Five wild foods you should look out for this Spring

Gathering wild foods in spring is one of my favorite things to gather, with the fresh salad leaves and delicate flavors that come with the plants of this time of year. It is too early for any kind of developed fruit, nuts, or root vegetables, but the fast-growing and young leaves of the right plants can improve any springtime dish. There are always dozens of wild foods out there just waiting to be gathered, but here are five wilds foods you should look out for this spring:

Elderflowers

When to gather

The last week in May and the first 2 weeks in June.

Where to gather

In the countryside or anywhere wild plants will have a chance to grow undisturbed. They like a good amount of sunlight and so the best ones will be found around the edges of woodland or in hedgerows. They are very common in the UK and across most of Europe and normally grow like weeds, you probably won’t realize how common they are until you go looking for them. They like a good amount of sunlight and aren’t worth looking for within thick trees unless a large clearing is present.

How to gather and prepare Elderflowers

The stems of the flower bunches are very weak and can be easily pinched through, so no knife or scissors are necessary. As for preparing the only thing you need to do is give them a good rinse in some fresh water to remove any bugs, then ping the flowers off the stalks with a comb or dinner fork. They are edible as they are and don’t need to be cooked. If there seems to be a lot of insects present, then submerge the bunches in water for a few minutes and place a wire rack on them to keep them under. Any bugs will drown and float to the surface where they can be skimmed off.

What to do with Elderflowers

They are quite sweet for a flower so work best in sweet things. Adding a few spoonfuls to a cake or mixing them in with some icing works very nicely, they can also be made into a cordial or if you fancy having a go at your own wine, they make a lovely sweet white.

Stinging nettles

When to gather

Anytime during spring, with the smaller tender ones being the best.

Where to Gather

Outside, if you live in the UK the general guide for finding nettles goes as follows, step 1 – go outside, step 2- see nettles. They grow everywhere they can, from back gardens to roadsides to anywhere there’s soil for them to grow in. If you want to gather a large amount then it’s best to head to your nearest woodland and check around to edges where there’s more sun.

How to gather and prepare Nettles

A thick pair of gloves is the best way to gather nettles, as the best is the smaller and weaker stemmed ones. The only part of the plant you should eat are the leaves, so just grab the bottom of the stem and with a firm grip run your hand upwards pulling off all the leaves. You can gather a huge amount this way very quickly and since there’s no reason to take the stem home you may as well do most of the work in the field instead of the kitchen. After you get them home the only thing to do is give them a quick soak in cold water to remove any bugs.

If you want to cook them in any kind of heated dish, then the stings don’t need to be dealt with separately because they wilt in the smallest bit of heat, but if you want to eat them raw it’s a good idea to remove the stings. To do this you’ll need a candle or any kind of small flame, and quickly wave the leaves through it, you will see the tiny stinging needles quickly curl and become harmless.

What to do with Nettles

Nettles should be treated in the same way as uncooked spinach. If cooked into a dish make sure you don’t add them too early as they wilt very quickly and if cooked for too long will just become part of the sauce. To eat them bushcraft style all you need is a fire. Snap the nettle off at the base of the stem and quickly wave it through the flames a few times, with the goal being to wilt the tiny stinging needles but not the leaves.

They have a strong flavor like most dark green vegetables and should be tried before roasting up a bucket of them. They work best mixed into stews or root vegetable dishes but should be thought of in the same way as spinach when using them as an ingredient.

Watercress

When to gather
April to October

Where to Gather

Streams and rivers, with the best places being any waterway that has a slightly higher than normal alkaline content, such as water that flows from or over limestone or chalk. The plant is very common and can appear in static waters, but it’s a good idea to avoid watercress in still water as the plant can harbor bacteria very easily and static water is known to be the highest risk source.

How to gather and prepare Watercress

The leaves are the only part that’s eaten but it’s very hard and time-consuming to remove them without the roots when you’re out in the field. Since this plant forms root mats on the floor of the water source, you can’t pick up one individual plant as they are all intertwined. Just grab a handful above the roots and rip off all the leaves in small patches to not damage the overall presence of the watercress. When you get them home snip off all the roots and give the leaves a good wash.

What to do with Watercress

There’s only one way to eat watercress, and that’s raw. The plant has a gentle peppery taste and works very well on salads. Something to consider when gathering this plant is that it doesn’t keep very well, it wilts very quickly after being picked and even if kept in the fridge should be eaten within a couple of days at the most. If cooked, it loses most of its flavor and quickly turns into mush, but a handful goes nicely in a soup or stew.

Wild Garlic

When to gather
March to June

Where to Gather

Grassy Hedgerows and shaded woodland. They don’t like a huge amount of sun and normally grow in particularly shaded areas next to a hedge or within woodland where the ground is clear of moss. Anywhere there’s a shaded area of grass can be home to wild garlic, but this plant isn’t one of the most common wild foods so you may have to look around to find some. It likes moist ground and often grows in large patches, so you only need to find it once to get a large amount.

How to gather and prepare Wild Garlic

The whole plant can be eaten, the build, stem, flowers, and leaves. If you want to remove the whole plant then you’ll need a trowel as the stem will just snap off if you try and pull up the root. Make sure you follow your country’s laws on foraging wild plants as normally things change when you are uprooting something. Should you get home with some legally gathered wild garlic then all you need to do is wash it and remove any nasty-looking parts like bad leaves and the roots below the bulb.

What to do with wild Garlic

The stems can be a bit tough sometimes but fry up nicely and should be cooked the same way as asparagus. As for the flowers, they can add a pleasant touch to any salad, but they don’t cook very well, wilting down into nothing quite quickly.

The leaves and bulb should be treated the same way as normal garlic, but keep in mind they aren’t nearly as strongly flavored as the store-bought version. The leaves are good for wrapping around fish or sausages and have a mild flavor which also makes them good for regular salads.

Dandelions

When to gather
May to June

Where to Gather

Anywhere there’s grass that hasn’t overgrown. They are very common on lawns and fields of short grass where any grazing animals haven’t had the chance to eat them yet. Because they prefer short grass, they are more often found in parks and sports fields than in the wild or overgrown meadows.

How to gather and prepare Dandelions

No equipment is needed as the stems are very weak and can be easily pinched through, but they do contain a thick white sap so maybe wear some gloves if you’re going to gather a lot of them.

It’s worth soaking dandelions for 10 to 15 minutes, as sometimes they can be home to a small army of bugs. If you rinse them the bugs will just cling on as they do when it rains, but if you soak them any creepy crawlies will try and escape from drowning and end up letting go and floating to the surface where they can be easily skimmed off. The thing about this flower is that they will either be completely clear of insects, or they will contain enough bugs to make another Starship Troopers movie, there doesn’t seem to be an in-between.

What to do with Dandelions

Dandelions are edible from top to root, but the best bit is the flower. They have a slightly sweet and bitter taste and work well on salads, as well as providing an interesting tang to cooked dishes. The leaves have a very mild flavor and don’t really taste of anything, and the white sap in the stem is bitter and has an acquired taste. The roots of the plant can be roasted and turned into a type of coffee, but I can’t say how good this is.