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Foraging in September - UK Wildcrafts Foraging Calendar (Part 3 of 3)
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Foraging in September – UK Wildcrafts Foraging Calendar (Part 3 of 3)



In this third part of foraging in September we look at some more wild edibles including acorns and crab apples.

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It’s quite rare to find true crab apples 
these days. They’re usually hybridized with cultivated varieties. But some of the 
traits of true crab apples are a long stalk and a longer calyx relative 
to the size of the fruit. Crab apples often turn yellow when 
ripe or sometimes pink or red. So these apples have all three of those traits. 
So these are either true crab apples or very closely related to them. The good thing 
is all apple or Malus species are edible whether it’s crab apples or any feral species 
of cultivated apples that you might find. And here’s another crab apple tree. These ones 
aren’t quite as yellow, but you see they do still have that longer calyx at the bottom of 
the fruit. Whereas most cultivated apples have quite a short calyx. There’s one thing that 
all apple or Malus species have in common though – so if you cut an apple in half along 
its width, it’ll have a star- shaped chamber. You see that where the seeds are? Crab apples are best around September and October. An easy way to check if 
they’re ripe, just bite one in half. and look at the seeds. If the seeds are brown 
like that, then the fruit is ripe. If the seeds are white, then the fruit isn’t quite ready 
yet and probably need a few more weeks. Just like with all cultivated apples, the seeds are 
mildly toxic, so it’s a good idea not to consume them. But if you do accidentally swallow one or 
two, I’m sure that’s not going to do any harm. The only real difference between cooking apples 
and eating apples is how sour and astringent they are. And that really comes down to personal 
preference. Most people find crab apples much too sour to eat raw. I actually don’t mind them 
because I quite like sour flavors. But crab apples are perfect for pies, chutneys, jams. And 
because they’re very high in pectin, you can add them to jams and jellies to help them set. Crab 
apples generally have fruits that are around 2 or 3 cm wide, though they can be much larger 
if they’re hybridized with cultivated apples. The leaves are oval with a toothed margin, and 
they’re around 6 to 10 cm long. From a distance, they could be mistaken for yellow cherry plums. 
They’re about the same size and similar colour. When you get up closer, you can see they’ve 
got the calyx on the bottom of the fruit. Acorns are often overlooked as a food 
source, probably because it takes a lot of effort to process them. But from a 
survival or self-sufficiency point of view, they’re a reliable source of healthy fats 
and proteins. Acorns are high in tannins, which makes them far too bitter to consume 
without processing, and they could cause an upset stomach. So, they need to be leeched in several 
changes of water to remove most of the tannins. I’ll make a video soon on the whole 
process from foraging to cooking with acorns. You want to collect your acorns 
when the shells are brown like this. And it’s best to wait until they’ve dropped 
from the tree and collect them from the floor rather than trying to take them off the 
tree beacuse they’ll probably be unripe still. So around September or early October, find a 
woodland that’s got some nice big mature oak trees in it and then check around the base for 
any acorns. So, as I said, you want a nice brown shell like this, not the green ones. And you also 
want to make sure they don’t have a hole in like that because that means that the acorn inside 
has been consumed by a weevil. So that’s a dud. So just check that they’ve got a nice smooth 
shell with no holes in. And you can also tell by the weight. Like a single acorn that’s good 
is roughly about the weight of a pound coin. Whereas the ones that have been eaten by a 
weevil are really light. There’s no weight to that at all. And another way to test if 
they’re duds is when you get home, drop them into a bowl of water and they should sink. Any 
that float are no good and you can discard them. As you can see, there’s absolute 
masses of these acorns here. Look, this one’s started to 
sprout. I’ll find a little clearing in the woodland and plant this one. If you crack the shell of one of the acorns, 
you’ll see there’s quite a substantial amount of meat in a single acorn. So, you can see why it’s 
a good source of food. Although it’s not a good idea to eat any amount of these raw, it’s okay 
to have a little nibble. That won’t do any harm. And you can see they’re really 
unpalatable raw. Very bitter. Some really nice sized ones here. And if you’re trying to live 
a more self-sufficient life, you could easily collect enough of these 
from a few mature oak trees in autumn and dry them and keep them for the rest of the 
year. If you want, you can make flour out of them for making pancakes. Or like in the more 
in-depth video that I’m going to make soon, I’ll show you how once you’ve 
leeched them with the tannins, you can crush them up and roast them, and then 
you can use them in a similar way to hazelnuts. This time of year really is amazing. 
There such an abundance of wild foods. Back in May, part one, of this foraging calendar 
series, we looked at spear-leaved orache and how you can forage its greens. And now you can also 
forage its seed pods. And these are available from September through to around November. So 
you can just eat these raw if you like. They’re quite nice and crunchy with a salty flavor. And 
you can also add them into soups as a thickener. So you’ll see there’s lots of clusters 
of these seed pods and they consist of two triangular bracts that enclose a single seed and you get absolutely masses of 
all over these plants in autumn. And spear-leaved orache is a very common 
plant all around coastlines and in estuaries. These are fairy ring champignons, also known as 
fairy ring mushrooms or sometimes scotch bonnet. These are a very common mushroom that can be 
found anytime from spring through to late autumn. I find that September is by far 
the best month for them in my area. These are a grassland species and you can often 
find them growing in rings or fairy rings. You can see there’s a dense ring of them here. Just be aware that these aren’t the only 
mushrooms that grow in rings. There are other similar looking mushrooms such as the fool’s 
funnel which is deadly poisonous. They also grow in rings. So you do need to be careful. So fairy 
ring champignons should be avoided by beginner foragers. However, once you’re comfortable with 
identifying this mushroom, they’re a really good one to know because they’re nice and tasty. 
They’ve got a slightly sweet nutty flavor and also they’re very, very common. In September, I 
see these growing in just about every grassland. And my favourite use for these is making 
mushroom pate. and they’re popping up everywhere now in September because we’ve had 
quite a lot of heavy rain recently. You might have to brush through the grass to find 
the best ones. That’s a perfect one there. The caps of fairy ring champignons are generally 
between 2 and 5 cm wide. When they’re younger, they’re convex like this and then they start 
to flatten out with age and they have a broad umbo in the center. They can vary 
between a yellowish ochre to tan brown colour and they’re usually a bit 
darker in the center around the umbo. In dry conditions, the caps dry out and become much paler. They have faint 
striations around the margin. The gills are initially white and then as they get 
older they become more of a pale yellow to ochre color. The gills are distant or they have spaces 
between them. And it’s very important to note that the gills are free or not attached to the 
stem. This is one of the main differences between this edible fairy ring champignon and the deadly 
fool’s funnel because the fool’s funnel has gills that are decurrent or run down the stem. So you 
want to make sure that they’re free of the stem. The stems are slim and quite tough and fibrous and they’re a lighter pale 
yellow to brown colour at the apex and they become darker towards the base and also there’s no ring or skirt on the stem. The flesh is white or sometimes slightly pale 
yellow on older specimens and it has a faint sort of sawdust smell. They’re at their best about 
this sort of stage before the caps have flattened out. I’d say fairy ring champignons are probably 
the mushroom that I eat the most of. They’ve got a long growing season and are one of the easiest 
mushrooms to find and also they’re really tasty. I visit this spot every September because I 
can almost guarantee that these mushrooms will be growing here. And you can see there’s 
loads of tiny ones here just pinning. So, there’s going to be a lot more growing here over 
the next few weeks. See, they’re absolutely tiny. All right, that should do me for some pate.

