Food for Free: 50th Anniversary Edition

By Richard Mabey

Book Overview

This fully updated special edition of the classic complete guide to the edible species that grow around us includes a new foreword from the author and a plate section with identification guides for all major species.

Originally published in 1972, Richard Mabey's classic foraging guide has never been out of print since. Food for Free is a complete guide to help you safely identify edible species that grow around us, together with detailed field identification notes and recipes.

In this stunning 50th anniversary edition, Richard Mabey's updated text is accompanied by a wealth of practical information on identifying, collecting, cooking and preparing, as well as history and folklore. Informative illustrations of key species by expert botanical artists are included in a colour plate section. Beautifully written and produced in a new, readable format, Food for Free will inspire us to be more self-sufficient and make use of the natural resources around us to enhance our lives.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0008543100
• ISBN13: 9780008543105
• Release Date: April 2023
• Publisher: William Collins
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.3" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

An excellent little book

This little gem of a book should be in every backpackers back pocket. Concise, focused and descriptive you'll have no trouble identifying the plants and shellfish. There has been some comments about lack of information on animals to eat, this is probably because rabbits, pheasants and such are classed as game and will belong to the landowner. Whilst it's ok to pick a few plants, mushrooms and shellfish it will probably be frowned on if you start blasting away at the countryside or setting traps!

Connect with Nature

Fun and free ways of connecting with the local countryside - it worked for my kids like a dream: Me: "Let's go for a walk!" - Kids: "Groan..." Me: "Let's go and collect free things to eat!" Kids: "Yay!" - and of course I taught them never to eat stuff without checking with me first - so gradually they learned to recognise plants and know where to find them and to care if their favourite hedgerow was being ripped out - a great start to caring about the planet. And this book is small enough to take with you and comprehensive enough to be useful.