successful day and they’ll help you to stay safer.
Other items I recommend include a wetsuit, gloves and socks, a knife, belt and dive weight. Each of these has their uses: whether safety or protection.
A gauge is also a handy bit of kit, whether you’re foraging on the shore or in the water. It allows you to check the size of your catch and ensure it meets legal limits. You’ll typically be measuring the carapace, which I’ve explained with some diagrams in my post here. Finally, there are a host of gadgets such as hooks and gaffs that can help you tease stubborn crustaceans from their holes while keeping your fingers away from their nippy claws.
A float helps you be more visible in the water to boats, dive buddies and other water users.
Crabs
Brown/edible
To find brown / edible crabs you want to be looking under the seaweed for little caves, cracks and holes. These tasty critters will often be sleeping tucked snuggly into a tight crack. You best chance is your first chance while they are still slumbering. You’ll need a hook or gaff to slide behind them to quickly work them out. Once extracted, hold them by their back legs where their claws can’t reach you. A waterproof torch will serve you very well in your quest for finding these.
Most by-laws put the minimum size for their carapace (the distance across the longest part of their body) at around 160mm for male and 150mm for female, so leave small crabs where you find them.
Spider crabs
Spider crabs are such a great catch, given how large they are. In summer, they venture into the shallow water to breed and you’ll find them walking around in the open or in piles reproducing, which makes them a very easy target. Look for the males with their fatter claws as these have more meat and are less hassle to clean and cook. Grab them, tip them onto their backs and they’ll just curl up and fall asleep – easiest dinner ever. The minimum size is typically 130mm for the carapace.
Spider crabs – image credit: Richard Bond
Lobster
Lobsters are your ultimate goal: they cost a fortune in supermarkets and restaurants, but they’re fresher and free from the sea! The best months to find them are May to October.
In the UK they are dark blue – the red colour you are probably expecting comes from cooking.
To find lobsters, you’ll need to be comfortable diving down, although you don’t need to go more than a few metres (remember, don’t go alone). You’ll need to explore all the holes and cracks amongst the kelp, using your torch for guidance. When you find one, mark the spot with your torch and return to the surface. Spend some time catching your breath so you’re comfortable and can maximise your breath hold.
When you dive again, put your hook over the lobster’s back and between its legs, then quickly hook it out. Lobsters are really fast so you need to grab them quick on their back, above the tail and clear from the claws.
The minimum size is typically 90mm for the carapace and also be aware that you MUST release any lobster that has a V cut into its tail, or has eggs underneath.
Lobsters – image credit: Mat Coombe
Octopus
Octopus also like hiding in holes and you’ll need your torch to find them, together with a gaff hook to get them out. Minimum sizes are usually around 750g but aim for bigger as they won’t usually have started to breed at that weight. They are intelligent creatures and you should dispatch them quickly and humanely by stabbing them between the eyes.
Kina
You’ll find the larger kina in the water along rocky reefs, growing up to 15cm. These are best foraged in season (with the spring bringing them on), as it makes a huge difference to their taste. They are eaten raw and must be caught alive. Crack them open with a knife, shake out the guts and eat the remaining colourful yellow or orange roe.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SpiderCrabs.jpg451602Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2024-08-19 11:44:072024-07-30 16:56:38Foraging on the Coastline – Part 4
Jen Wiss-Carline is a speara and keen coastal forager. In this series of posts, she shares some tips on how to make the most of the free food waiting to be found along our shores.
In my previous posts, I’ve explored foraging for cockles, mussels, scallops, winkles, and oysters. These tasty finds from the shore have, I hope, added some exciting flavours to your table! Now, in this third part of the series, I’ll introduce the world of whelks, clams, and seaweeds – the latter being available in abundance, much tastier than you might have imagined and absolutely crammed with nutritional benefits.
If you missed my first post, I highly recommend reviewing it for essential information on the best gear to use and understanding local regulations to ensure sustainable and legal foraging. Get ready to discover even more ways to fill your larder from the seabed!
Clams
We have a few species of clam in the UK: razor clams are the long almost rectangular ones and get their name from looking like the old-fashioned cutthroat razor blades people use to shave with. Clams will often hear you coming as you approach and bury themselves into the sand. I picked up a nice trick off TheFishLocker for catching these: look for the little air holes in the sand and pour regular table salt into it. If there’s a clam under the hole, you can watch the hole reform as it tries to get rid of the salt. Keep going with the salt until the clam pops out. Of course, you can use clams for clam chowder but they’re also great steamed and only take about 7 – 10 mins in a pot with a lid. The usual white wine and garlic works really well with these.
Whelks
The calcium powerhouse of the sea, these are the marine snails with the pretty swirling pointy shells. I recommend extra washing for these and a couple of hours soaking, then boiling in salt water for 10-15 minutes. A simple garlic butter makes these a real show stopper at dinner parties.
The Weeds
Humble seaweed is sometimes overlooked or thought of as too smelly or strong. In fact, there are more than 650 species of seaweeds on our shores, and many of them are delicious, tender and not at all pungent. Seaweed is absolutely cram-packed full of vitamins and minerals which is probably why so many health food companies are now jumping on the seaweed wagon to sell us expensive seaweed preparations and supplements.
Of course, on the coast you can harvest seaweed for free! It’s easy to identify and rocky shores are absolutely abundant with it, so you’ll never come home empty handed. All species that you collect from the shore are edible, although some are better to eat than others. Take care to collect live weeds that are still attached to the rock from an area where the sea has washed over the weeds in the last day. Wash the seaweed very well before use.
Seaweed is a valuable part of our shores: it provides essential habitat and food for a lot of marine life, offering shelter and breeding grounds; it helps improve water quality by absorbing excess nutrients; it absorbs carbon dioxide and it helps protect shorelines from erosion. For those reasons and more, we need to look after the weeds which means taking care when we harvest them. They cling onto rocks by holdfasts and we need to leave those holdfasts in place together with plenty of the stem (stipe) so the seaweed can regrow.
Some of my favourite tasty seaweeds include Sea Lettuce thrown raw into a salad, Sea Spaghetti cooked and eaten a bit like pasta, Dulse thrown into my morning omelette and Channelled Wrack chucked into a stir fry. I recommend subscribing to the Forager Helper for guidance on seaweed identification.
In my next post, I’ll encourage you to venture into the shallow waters to forage for even bigger bounties: crabs, lobster, spider crabs, kina, and octopus.
https://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Seaweed.jpg306443Gavinhttps://foundfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Found_Food_Foraging_newlogoWhite-300x168.pngGavin2024-08-12 11:37:592024-07-30 16:58:28Foraging on the Coastline – Part 3
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