The First-Time Forager: A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Britain’s Edible Plants

by Andy Hamilton

We all love the idea of foraging – as a way of being connected to nature and discovering new tastes. But in reality, most of us are very wary, and sometimes a bit underwhelmed when we do try. What’s needed is this totally honest, safety-first guide for softy first-time foragers. This book concentrates on 40 plants that are easy to identify and worth the effort – plants that are tasty and abundant in the wild or in gardens and parks. There are simple recipes to try as well. This isn’t an armchair guide for people dreaming of being Ray Mears or Bear Grylls. It’s for everyday people who lives in towns and suburbs as well as the countryside, and who want to get a little closer to nature and discover new tastes, without stress.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

176 pages, ebook

Published April 4, 2024

About the author

Andy Hamilton is an award-winning non-fiction author and all-round nice chap.

Andy's books reflect his joy of life. They include the best-selling The First Time Forager, Booze for Free; Fermenting Everything, The Perfect Pint, The Selfsufficientish Bible and his brave and thoroughly researched unique nature memoir meets popular science and self-help - New Wild Order. A book that profoundly and utterly changed his life (for the better).

Andy is currently writing acid house tunes, poetry, and he is collecting experiences in the natural world for a new book non-fiction book. He is also tinkering with a novel.

He also finds time to be a hands-on Dad to two young children and to potter about his hilltop area of Bristol drinking tea. He's also turning his small steep garden into a nature haven.

Reviews

[Tove R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great idea for a book! Never even thought about us needing this book, and now that I have read it I am thinking "why didn't we have this book ages ago?". There are so many things for a forager out there, and this book gives the reader plenty of ideas where to look for food, what to look for, and what to do with the products. I got lots of nice ideas from this compact book!

[Georgie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a comprehensive guide to starting out with foraging. What I loved the most was the focus on cities / towns which is encouraging as you generally think that foraging can only be done in the countryside. I loved that there were pictures and the details for each plant were comprehensive. Everything you need and well put together.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first thought after reading this book was that it would make a lovely gift for nature lovers and people interested in foraging. It's well written, packed with interesting facts, and has a beautiful design with both botanical illustrations and photographs to help identify plants.

The book emphasises that foraging isn't just for woodlands and countryside - the author lives in a city and says that he finds plenty of variety of plants to forage.

There's a handy guide to identifying good specimens, and to good practice whilst foraging (for example, not taking too much, and identifying protected plants that shouldn't be foraged).

The author talks in depth about the potential dangers and emphasises that if you're unsure of a plant, you should never eat it.

The section on edible plants is well laid out, with information on where to find the plants, the dangers you may encounter (such as poisonous lookalikes), uses, and when to harvest. There are also a lovely selection of recipes using these plants, including some tasty cocktails.

You'll only find one mushroom in this book, something to be aware of if mushrooms are what you're particularly interested in foraging.

The final section focuses on common poisonous plants, and those that could be confused with the edible plants in this book.

Overall, this is a fabulous guide for those new to foraging.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the allowing me to read and review this book in order to provide an honest review.

[Kristina the Book Forager · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love foraging, so waking up to an email inviting me to read "The First-Time Forager" has certainly put a smile on my face. Andy Hamilton has created a brilliant guide for anyone keen to get into foraging and doesn't have a clue where to start. It took me a good 2 years to learn on my own all the plants that Andy has described in the book, so this is certainly a very handy guide. I even learned a plant or two from this book. I also loved the recipes added under each plant, the author's personal notes on how to forage it, and, of course, the common sense tips throughout. Brilliant! I definitely recommend it for new would-be foragers. There is a lot of tasty wild food out there, and this is your guide. Thank you, NetGalley and Andy, for the opportunity to dig my claws into this book. I enjoyed it.

[Karen Mace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a really informative, and fun, guide to the edible plants that can be found around Britain! When I'm out for a wander locally I also wonder what I can and can't forage, and now I've got a better idea so I can be more adventurous than just sticking to the blackberries!!

The guide is presented in an A-Z format and shines a light on the wild food, fruits and flowers that can be good to eat - and those that you should avoid and be wary of!! There's also a helpful list of do's and don'ts so you can keep on the right side of the law, and also plenty of ideas of how to use the produce you find - making teas, using in salads etc.

As well as listing the fruits it also give some helpful recipes and there were a few surprises on the list to me especially magnolia flowers! The illustrations are in colour so it makes it easier to identify and I can't wait to get out wandering again in better weather to see what goodies nature has to share with me!

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

hanks to Netgalley & Collins Reference/National Trust for the e-ARC.

