Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16176 in Books
• Published on: 1983-09-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

Nettles are tasty
Brilliantly photographed and well thought out book with some excellent simple recipes for each listing. It will certainly have you out of your arm chair and grubbing around in fields and ditches for your next meal! I thoroughly recommend the Crab apple jelly/cheese, Rowan Jelly, Elderflower Champagne(superb) and Elderberry Syrup.

I do throw caution to the wind and agree with a previous reviewer that this is more of a guide than an identification book. If you want to stick to the obvious (ie Crab apples , Elderberries etc) then perfect but if you wish to stray (ie Cow Parsley, Mushrooms) then I would certainly cross reference to another book. However, Phillips comes to the rescue here with his other publications "Mushrooms and other Fungi" and "Wild Flowers" both worth their weight in gold.

All said, the book never sets out to be an identification manual but more to wet the appetite and sow the seed in this very interesting topic of Wild Food. It has certainly inspired me, many generations before and hopefully many generations to come. A very worthy 5 Stars.

Shaun (East Yorkshire)

Eating the great outdoors
This is a truly interesting book. Now, if "interesting" makes you think of dull, trainspotter-like accumulation of facts, then this is not the nature book for you. It is less of an identification book (something of a problem in the fungus section, maybe) than a guide to what possibilities there are -some bizarre, some sensible - for using plants as food. As such it sits somewhere between the field guides Roger Phillips is known for and the hearty survival guides or Ray Mears and co. It is a gentle book, and firmly rooted in the plant world; Wild Food does not include rabbit stew, crow pie, fricassee of dormouse... An ideal book for a winter's evening, it is also the book to browse before a summer walk. The recipes (Blackberry water ice, blanched sea kale) are straightforward and easy to follow even when the subject is a trifle odd (pickled ash keys), the photography excellent, and there are notes for use rather than full recipes for loads of plants.

Stunning food and fabulous photography - inspiring!
I bought this book when I bought my first house back in the mists of the early eighties. The stunning and inventive photography had me pulling my walking boots on and heading out into the wilds of the Pennines to sample my first wild food. The recipes don't disappoint, in all the years I've owned this book I've never had a duff one. The wines are extraordinarily good, and a real treat is a liqueur, Beech Leaf Noyu. So my recommendation is to pull on your boots and get out there and get cooking!