The Forager’s Calendar: A Seasonal Guide to Nature’s Wild Harvests
£11.30£12.30 (-8%)
‘He writes so engagingly that it’s hard to imagine that actual foraging can be more attractive than reading his accounts of it. …[This book] is a treasure. It is beautifully produced, designed and illustrated.’ – John Carey, The Sunday Times
WINNER OF THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARD FOR FOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020
WINNER OF WOODLANDS AWARDS BEST WOODLAND BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020
Look out of your window, walk down a country path or go to the beach in Great Britain, and you are sure to see many wild species that you can take home and eat. From dandelions in spring to sloe berries in autumn, via wild garlic, samphire, chanterelles and even grasshoppers, our countryside is full of edible delights in any season.
John Wright is the country’s foremost expert in foraging and brings decades of experience, including as forager at the River Cottage, to this seasonal guide. Month by month, he shows us what species can be found and where, how to identify them, and how to store, use and cook them. You’ll learn the stories behind the Latin names, the best way to tap a Birch tree, and how to fry an ant, make rosehip syrup and cook a hop omelette.
Fully illustrated throughout, with tips on kit, conservation advice and what to avoid, this is an indispensable guide for everyone interested in wild food, whether you want to explore the great outdoors, or are happiest foraging from your armchair.
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Profile Books, Main edition (4 Jun. 2020) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 400 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1781256225 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1781256220 |
| Dimensions | 12.6 x 3 x 19.6 cm |
by Viola Crellin
A knowledgeable publication 9/10
by Stuart F Asbury
This book is invaluable for any year round forager. Helps make sure you don’t gather stuff that will do you harm and opens your eyes to things you would have otherwise ignored. Recommended
by Ian M.
A gripping read and a lovely reference book for plant identification and beginners who want to get into foraging. The author has a lovely tone and gets information through in a funny yet matter of fact tone. Would definitely recommend as it is worth a read.
by clare.berry
Good information but need a good time to digest it all
by Viola Crellin
I love this book so much. In fact, you can see from the pictures that I have loved this book almost to death. And I’ve only had it for one year. It’s stained with blackberry juice, elderflower pollen, gin, and whatever else I’ve found and used to cook/brew with my winnings. It has been scratched all over from rose thorns has been dropped in a few puddles, and now genuinely smells a bit “herby”.
The format is just perfect – I read a whole chapter at the start of the month and then dip back in for some reminders between and during foraging excursions. I still enjoy each time I re-read the informational content – which is something as I have a brain like a sieve and forget everything rather swiftly. The matter-of-fact yet sometimes mildly silly tone often has me laughing out loud. His observations on gardeners are astutely relateable as my father is a keen gardener and I a keen forager – yes I agree “sometimes I do think that gardeners feel the need to suffer”. I will often read bits out to my father that relate to the weeds he is frantically trying to rid his garden of (ground elder being a great extract) and it will make us both laugh.
He is also, like most fairly normal humans that are worth knowing, a slight dipsomaniac (and I will be buying his other books about how to brew your own etc).
I think this is the best “all-rounder” foraging book and great for somebody who is just getting started. However, as I do not live near the sea, I travel around the UK on a narrowboat foraging the towpath hedgerows, I haven’t yet, ahem, digested any of the sea-side delights the book has to offer. As this book has really inspired me to forage more I will be buying the hedgerows and mushrooms River Cottage handbooks.
I say get this book in hardback because I do carry this everywhere with me and it shows. I just wouldn’t anybody love it to death like I have and regret not getting a hardback copy to last a bit longer.
by Elle Campbell
Book gives lots of personal stories of foraging would like more info on the plants
by isabelle
Really was looking forward to read this and have it as a guide as I alive out in the sticks and have been collecting and picking certain things and foraging all around me of plants I know. But this book has mainly mushrooms and it’s advised to not pick them without a guide and then some other things which are a lot of work to prepare for jams or pickles so not as useful to me personally sadly. I was hoping for something more easy and practical. But nevertheless great book.
by The Corbetts
If you’re a beginner this is not the book for you. It’s overly verbose and is detailed but not in a helpful way. You’ll learn about the authors favourite things to forage in his specific area, and things like history of how the specific mushroom got its name or some such irrelevant information. If you’re after an easy-to-follow foraging reference book, look elsewhere.