{"id":37625,"title":"The Wild Kitchen: a forager\u2019s guide to seasonal living","description":"We meet Alex a couple of miles inland from the south coast on the Isle of Wight. It\u2019s a small picture-perfect village with daffodil-lined roads and thatched cottages, a bucolic spring scene with birds singing and a dreamy soft light as the sun finds its way through the clouds. Alex is a forager, who offers guided foraging walks and courses through her company Island Wild Foods","content":"

\"ForagingAlex wears the <\/em>Women\u2019s Lightweight Raincoat <\/u><\/em><\/a>in Lavender Grey, and the <\/em>Women\u2019s Knitted Vest<\/u><\/em><\/a><\/p>

We meet Alex a couple of miles inland from the south coast on the Isle of Wight. It\u2019s a small picture-perfect village with daffodil-lined roads and thatched cottages, a bucolic spring scene with birds singing and a dreamy soft light as the sun finds its way through the clouds.<\/span><\/p>

Alex is a forager, who offers guided foraging walks and courses through her company Island Wild Food. Her courses celebrate the freely available edible plants that are often tastier than what you find in a shop. For Alex, this fascination can be traced back to a childhood spent living on a small boat for months at a time in northern France and Spain, cockling and catching crabs and lobsters for dinner.<\/span><\/p>

\"ForagingShe leads us up a narrow footpath towards a patch of trees and explains where her interest in foraging started. \u201cI\u2019m basically a really messy gardener. I had an allotment, and everyone\u2019s allotments were neat and tidy, and ours was just weeds.\u201d Instead of battling the weeds, Alex embraced them. \u201cI thought maybe some of these are edible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

She attended a foraging course in the New Forest, transforming her view of nature. \u201cI used to go on a walk and stomp through and see the sea of green. It was all very nice, but I didn\u2019t really stop to look closely. Now, the plants jump out at me. You can notice it all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\"ForagingWe pause in a clearing in the trees as Alex scans the surroundings. It doesn\u2019t take long to spot our first find of the day on a dead piece of elder wood. \u201cThese are jelly ear mushrooms. They\u2019re great fried and they take on the flavour of whatever you cook them with. They can explode if you fry them, so you\u2019re best putting a lid on the pan. They\u2019re great in ramen or broth. They\u2019re really tasty dipped in dark chocolate too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

In this one clearing, Alex spots a host of other edible plants, nettles, mint, and primrose. Her ability to identify where certain plants will be growing, before seeing them, is a result of years spent outside, meticulously taking mental notes. She says it\u2019s through being completely in tune with the currents of nature, noticing the micro-climates, the recent weather, and the presence of other plants, that allows her to identify what will grow and where. \u201cIt\u2019s loads of really small details of the seasons changing that I think I hadn\u2019t ever honed into as much before I started foraging.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\"ForagingAlex wears the <\/em>Women\u2019s Lightweight Raincoat <\/u><\/em><\/a>in Lavender Grey, and the <\/em>Women\u2019s Knitted Vest<\/u><\/em><\/a><\/p>

As we continue our walk, the sun emerges from behind the clouds, illuminating the woodland. Almost wherever we look there\u2019s something tasty to be found, on the verge of the footpath, in the undergrowth. In this easily overlooked woodland on the outskirts of a village, nature is thriving. You get the sense that Alex is too, mud-splattered and a basket full of treasures.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s a discovery, one that\u2019s extra well-earned. Foraging gets you outside more, it makes you leave your doorstep and go further afield. With foraging, you want to go to places with fewer people, animal traffic, and cars. It makes you get off the beaten track, find more places that you haven\u2019t been to before and tap into what there is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

\"ForagingThere\u2019s a simple joy in taking cues from the seasons, living cyclically at nature\u2019s pace. Alex says when you\u2019re foraging you\u2019re \u201ccapturing a moment,\u201d fleeting, before the cycle of seasons rolls on, and other plants get their time in the sun. Getting outside and paying closer attention to everything around us is the first step. It demands a heightening of the senses and hones the act of noticing. An almost meditative experience. It reveals a beauty to be found in the overlooked, that\u2019s just waiting to be discovered.<\/span><\/p>

5 things to forage in spring\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>

Remember, responsible foraging is crucial for preserving ecosystems. Harvest in moderation to ensure plants can thrive, and only gather when you're certain of the plant's identification.<\/span><\/p>

Nettles<\/span><\/h3>

\"HowHow to forage<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

The best way to pick them is by using tough gloves. The part that stings is the edge of the leaf, so you should pick by the stem. Only take the top 6-8 leaves so the plant can keep growing.<\/span><\/p>

How to prepare<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Nettles are high in protein, iron, vitamins, and potassium. You can cook as you would do spinach, in a stew or an omelette. You can also cook them on a baking tray with oil and sesame seeds for nettle chips.<\/span><\/p>

