Foraging forumagers

Any ideas what’s eaten these?

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Squirrels. Those greedy bastards.

Squirrel prob. Something big just chomping through them. Dormouse chewed nuts have teeth marks going in rings around the hole. Woodmouse/vole chewed things have teeth marks going straight into, and all around the hole, with some differences between the two which I forget right now.

https://ptes.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Help_us_find_hazel_dormice_generic.pdf

Ah, good to hear. I don't feel bad about grabbing some now.

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Out on a bike ride?

Look at those old hedgerows, it's already a good year for myrobalans and damsons.
You'll know where to look from the fruit debris in the gutter.

Anyone know the difference between a damson and a Bullace?

Mate found about 8 trees a few minutes from his house and we went with the kids this past weekend and grabbed a load. Were sweet enough to eat off the tree.

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullace

Damsons normally thought of as more oval shaped. Above suggests it would normally be a bit early for either, but who knows this strange 'Autumn in August' Summer.
What I previously thought were damsons in previous years had a fuller deeper flavour than the bright fruitiness of other plums.

Strange about the late ripening. A lot of these were rotting on the tree. Delicious eaten fresh, damsons (in my limited experience) have always been a lot more bitter - more tannin. I read a decent article on the differences, will try to find it.

Lots of sloes growing along a local bridleway this morning, looking ripe!

Is this a quince? Possibly a japonica quince?

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Some of the best Sweet Chestnuts I've ever found blown down in the gales last night. Just about to be made into chestnut and butternut squash pilaf

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Great find

going out for wild garlic tomorrow. anyone had it yet?

Yep, picked a few bunches already. It’s overrunning my garden!

Went for a ride to Windsor earlier and spotted this just as I came into the loop home. Fairly fresh road kill by the look of it with little damage. 8 miles hooked under my fingers on the bars! Slightly indignant end, hanging in my shed by a pair of toeclip straps, but I won’t let it go to waste.

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^ Not that I eat meat,
but,
I thought pheasants were hung by their tail feathers? The game flavours will have developed enough when the tail feathers pull out

I thought it was personal preference, that's what my grandad told me anyway.

Not sure about hanging head up or down. When I’ve done it in the past, I’ve figured it’s less likely to leak if it’s head end up? I don’t like it too gamey anyway, so I prepared it tonight. Doesn’t get much fresher than this! Must have been a head hit because no broken bones at all.

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Always hung by the neck, as the current Home Secretary should be. I could have as many as I like for nowt around here. Despite having tried any number if recipes, I still can't stand the damned things. Fresh is least worst.

Pilaf or casseroled gets my vote. Roasting them is a lottery, I've found, because they're so lean.

Add some bacon and slow cook, then put in a pie.

Best preparation I’ve found is to bury them in a sack for a few days. Dig it up, throw it away and eat the sack.

I’ll probably wrap the breasts in bacon and either confit the legs and wings in chicken fat or cut the meat off for a pie. There’s no fat on this one at all, so it won’t roast well.

Or baste carefully over an 8 hour period of slow cooking whilst arranged carefully on a breezeblock, then eat the breezeblock.