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Foraging by paul

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Foraging and the know how
I’ve been asked a few times about foraging and the wild food on the menu in the restaurant. The most common of these questions is how do you know it’s safe or indeed if it’s edible at all.
Putting it simply i don’t when I’m identifying new plants and herbs. The truth is 90% of the greens out on the forest, hedge, meadow and seashore are edible, maybe not raw where some tend to be quite bitter and harsh, and cause you to spit it out straight away. However once I’ve identified it, as edible or inedible i can pick more and use them.
Others are more easily identified dandelions, dock leaves and “sticky backs” “robin run the hedge” all are edible although you might not think it due to never having eaten them. Nasturtium leaves and flowers are also edible and again here’s where most people hear their mothers voice stay away from my flowers with that ball or bike or dog.
However if i don’t know what the flower or herb is I take some home and research it “Google it”  look up in one of the wild flower or plant books that i currently own and am waiting on a bigger book to encompass more wild flowers, plants, shrubs, berries etc.
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