Books, VHS videos & DVDs about ‘survival skills, bushcraft, living-off-the-land foraging for wild foods, wild herbs and medicinal plants’ – in Britain & Northwestern Europe – Page One

“The Easy Wild Food Guide” by

Neil Fletcher

“As interest in natural food and authentic recipes grows, the hunter-gatherer instincts of the population are reawakening and people are increasingly turning to fields and hedgerows, woodlands and the seashore as sources of ingredients which can bring the taste of wild food back into their kitchens. In spring, there is wild sorrel or young nettles to make soups, wild garlic for sauces or risottos and, for those fortunate enough to live in the right places, delicious morels. In summer beachcombers can gather marsh samphire and sea kale, while moorland will yield biberries and the woods and hedges produce a host of wild herbs. Autumn brings fruits and nuts and a wide variety of edible fungi and even in the depth of winter it is possible to find a range of ingredients for salads or to gather cockles from the beach at low tide. Illustrated with a unique combination of photography, which shows food in its wild state, and artwork which can be used to illustrate significant features and highlight key points for identification purposes, “The Easy Wild Food Guide” should find a place in every pocket or backpack on a country or seaside ramble at all seasons of the year.”

“Wild Food (Natural History Photographic Guides)”
by

Roger Phillips

“Roger Phillips, creator of “Wild Flowers” and its bestselling companion volumes, turns his attention and his camera to the wide range of good things to eat from the countryside and seashore. From the multitude of species that are safely edible, he has selected those that are actually attractive and appetizing as food.

Beautiful colour photography shows each species growing in the wild – for accurate identification – and prepared as an appealing dish. Well-known wine and food writers such as Jane grigson, Katie Stewart and B.C.A. Turner are among those who have contributed the recipes that accompany Roger Phillips’ photographs.”

“Mushroom Picker’s Foolproof Field Guide”
by

Peter Jordan

“Discover the delicacies that hide in your garden, local woodlands or fields with this fully-illustrated A-Z guide. Learn the identifying features and habits of the most popular edible mushrooms, and try the suggestions for storing and cooking your bounty. Also included is a section on inedible mushrooms, clearly illustrating the poisonous species that you are most likely to come across. Quick and easy-to-use, this volume provides all the essential information you need for safe mushroom-picking. The photos and detailed descriptions of the mushrooms are quite helpful when trying to identify an edible species.”

“Wild Food”
by

Raymond Mears
&
Gordon C. Hillman

“In WILD FOODS Ray Mears and Gordon Hillman lead us into the wildest parts of Britain to demonstrate the huge variety of indigenous foods that can be found. One of the most crucial skills to surviving in any wilderness is self-reliance – now, with this book, you can equip yourself with the knowledge to find tasty and sustaining foods in your own back yard and beyond.

Practical, enthralling, often surprising, packed with beautiful illustrations, WILD FOODS is an invaluable tool for any keen outdoorsman, and it is a fascinating read anyone with an interest in the little-known side of Britain’s natural resources.”

“Fruits of the Hedgerow and Unusual Garden Fruits: Gather Them, Cook Them, Eat Them”
by

Charlotte Popescu

“A book about gathering hedgerow fruits and cooking them with over 100 recipes – fruits include blackberries, elderflowers and berries, sloes, hips and haws, hazelnuts and garden fruits such as medlars and quinces.”

“Food for Free”
by

Richard Mabey

“Food for Free by Richard Mabey was first published in 1972, since then it has been reprinted 11 times. An all-colour, revised version produced in 1989 has sold over 30,000 copies in the trade. A guide to over 300 types of food that can be gathered in the wild in Britain, Food for Free explores the history and folklore of the foods as well as explaining how we identify them and the best ways to cook and eat them. The new edition will bring the subject right up to date. Organized by season rather than food type Food for Free will take us through the year. Richard Mabey’s fully-revised text will be accompanied by stunning photographs, new recipes and a wealth of practical information on collecting, cooking and preparing. Beautifully illustrated, beautifully written and produced in a new, larger format Food for Free is designed to inspire us to take more notice of what is around us, how we can make use of it and how we can conserve it for future generations.”

“Wild Food”
by

Roger Phillips

“Roger Phillips, creator of “Wild Flowers” and its bestselling companion volumes, turns his attention and his camera to the wide range of good things to eat from the countryside and seashore. From the multitude of species that are safely edible, he has selected those that are actually attractive and appetizing as food. Beautiful colour photography shows each species growing in the wild – for accurate identification – and prepared as an appealing dish. Well-known wine and food writers such as Jane grigson, Katie Stewart and B.C.A. Turner are among those who have contributed the recipes that accompany Roger Phillips’ photographs.”

“The New Oxford Book of Food Plants”
by

J.G. Vaughan
&
Catherine Geissler

“Not enough tables of contents are enhanced by drawings of nuts, herbs, and root vegetables, but the table of contents in The New Oxford Book of Food Plants is, setting the tone for a book that clearly delights in the glories of the world’s bounty. Each chapter, including grain crops and fruits, spices and seaweed, legumes and mushrooms among its 19 topics, is a cornucopia of information and beautiful, educational illustrations. Take the chapter on oil crops, for example. Covering olives, sesame, peanuts, soy beans, sunflowers, and the rape plant, the prose describes where they grow and what the fruits look like, what kind of oil is produced and what it’s used for, how it’s made and how else the fruits may be used. Color drawings of the plants and their fruits are on the facing page.”

“Cooking Weeds: Vegetarian Recipes”
by

Vivien Weise

“The weeds of the field and garden have two big advantages in the kitchen: firstly, they are free to anyone; secondly, they contain any amount of dietary goodness, often not so readily available form the anemic products of the hothouse and intensive farm. And what is really needed is a set of recipes to turn them into everybody’s favorite supper. This Vivien Weise provides in spades. With plenty of clear illustrations of the plants in question-ensuring that every reader will be able to identify the quarry when out gathering-Vivien has created a series of vegetarian dishes (all the recipes are meat-free_ with a defiantly modern slant: comfrey hamburgers, daisy ginger soup, dandelion salad with a banana yogurt sauce, dead nettle eggplant spread, ground elder layered pancakes, and many more. The great charm of this book is that you can go into the vegetable plot with two baskets: one for dinner and one for the compost heap. While gathering you supper, you weed the garden.”

“Seaweed and Eat It: A Family Foraging and Cooking Adventure”

by

Xa Milne
&
Fiona Houston

“”Seaweed And Eat It” is the foodie’s answer to “The Dangerous Book for Boys”, and a nostalgic journey of rediscovery for the whole family. Part cookbook, part natural history guide, with tasty recipes, fascinating folklore and inspiring ideas for seasonal feasts, “Seaweed” leads the reader through the process of identifying, learning about and cooking unusual and wild native foods. From discovering edible wild plants and flowers, to creating delicious seasonal feasts, “Seaweed” puts the fun into foraging and injects a sense of adventure into preparing dinner. For anyone interested in the origins of their food – or who’s shocked by the price of elderflower cordial – this inspirational cookbook will ensure mealtimes are never dull.”