r/foraging Jul 28 '20

Please remember to forage responsibly!

1.5k Upvotes

Every year we have posts from old and new foragers who like to share pictures of their bounty! I get just as inspired as all of you to see these pictures. As we go out and find wild foods to eat, please be sure to treat these natural resources gently. But on the other side, please be gentle to other users in this community. Please do not pre-judge their harvests and assume they were irresponsible.

Side note: My moderation policy is mostly hands off and that works in community like this where most everyone is respectful, but what I do not tolerate is assholes and trolls. If you are unable to engage respectfully or the other user is not respectful, please hit the report button rather then engaging with them.

Here is a great article from the Sierra Club on Sustainable Foraging Techniques.

My take-a-ways are this:

  1. Make sure not to damage the plant or to take so much that it or the ecosystem can't recover.
  2. Consider that other foragers might come after you so if you take almost all of the edible and only leave a little, they might take the rest.
  3. Be aware if it is a edible that wild life depends on and only take as much as you can use responsibly.
  4. Eat the invasives!

Happy foraging everyone!


r/foraging 1h ago

ID Request (country/state in post) Are these normal grapes? Just want to be 100% sure.

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Upvotes

Found in NJ USA. Pretty sure these are basic edible grapes but not 100% after seeing some other posts that had other grape-like plants.


r/foraging 5h ago

Plants Wild Apples should be ripe soon

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58 Upvotes

In the Blue Mountains in Eastern Washington state.


r/foraging 6h ago

Blue chanterelle ID? Maine

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71 Upvotes

Found in conifer forest , coastal Maine


r/foraging 5h ago

Any reviews of sumac lemonade ?

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39 Upvotes

Found a cluster of Sumac, going to try lemonade !


r/foraging 1d ago

Misleading Title Help- pawpaw has fur and wings

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775 Upvotes

Hello!

I went to check on the pawpaws today. Not ripe yet! But, i found my first wild bat!


r/foraging 9h ago

Mushrooms Hedgehogs?

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22 Upvotes

My first forage! I wanted to be sure that these are edible hedgehog mushrooms. I found them scattered in a mixed forest in Vermont.


r/foraging 5h ago

Mushrooms Are these oysters past prime? Still edible?

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10 Upvotes

Picked from a dead maple in central Ontario today. White spore print. Only my second time foraging oysters but confident I’m not misidentifying.

The ends don’t curl upward but some are a bit flat. Still a pleasant odour. Appreciate any advice!


r/foraging 3h ago

ID Request (country/state in post) European Cranberry Bush?

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5 Upvotes

Found in NE MN, looking for ID on the first two photos. Searched my book and resources and found it could be European Cranberry Bush? Can anyone confirm or deny? Anyone have any experience eating/processing these?

Bonus because I’m unsure what sub to put the others in, but I also found this fuzzy substance on a Hawthorne & Alder. Any guess as that what the fuzzies could be?

Thanks for the help!


r/foraging 6h ago

Bolete with yellow juice under the cap

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8 Upvotes

r/foraging 20m ago

Are these edible?

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Upvotes

Found growing on a fence in idaho.


r/foraging 20h ago

Plants Early drop off persimmon trees

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84 Upvotes

They're varied states of ripeness, I tried a couple that were really mushy but they were still a little astringent at the end.

I heard you can put the ripe ones through a food mill, freeze the pulp and it'll reduce the tannins. Has anyone else tried it?


r/foraging 15h ago

Plants Solstice Gin bottling

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35 Upvotes

Finally got round to bottling my mid-summer gin. After leaving it out in the sun to release some of those gorgeous botanicals it went into a dark cupboard for 2 months. Now it’s ready to bring a little sunshine into the darker months ahead.


r/foraging 2h ago

ID Request (country/state in post) Crabapples? pt 2. In Northern KY

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3 Upvotes

this time i included pictures from spring, when it bloomed, and now :) this tree gets TONS of bees every spring.


r/foraging 4h ago

ID Request (country/state in post) Strange leathery growths

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3 Upvotes

Virginia usa


r/foraging 3h ago

ID OYSTER MUSHROOMS

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3 Upvotes

r/foraging 3h ago

ID Request (country/state in post) are these crabapples..? northern KY

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3 Upvotes

for reference, this tree has been in my yard for at least 2 decades. I am new to foraging and was wondering if this is a type of crabapple? if so, is it edible? of not edible for humans, can i feed it to birds?


r/foraging 1d ago

Pawpaw Custard Cream!

