Wild Food: A Complete Guide for Foragers

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Despite all the changes he has witnessed at first hand as a result of factory farming, he remains an optimist. He believes not only that we may see a necessary revival in sustainability, but that some of the more miraculous properties of fungi in particular might yet help us to fix the damage already done to the planet. “Fungi have been used to break down oil spills,” he says. “I think they will have a role to play in ridding the world of plastic.” Roger Howard Phillips MBE (16 December 1932 – 15 November 2021) was a British photographer, botanist and writer. [1] Biography [ edit ]

Meanwhile, years of voluntary work in the communal garden in Eccleston Square, Pimlico, where he lived, led in 1980 to Phillips being asked to take on its management. Under his stewardship the garden, now part of the National Gardens Scheme, was transformed into a plantsman’s paradise, containing the National Collection of Ceanothus, in addition to some 200 different climbing roses and 120 different Camellias. The first time I made nettle soup, it was edible, but underwhelming, leading me to the conclusion that, though I was glad one could eat one of the few edible wild foods in abundance locally, I wouldn’t be rushing to repeat the experience while I could still afford to buy greens. Yet the enthusiasm of others for this stinging weed unsettled me: could it be that I, rather than the poor old nettle, was at fault? Watch for grocery sales on raisins. They ferment well and aid in clearing flocculent/suspended protein mist. Alastair Little insists on using only ‘the first young nettle of spring, dazzlingly green and with a unique, peppery flavour’.Phillips presented or co-presented two television series based on his books on gardening, The Quest for the Rose (1994, BBC Two) and The 3,000 Mile Garden (1995, PBS), in which he and the US gardener Lesley Land compared and contrasted their gardening methods and preferences. In 1970 he met the book designer David Larkin, for whom he did numerous book covers. It was Larkin who signed him up to publish his Wild Flowers of Britain (1977) with Pan/Macmillan.

He also served as chairman of the Society for the Protection of London Squares, helping to frustrate the incursions of developers, work for which he was appointed MBE in the 2010 New Year Honours. He presented two six-part television series, 1994's The Quest for the Rose for BBC Television and, in 1995, The 3,000 Mile Garden for PBS. [2] [3] I've never made it myself, but I do have a recipe, from Roger Phillips' Wild Food book. I have made other wine recipes from the same book, which turned out OK.Phillips was best known as an expert on roses and fungi.He was Honorary Garden Manager at Ecclestone Square in London and in the 2010 New Year's Honours Listwas awarded the MBE for services to London Garden Squares. You need a sugar for the yeast to ferment. Begin with a specific gravity of 1.095 to finish at 0.995. Boil the sap for 10 minutes then stir in the honey. Cut the twigs up to 10cm lengths and add to the pot. Allow to cool to room temperature and then strain into fermentation bin. Pitch the champagne yeast and leave for 4-7 days until fully fermented. Prime 500ml bottles with half teaspoon of sugar and leave for two weeks before drinking.