42 Comments

  3. @mattglyndwr8622

    Seen any liberty caps yet? I have failed twice so far in Wales on the hills. Maybe bit early or on the higher ground?

  4. @Eduardo-pc6gq

    These videos are great. Always learning more about our fantastic island and it’s natural fare and history. I’m a life long horticulturalist and find your identification notes and descriptions really well presented. With very good information in usage and cooking. And tbh on a few of your past videos learnt about plants growing wild in the UK I can forage and scoff I never knew where out there.
    Also they are just lovely to watch these videos and just enjoy the scenery. Well appreciate the time and effort that goes into making this compendium and catalogue of videos. Spot on stuff👍👍👍

  7. @susiea1419

    Do you ever plant any acorns to help our woodland? My husband plants about 10’a year. They grow really easily. 😊

  9. @graemedevine9651

    Thanks Lewis, your book is amazing, so much information really well presented, I recommend anyone watching foraging videos should get one, it's a lifesaver for what's coming.

  12. @Butterfly-i6e

    Thanks for the video Lewis ❤️ If you knew a pig farmer I bet they would barter for the acorns for their piggies. I’m all for bartering, swapping and giving. I look forward to your video using them 👍

  14. @notforwantoftrying1

    Last weekend I found some nice beefsteak mushrooms and also cauliflower mushrooms. Both of those were a first for me, I particularly enjoyed the beefsteak, tastes like a cross between mushroom and lemon.

  16. @larhumba4233

    When I first saw the yellow/orange crab apple tree I immediately thought Loquats! 😅 The leaves on the tree are quite similar, but ofcourse completely the wrong time of year. Do you ever find loquats while foraging in May? 🧡

  21. @Fortress333

    Sometimes, those wild apple trees have very small fruits, less than a centimeter across and red in color. Do you know what apple that could be? A true crab apple is said to have thorns, too. Where I live, in the Netherlands, crab apples are rare. At least with those large fruits on them. I think with modern farming practices, most suitable crab-apple places have been plowed under. The British Isles still seem to have large areas of extensive hedgerows, where wild apples could grow. Thank you for the video and I look forward to the acorn video. I manage a food forest and keep oak trees standing for the value to wildlife and also for the largely forgotten food they provide to even us humans. However, as you pointed out, they need quite a bit of treatment. That would probably be boiling in water, multiple times. Anyway, I'll wait for that video to come out.

  25. @christophersmith7714

    I've just seen you long awaited book is out so I have immediately ordered it. Can't wait to get it as you are my number one forager! Cheers

  29. @deangoddard821

    Awesome vid. Terrible knife matey. Mora or Opinel knives knock spots off of the rubbish over priced BG ones 👍

  31. @vaturis01

    This is peak September vibes—wandering through nature like a snack detective. Acorns and crab apples? You’re basically turning the forest into a gourmet grocery aisle. Love how you make foraging feel like a treasure hunt with snacks at the end. Thanks for sharing the edible gems and reminding us that wild food is both delicious and delightfully weird!😊

  32. @melissalambert7615

    Have one lone (and kind of sad looking) crab apple around the corner from me. On the city easement area. Certainly planted many years ago. Still fruits. Looking forward to the acorn video. Hi from Willamette Valley, Oregon.

  40. @dasja9966

    Never foraged for acorns because they need so much work to make them edible. It is a good food source though.
    Harvested a few boletus edulis and a lot of walnuts yesterday.
    Autumn is such an abundant season!❤

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