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311 Upvotes

Made this Pawpaw ice cream with a custard base the other day, everything by hand, no churner so it took a long time but eventually got to the consistency I desired. This is like a silky hard-serve. Used all local ingredients and pawpaws were foraged of course, would make it again :) hopefully next time with a churner though. I still have more pawpaw fruit which I'm planning to either ferment or make into pies or tarts, still thinking on that.


r/foraging 4h ago

Plants Question about acorn processing

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3 Upvotes

If acorns turn black while being processed, are they safe to eat? Or should I discard them?

I recently picked acorns for the first time. It's probably a bit early, but I found a tree that had them falling already. I picked them off the ground and some off the tree, but only if they came off easily. They were all brown.

Further info about the acorns: they were from a white oak, possibly a bur oak but I'm not sure. It was a relatively young tree, and I thought that might be why it was early.

I did a float test, and discarded the ones that floated. I shelled, chopped and soaked them to leach out tannins. They soaked for four days, in the fridge after day 1 because my kitchen is fairly warm. I put a bit of baking soda in every time I changed the water as I've been told that should speed up the process. By the fourth day the water wasn't turning dark anymore, and they didn't seem to taste bitter, so I drained them and put them in the oven to dry and then toast.

However, the pieces of acorn seemed to turn a little dark while soaking, and even before that, while I was shelling them. Then while drying in the oven, they turned even darker. Definitely not burned, because they were still moist when this started. It looked like oxidation, maybe...

I roasted them a little after they were dry, and they smelled good. They definitely don't smell burnt. But none of the articles or videos I have come across have any mention of the acorns turning black or oxidizing; and as I have never done this before, I am unsure whether to eat them.

Has anyone had this happen? Is it because I picked acorns too early, and they weren't properly mature, or did I do something wrong?

The other acorns I have seen aren't ripe yet, I want to try again in any case. Any advice, information or recommendations will be appreciated!


r/foraging 8h ago

Mushrooms Chicken of the woods?

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6 Upvotes

Is this mushroom edible?


r/foraging 2h ago

ID Request (country/state in post) Lily of the valley?

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2 Upvotes

I live in Rhode Island, U.S. my Plant ID app identified this as lily of the valley… I am concerned because my chickens appear to have eaten some. Please let me know if you can tell from this photo


r/foraging 2h ago

Bank holiday haul 🍇🫐

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2 Upvotes

I’m by no means an expert forager, but i am quietly happy with this past weekends haul of bullage, elderberry and blackberries. The blackberry will be used in a crumble, the elderberry shall be turned in to a winter syrup and i am thinking about using the bullace for either a gin or jam 🤔


r/foraging 1d ago

ID Request (country/state in post) Northern Maryland. Is this an edible plum tree?

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185 Upvotes

r/foraging 4h ago

Is this chaga?

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2 Upvotes

r/foraging 12h ago

ID Request (country/state in post) Is this Lactifluus volemus, Lactifluus hygrophoroides, or something else?

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3 Upvotes

I am reposting this as I took additional photos and I’m adding some information from the comments to the original post, so hopefully I’ll get answers. Thanks.
-Location: SE PA, USA
-It smells very fishy
-Oozes white latex that turns brown
-Found on ground likely growing from tree roots
-Gill attachment and latex in both states is visible in photos (previously I didn’t have photos of the brown stain)
-I haven’t been brave to take a small taste to see if the latex has a mild taste but if someone says I definitely should, then I will!