By countryfile

Published: Tuesday, 02 November 2021 at 12:00 am

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Our guide on how and what to forage for in November in Britain, with a few key details regarding where each plant can be found, characteristics and recipe ideas.

Where to forage in Britain

Woodlands, hedgerows and the shoreline are good places to start your foray into foraging. However, you may discover local parks and even your garden provide foraging hotspots.

More related content:

• Monthly foraging guide: what’s in season, where to find it, and how to forage responsibly
• Best foraging courses in the UK
• Podcast: go spring foraging in Monmouthshire with Adele Nozedar

How to forage responsibly and safely

It is vital to avoid damaging wildlife habitats or rare species, so check you are allowed to forage in the area before starting to pick.  When foraging, ensure you leave plenty behind for wildlife and only pick from an area with a plentiful supply. Only take what you plan to eat and take care to avoid damaging the roots of plants as you pick.

Take a good field guide with you and always be sure you can positively identify any plant before you pick it, and never eat any plant you are unsure of. Taking part in a foraging course with an expert is a good way to learn how to forage safely and responsibly.

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Best edible plants, nuts and berries to forage for in November

Appropriately named, this fungus looks just like a cluster of oysters. Normally growing in shelf-like layers on dead deciduous wood with caps of about 4-15cm, these mushrooms have white, hairless gills and a stubby stalk. Oyster mushrooms are often still to be found in November or even December if it has been mild. Take a very good mushroom guide with you for identification and check with an expert if you have any doubts.

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Chickweed

Another tough weed that can withstand the cruel winter months, chickweed has oval leaves with pointed ends that are smooth and slightly hairy. Most commonly found in fields and on forest floors, chickweed can grow between 5-50cm tall and its leaves can be used in winter salads, sandwiches, soups and stews. It also has health benefits, too.

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Navelwort

Navelwort gets its name from its leaves’s resemblance to belly buttons. It can survive the long dark winters and provides a tasty addition to salads and sandwiches. But be sure to pick the younger leaves as the more mature ones can taste bitter. Navelwort is usually to be found peeking out of gaps and cracks in damp walls.

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Winter chanterelles

This is another foraging delight that continues to soldier on throughout November and into December, particularly in milder areas. They have funnel shaped brown caps of around 3-7cm across, flimsy flesh and a distinctive yellow stalk. Find them in woodland and on moss or decaying wood. Take a very good mushroom guide with you for identification and check with an expert if you have any doubts.

Related content:

• British wild mushroom and fungi guide: how to identify and where to find
• The best foraging gifts on the market
• Get into seashore foraging

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Hawthorn

Hawthorn berries are best picked when they are most ripe, which usually means the beginning of November. Hawthorns are dense and, unsurprisingly, thorny. The berries are red and fairly similar to rosehips in appearance. Foraging the berries can be time-consuming as they often bring with them lots of stem when picked which need to be removed. Hawthorn jelly is a simple and delectable way to use your hoard. Boil 1.5lb (700g) of berries with 1.5 pints (700ml) of water until soft (you may have to mash the berries a bit), then strain through a jellybag or muslin. Add 1lb (450g) of sugar to every pint (480ml) of juice and the juice of a lemon. Mix and boil rapidly for 10 minute. Test for setting then jar and seal.

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Sweet chestnuts

A famous autumnal and Christmas treat, these shiny, versatile nuts are seen as an excellent cooking ingredient in their own right. Normally chestnuts fall in abundance from their trees in late autumn and can be frozen ready for the winter. They are concealed within spiky, tennis ball like cases, which lie below and around chestnut trees. Foraging is at its best after a gale the previous night, when a large crop can be gathered quickly. November nuts are not worth saving until Christmas – they tend to dry up. So roast them and eat them as quickly as possible.

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Cowberry

A close relative of the cranberry, these spherical, red jewel-like berries grow from a low creeping, evergreen shrub which are commonly found on moorland, heaths and peaty ground. Cowberries will be ready to pick in winter and can be made into a delicious alternative to cranberry sauce. Make sure you pick only the fruit and avoid the leaves as they are poisonous.

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Wood Sorrel

Britain’s only native sorrel is an extremely robust plant and while it carpets our forest floors in spring and summer, it can also be found in winter in lesser numbers. It resembles clover with three leaflets held at the top of a thin stalk; but wood sorrel’s leaves are heart-shaped rather than round. It has a tangy flavour so, used very sparingly in salads, it adds a delicious lemony flavour to autumnal lunches.

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Dandelions

Often still to be found in the winter months, these hardy weeds can be used to make a variety of drinks and the leaves used for salads, as they were by the Victorian gentry. With leaves resembling lion teeth, dandelions can be found virtually anywhere, but most commonly in open fields. The young leaves are the most tender. Try our dandelion coffee recipe.

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Squirrel

Foraging chefs such as Gil Mellor rave about the flavour of squirrel – time to try it? Grey squirrels are frequently culled in the UK’s forests because of the damage they do to young trees and most are wasted. Some however end up in more adventurous butchers. You may know a forester or farmer who can provide you with a squirrel or two to try.

 

 

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