Foraging Books & Reference Guides
My favorite foraging / wild weeds / wild cooking reference guides & inspiration:
~ A Foragers Treasury, Johanna Knox. A comprehensive guide to many edible plants found in NZ, new edition with photos. Start with this book. Lots of recipes to play around with too.
~ The Wondrous world of weeds, Pat Collins. An Australian guide to weeds, I’ve found almost all of of these in NZ and love the big clear photos, and the fact it includes some non edibles for reference. Clear descriptions, ID, medicinal uses and interesting info.
~ Simply Living, Gwen Skinner. Out of print but a gem covering wild plants, mushrooms, seaweeds, flowers, berries, lichens & ferns found in NZ with simple recipes to follow.
~ A Field Guide to Native Edible Plants of New Zealand, Andrew Crowe. The definitive pocketguide to native edibles. A must if you want to forage in the bush, including photos of toxic lookalikes.
~ Field guide to New Zealand’s Native Trees, John Dawson & Rob Lucas. Ok so not really about foraging, but it’s important to accurately identify the non edibles just as much as the edibles. This book is fantastic, I’ve learnt to ID so many native trees from taking this book on every bushwalk.
~ The Meaning of Trees, Robert Vennell. Such a beautiful book, one of my favorites, covering NZ natives, some edible and some not. Totally worth reading.
~ Julia’s Guide to Edible Weeds & Wild Green Smoothies, Julia Sich. A fellow forager based in Tauranga has written this lovely guide to many many wild edible weeds.
~ Edible Wild Plants, Wild foods from dirt to plate, John Kallas. This guy is an amazing forager & teacher, this book is incredibly comprehensive, describing plants at every stage of their growth cycle with comprehensive description of flavors and how to prepare properly. Whilst it’s from the U.S., all wild weeds covered are found easily in NZ.
~ Forage, Wild Plants to Gather, Cook & Eat, Liz Knight. A new book for me, beautifully illustrated with interesting info on both wild wees but also many common trees such as Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Spruce, Beech etc.
~ The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, Exploring the Exotic Gastronomy of Local Terroir, Pascal Baudar. Swooooon, this book is AMAZING, gorgeous photos, delicious recipes, sensational inspiration. While it definitely focuses on plants found in the US and not NZ, there is so much inspiration in this book, and room for exploration. Recipes such as a wild fermented hot sauce, or forest floor brew. A must for any foodie or wildfood chef.
~ The Wildcrafting Brewer, Creating unique drinks and boozy concoctions from natures ingredients, Pascal Baudar. If you want to learn about wild brewing, using foraged ingredients and wild yeasts, this is your go to book. Fascinating, inspiring, giving lots of confidence to brew your own.
~ Foraging & Feasting, A field guide and wild food cookbook, Dina Falconi. I love the incredibly detailed botanical illustrations in this book, showing plants at many stages of their growth cycle. The 2nd half of the book is dedicated to recipes, empowering you to prepare anything from salads, dressings, relishes, soups, desserts, syrups etc. Most of the wild plants can be found in NZ.
~ Incredible Wild Edibles, Samual Thayer. Whilst many plants are not found in NZ, this is a comprehensive guide with very detailed info on each plant.