Wild Garlic<\/span><\/h3>

\"CloseHow to forage<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

You\u2019re interested in the leaves, flower buds, and stems (<\/span>not <\/span><\/em>the bulb). The smell is the giveaway. You\u2019re looking for long oval leaves with one main stem in the middle. On the leaves there will be veins running parallel to the middle vein. Be careful not to get confused with Lilly of the Valley. Make sure to pick sustainably by not taking clumps, taking leaves here and there.<\/span><\/p>

How to prepare<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Wild garlic is great for lowering blood pressure and cholestrol. It\u2019s tasty on its own in a salad, or chopped up in an omelette. You can add it to a pie, or you can wilt them which is nice served with poached eggs. Wild garlic pesto is a bit of a favourite too.<\/span><\/p>

Jelly ear mushroom<\/span><\/h3>

\"CloseHow to forage<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

These mushrooms look like ears and have a velvety texture. They grow on dead, old wood, mostly elder trees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

How to prepare<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

They\u2019re really tasty marinated in alcoholic liquor, or Ribena. Or dipped in dark chocolate, without cooking them. They\u2019re great in ramen or broth, but they can explode if you fry them, so you\u2019re best putting a lid on the pan.<\/span><\/p>

Primrose<\/span><\/h3>

\"CloseHow to forage<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

As with any wild-growing flower, you should only take a very small amount. You might find them in your garden. You\u2019re looking for a small yellow flower.<\/span><\/p>

How to prepare<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

You can eat the flower and the leaf. The young leaves can be added to a salad - they have a lemony taste. You can paint them in egg whites to crystalise them and use them to decorate cakes. You can also make a primrose curd, using the flower and the leaves, adding sugar, water, and lemon zest. It makes a lovely floral lemon curd.<\/span><\/p>

Mint<\/span><\/h3>

\"CloseHow to forage<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Mint has a square stem, and leaves at opposite points going up the stem. There are loads of different types of mint and there are subtle differences between them all.<\/span><\/p>

How to prepare<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Mint is great chopped up onto salad. Perhaps its best use is as a garnish, especially in cocktails.<\/span><\/p>

You can follow Alex and find more information about her foraging walks through her Instagram <\/span>@islandwildfood<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>","urlTitle":"foraging-isle-of-wight","url":"\/blog\/foraging-isle-of-wight\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/foraging-isle-of-wight\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/rapanuiclothing.com\/blog\/foraging-isle-of-wight\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1710858707,"updatedAt":1770389950,"publishedAt":1770389950,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":14,"name":"Rapanui"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/3nv7nxreyry5hloq4ejm2xdw2fi4pnctuoglbtszgml9c8qd.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/3nv7nxreyry5hloq4ejm2xdw2fi4pnctuoglbtszgml9c8qd.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/3nv7nxreyry5hloq4ejm2xdw2fi4pnctuoglbtszgml9c8qd.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"A Forager\u2019s Guide to Seasonal Living","metaDescription":"Alex from Island Wild Food takes us foraging in the Isle of Wight and shows the delights waiting to be discovered.","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":31054,"title":"Ocean activism: Adventures on a rubbish paddleboard","url":"\/blog\/ocean-activism\/","urlTitle":"ocean-activism","division":14,"description":"We catch up with SUP adventurer and ocean activist David Haze. We hear how we should tap into the adventurer in us all.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/sri7lrxwruvjhjyp0rvzzknkvu0hjq3hungp2hq7dwcd5cfc.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/sri7lrxwruvjhjyp0rvzzknkvu0hjq3hungp2hq7dwcd5cfc.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":22629,"title":"We Can't Breathe: Surfing, Stuffocation, And How We Can Ride A New Wave","url":"\/blog\/surfing-stuffocation-and-how-we-can-ride-a-new-wave\/","urlTitle":"surfing-stuffocation-and-how-we-can-ride-a-new-wave","division":14,"description":"Turns out, surfing requires a fair bit of stuff. Or at least, we\u2019ve been told it does. The good news? There are solutions, says Rapanui's co-founder Mart Drake-Knight.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/tjns39pimjcgheprx83enz4tsobwl4ovralmcthfncu7j3pd.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/tjns39pimjcgheprx83enz4tsobwl4ovralmcthfncu7j3pd.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":33445,"title":"Create A Personalised Christmas Jumper In Seconds","url":"\/blog\/make-a-custom-christmas-jumper-in-seconds\/","urlTitle":"make-a-custom-christmas-jumper-in-seconds","division":14,"description":"Here's how to create your own personalised Christmas sweatshirt, with our design studio.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/mmtskp3lf5psimfdxrmztyqcp5tffkpp1iamgokkgbf60cel.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/mmtskp3lf5psimfdxrmztyqcp5tffkpp1iamgokkgbf60cel.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}