The First-Time Forager is a beautifully illustrated and well written guide to foraging in a compact 176 page book, with the guide being divided into two sections, an A-Z herbal, a guide to avoiding poisonous plants and what aren't yet look very alike (aka if you are not sure avoid). The first part was certainly of interest to me, in part because I've learnt that some of the plants my mum inherited from my nan who was very into herbal remedies weren't just pretty specimens but functional as a lot within the A-Z includes recipes that include such plants. I'm hoping to test a few of the recipes out over the Summer and hopefully they bode well.

Would recommend to anyone wanting to learn about foraging or simply more about herbal plants.

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The First Time Forager by Andy Hamilton. I was interested to see what this book had in store as Ive always been interested in foraging but didn't know where to start. It was a very interesting book. One that would be great in paper format rather than digital so you could take it out with you. I was surprised at how many things in my parents garden I would be able to forage as well!!!

An excellent book for first time foragers but also for folk who already know what they are doing as it has some lovely recipes in it as well.

Thanks to Netgalley and Collins Reference for the ARC Copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was really pleased by the National Trust who asked me to review this really interesting book. Since watching River Cottage and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall I have been really interested in foraging, yes we all pick blackberries late August but there is so much more to this as the book sets out.
What I love as well is the recipes you can do with foraged goods.
The book and author does show caution and there are dos and donts with foraging.
I love this book and will be using more than just blackberries and rose hips

Thank you Netgalley, National Trust and Andy Hamilton

[Jurgita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and useful as I am a big fan of foraging. It gave me ideas for cooking according to some recipes. I found it surprising that some decorative plants I only saw in gardens and parks are edible! I would have liked the book to be more extensive though.

[Donovan Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational 👍 very interesting will be researching more into foraging!!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The First-Time Forager is a very well written, precise, illustrated guide to foraging by Andy Hamilton. Released 11th April 2024 by the National Trust, it's 176 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats.

This guide is divided into sections. First, an A-Z herbal with illustrated entries for plants from Apple to Wood avens (Geum urbanum). Note that this guide is aimed at common plants in Britain, but many of them are ubiquitous to temperate regions the world over because of human introduction and natural occurrence. Each of the entries contains a common and botanical binomial (Latin name) followed by a description. The entries are accompanied by multiple photos of the various component plant parts. Pictures are clear and in color. The herbal also includes one or more recipe featuring the plants in question.

The second section of the book is a useful field guide to poisonous plants and lookalikes, with good advice on proper identification and safety. The author has included clear photos as well as what plants each of the dangerous plants looks like and with which they can potentially be confused. These poisonous plants are important in their habitats, often as host plants for species of insect and as food sources for wildlife. The author takes pains to show them for the important, useful plants they are whilst stressing that foragers should generally leave them well alone.

Although it's aimed mostly at readers in the British Isles, it's a useful resource for North America and Europe as well. The author/publisher have also included an abbreviate links list for further reading.

Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, for smallholders and self sufficiency folks, and for gift giving. It's lovely to see a burgeoning appreciation for foraging and using local fresh ingredients (safely).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn't love a bit of foraging?
I love walking through the woods or countryside whilst on my dog walks and picking a sweet treat as I go, something I have done ever since I was little and my family used to go blackberry and chestnut picking, though my knowledge of what can and cannot be eaten is limited to the very basics; chestnuts, blackberries, apples, plums, in fact, I grow more edible plants in my garden then I do foraging them.
I really enjoyed this little book, it's light and easy to read. The author has obviously done his research into the topic and has written a knowledgeable and interesting book each edible plant has its own page full of insightful facts, detailed descriptions of identifying each plant, lovely illustrations and a passage on what to do with your produce.
It is definitely worth a look at for those interested in this subject!

[JCS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide to foraging, explaining that many plants we see in the countryside are in fact edible. It emphasises the need to be cautious and 100 per cent certain they are safe to eat. Whilst many of the plants, flowers and fruits are well known e.g. cherry and blackberry, others are less obvious like gorse and Japanese knotweed. The plants are listed alphabetically and tell you where they grow, dangers, when to harvest and how to use. There are clear pictures of each plant and a fun fact which was a nice addition. An excellent section at the end highlights many common poisonous plants. There are food and drink recipes for many of these plants including Blackberry Sidecar and Wild Garlic Pesto. A great place to start if you are keen to have a go at foraging. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Myself and my family have always been a bit nervous about foraging, instead sticking to things that we grow ourselves and can be 100% sure on. Its something we have always wanted to venture more into and this book is a good introduction. I must say that I still feel a bit cautious having read it but I am more willing to give it a try, especially with some of the more easily identifiable plants that do not have dangerous lookalikes. We recently saw a giant puffball mushroom for the first time and I wish I had read this book then! I think lots of families will enjoy trying foraging (kids under strict supervision) and its a great book to give you useful information and images.
#TheFirstTimeForager #NetGalley

[Karen Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has given me the confidence to forage for the first time . Although the family always insist that I try it first, they still think that I am going to kill them by accident. The book provides that you do not do that !