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July edibles to look out for.
Where you are in the country will mean that you could see these earlier or later.
Wild Cherry
I don't think anyone on this forum would not be able to identify a cherry. They tend to grow in mature hedgerows and at the fringes of woodland. All cherries are edible, though some are not good eaten raw. The two types of cherry you are likely to find are the Wild Cherry and the Bird Cherry. Wild Cherries are simply the wild form of the cultivated cherry, which have been bred for size and sweetness, and can be eaten raw. Bird Cherries are generally much smaller and are very sour, so sour if fact that they can give you a belly-ache if you eat enough. However, they make excellent cherry brandy and can be cooked or made into jam. To tell them apart look at how the fruits are growing - Wild Cherries grow in little clusters whereas Bird cherries grow singly are are generally small, at about the size of a blackcurrant. Needless to say, don't eat the stone, apart from anything else they are mildly toxic.
Marsh Samphire (aka Glasswort).
This is a favourite of mine. If you are lucky enough to live close to the sea, especially a tidal estuary you should be able to find these little beauties. Salt marches and mud-flats are the place to look. They are low growing and succulent. They have a salty taste, which makes them ideal as an accompaniment to many dishes. They are often used to stuff fish before cooking. They can be eaten cooked or raw, personally I like to eat them raw.
Thistles
All thistles are edible, why do you think they cover themselves in prickles and spines? It could be a bit late for thistle stems in the south of England but I have seen suitable thistle stems growing locally and I live in Lancashire, so Scotland should still have them. You need to look for young thistles, just as they are shooting skywards. Spear Thistles are especially suitable, but you will need to have leather gloves. To harvest them, (knife needed) cut the stem at the bottom and lop off the top. Strip off the leaves and scrape off any spines to leave a bare stem. Run your knife down one side of the stem and peel back the fibrous outer cover to reveal a soft, fleshy heart. This is the part that is edible and tastes like a cross between cucumber and celery.
If your thistles have got to the point where they have flower heads the stem will probably be past its best - but now the flowers are edible. Inside the flower is the choke, just like an artichoke - which are also thistles. It's a fiddly business but you need to break open the flower, removing the petals and sepals, to find the choke which is growing at the base of the flower just above the stem.
Chicken of the woods (Mushroom) aka Sulphur Polypore
At about this time of year these start to appear. They are difficult to confuse with any other mushroom and the only thing similar is also edible. A bright orange/yellow bracket fungus with a white underside with pores rather than gills. They grows most commonly on oak trees but will also be seen on beech and cherry trees, they also grow on yew trees but don't harvest these, the jury is out on whether they are safe. Pick them when they are young soft and tender, they get very woody when they mature. They can be used just like chicken, hence their name, dice them up and make yourself a nice chicken tikka masala.
Fat Hen
A final quick mention of this common plant. In the north these should be at the right stage for picking the leaves and using like spinach, better than spinach in my opinion. In the south the flowers should have started to appear, pick them young and treat like broccoli.
Where you are in the country will mean that you could see these earlier or later.
Wild Cherry
I don't think anyone on this forum would not be able to identify a cherry. They tend to grow in mature hedgerows and at the fringes of woodland. All cherries are edible, though some are not good eaten raw. The two types of cherry you are likely to find are the Wild Cherry and the Bird Cherry. Wild Cherries are simply the wild form of the cultivated cherry, which have been bred for size and sweetness, and can be eaten raw. Bird Cherries are generally much smaller and are very sour, so sour if fact that they can give you a belly-ache if you eat enough. However, they make excellent cherry brandy and can be cooked or made into jam. To tell them apart look at how the fruits are growing - Wild Cherries grow in little clusters whereas Bird cherries grow singly are are generally small, at about the size of a blackcurrant. Needless to say, don't eat the stone, apart from anything else they are mildly toxic.
Marsh Samphire (aka Glasswort).
This is a favourite of mine. If you are lucky enough to live close to the sea, especially a tidal estuary you should be able to find these little beauties. Salt marches and mud-flats are the place to look. They are low growing and succulent. They have a salty taste, which makes them ideal as an accompaniment to many dishes. They are often used to stuff fish before cooking. They can be eaten cooked or raw, personally I like to eat them raw.
Thistles
All thistles are edible, why do you think they cover themselves in prickles and spines? It could be a bit late for thistle stems in the south of England but I have seen suitable thistle stems growing locally and I live in Lancashire, so Scotland should still have them. You need to look for young thistles, just as they are shooting skywards. Spear Thistles are especially suitable, but you will need to have leather gloves. To harvest them, (knife needed) cut the stem at the bottom and lop off the top. Strip off the leaves and scrape off any spines to leave a bare stem. Run your knife down one side of the stem and peel back the fibrous outer cover to reveal a soft, fleshy heart. This is the part that is edible and tastes like a cross between cucumber and celery.
If your thistles have got to the point where they have flower heads the stem will probably be past its best - but now the flowers are edible. Inside the flower is the choke, just like an artichoke - which are also thistles. It's a fiddly business but you need to break open the flower, removing the petals and sepals, to find the choke which is growing at the base of the flower just above the stem.
Chicken of the woods (Mushroom) aka Sulphur Polypore
At about this time of year these start to appear. They are difficult to confuse with any other mushroom and the only thing similar is also edible. A bright orange/yellow bracket fungus with a white underside with pores rather than gills. They grows most commonly on oak trees but will also be seen on beech and cherry trees, they also grow on yew trees but don't harvest these, the jury is out on whether they are safe. Pick them when they are young soft and tender, they get very woody when they mature. They can be used just like chicken, hence their name, dice them up and make yourself a nice chicken tikka masala.
Fat Hen
A final quick mention of this common plant. In the north these should be at the right stage for picking the leaves and using like spinach, better than spinach in my opinion. In the south the flowers should have started to appear, pick them young and treat like broccoli.
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