BL-24 - Flipbook - Page 98
FOOD & DRINK
The unmistakable stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus): nature’s cheekiest and smelliest contribution to the forager’s world
I
WILD
LARDER
n the high-rolling, cut-and-thrust world of foraging, I
often 昀椀nd myself at odds with my peers because I refuse
outright to use Latin names when discussing wild food
and fungi.
The only exception to this is Phallus Impudicus, the
wonderfully apt description of the stinkhorn mushroom: it
resembles male sexual apparatus shamelessly emerging from
the undergrowth. Not only does it look rude, but it also smells
terrible.
By Tom Radford
Tom Radford hails from the New Forest: as
well as being a 昀椀lmmaker and running a
production company, he is passionate about
foraging wild food. He runs foraging walks
all over the UK and is a keen cook and
advocate of wild meat and game, while his
channel @EatTheCountry offers a wry and
comedic approach to educating people about
the bounty to be found in the countryside.
What, you may ask, has this to do with wild food? Well,
although there are those who do actually eat the young
‘witch’s egg’ (an immature stinkhorn), I’m certainly not one
of them. But this deviation from the norm is really just an
illustration of how much fun it is to wander off the path, brave
the thorns, nettles and cobwebs, and try something a little
different.
As I write, it’s autumn and there’s talk of sloes and porcini
from every quarter. Crab apples, hazelnuts, winter chanterelles
and parasol mushrooms abound…but what about the slightly
more obscure culinary delights quietly setting out their stalls
in the woods, meadows and hedgerows of the UK?
In this piece I want to talk about three of my favourite, lessercelebrated little gems from the British menu sauvage.
98
BOISDALELIFE.COM
ISSUE 24
