Four cash-saving tips to forage for food this spring so you can make a free meal

POP out for a walk and come back with your tea.

With simple know-how, you can start foraging for food this spring.

Adam Warrington, author and adventurer at outdoor retailer Blacks, says: “Nature has an array of ingredients that are free for walkers.”

SNIFF IT OUT: “Start simple when foraging and only pick or eat something if you are 100 per cent certain of what it is,” says Adam.

Consult different foraging books to cross-check or, even better, go out with an expert who knows their stuff.

For more information, read wildfooduk.com/foraging-code and search its plant guide to check which foods are edible.

DON’T GET STUNG: Instead of getting stung by food bills, search out edible nettles instead as they grow in spring.

Cut the tender top leaves off the plant while wearing gloves. Use them instead of spinach, to make herbal tea or as an ingredient in a soup.

WILD FOOD: Garlic will soon be one of the easiest wild foods to spot when the vibrant green plant pops up in shady areas and woodland this month.

To identify it, crush the leaves between your fingers for an unmistakable smell. Pick the fresh young leaves after they first appear this month, or wait until May to pick the white flowers.

Use the leaves to make a simple soup with onion, potato, stock and cream or a tasty wild garlic pesto. Dandelions are a clear sign of spring and are edible. The green leaves can be used in pasta, salad and risotto dishes.

KNOW THE RULES: Wild food is free to pick but you must seek permission if you are on private property and you should only pick for your own consumption.

Don’t remove plants and, for your own health, avoid roadsides and low-to-ground spaces where dogs are walked, or areas which may have been sprayed with pesticide.

There’s more foraging ideas, for what to pick now, to be found at blacks.co.uk/blog/ seasonal-foraging-guide-uk.

• All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability

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