How to... get food for free (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

How to... get food for free

8:34am Wednesday 3rd September 2008 in

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Not all food has to come at a price from supermarkets, markets and high street shops. At this time of year, there is plenty to be had for nothing in the fields, hedgerows and back gardens All you need is a bit of time and patience and the courage to bat off the wasps that you’re likely to find yourself in competition with.

1: Blackberries seem set for a bumper year. The summer’s rain has swelled them, and the occasional sunshine has now ripened them. They’re plump and luscious. If you’re going to pick yourself some, take a walking stick with you to push back the brambles or to hook wayward stems and pull them to a more accessible place. You’ll need a plastic box or carrier bag to put them in. Go for the really dark ones without the pale segments (though not the over-ripe ones, which will crush as you pick them). You can bake them with apples (from back-garden trees) in pies, eat them raw if you wish after giving them a wash and keeping them in a fridge overnight in a box with a lid on (any grubs will crawl to the top), or you can freeze them for future use (they make particularly good wine after being frozen for a while).

2: If you can get hold of a copy of Richard Mabey’s 1970s book Food For Free, you can discover things to do with other hedgerow berries, such as elder (more terrific wine), rose hip (for syrup) and even rowan (jelly).

3: Field mushrooms are a special treat at this time of the year. They’re in a different class entirely to the ones which are grown in the dark in big sheds. However, if you’re going to seek them out, along with any of the other species of edible fungi, you need to know what you are doing. Look out for expert-led guided walks to show you what’s safe and what’s not. Pick and eat the wrong one, and you could be made extremely ill.