Foraging in Rhode island

[wanderingchef]

Hi yall, I'm new to foraging. I'm a young growing chef and there's some ingredients that I just cant afford, and I would like to find them in the wild to get some experience with them. so when I want to use them for the restaurant I can confidently order them with out the fear of not knowing how to use them and messing up my food cost. as well as I am beginning to start hiking any where I can and the idea of picking some ingredients on my hikes for dinner that night is something that I've been really wanting to do but I don't know where I can do this I know that most places don't allow foraging so here's my question.

where in RI can I legally forage, or at least somewhere where I can go pick a little without getting in trouble i'm not looking to clear out fields just for my own personal use.

what can I find around here that is plentiful and easy to identify surprisingly I have found ramps but not much else

can I find mushrooms this early (may) I have seen some on my hikes but nothing that I identified and nothing that there was enough that I would pick anyway

I understand that people don't like to give away there spots but I'm asking for a little help I'm one man and I'm not going to sell anything that I find I'm just looking for the experience of finding my own ingredients and getting some experience using this ingredient's so that I can purchase them from established farms or purveyors with total confidents

thank you all and I hope to get good feedback

[hunter63]

Hunter63 saying Hey and Welcome.
There is an intro section at
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...-Introductions
If you would like to stop by.

As to foraging in Rhode Island, I wouldn't have a clue....what exactly are you looking for?
Remember many plants are only in season for a short time.

Personally I use foraged asparagus, morels, wild onions, black berries, raspberry's straw berries.

Have tried several others, didn't can enough for them to work that hard at it.

[wanderingchef]

im looking for anything mainly mushrooms, ramps, any type of wild herb and some others such as sorrel. I more or less really trying to find locations that I can start with

[hunter63]

Sorry, can't help ya there.
Any clubs or organizations around there?

[wanderingchef]

yea im looking in to that but a lot of them go on weekends my job is very demanding and I cant go on the dates they have planed but im sure something will come up also don't have the money for some of the better ones lol that's why im doing this cause I don't have the 10-15 bucks a # for good mushrooms

[Rick]

Welcome home. We have a sister forum that lists just what you asked for. Here's a link:

http://www.wildcrafting.net/states.php

You'd be surprised how many folks WILL be happy to share their favorite haunts. The more that are into wild edibles the more that start to grow them in their gardens. Good luck and happy hunting.

[crashdive123]

yea im looking in to that but a lot of them go on weekends my job is very demanding and I cant go on the dates they have planed but im sure something will come up also don't have the money for some of the better ones lol that's why im doing this cause I don't have the 10-15 bucks a # for good mushrooms

If it's your restaurant and you set the prices - price accordingly.

[wanderingchef]

Not my point I would rather find something mess around with it then bring it in and know exactly what in going to do with it instead of getting in something not clean or trim it properly lose money in waste and then lose money in trial and error with ways of preparing it I shouldnt have to make my customers pay for my mistakes I want to charge good prices and that means not over charging I would like to be as low as possible so people order more and in return have high check averages I would rather have happy customers than fat pockets

[Rick]

I would think that a chef knows he/she has to invest in experimentation if they want to try new items. That's done behind the scenes and not something the customers ever see until it's perfected. I didn't see anything in Crash's post that suggested making the customers pay for mistakes. Nor did he say anything about over charging. However, if you intend to harvest on your own then your time in has to be worth something for food that is outside the norm. You might consider edible garden flowers as a start. Nasturtiums have edible flowers and leaves that have a pepper flavor. Growing them is incredibly easy. The flowers are a great addition to any salad and the round leaves are perfect for hamburgers.

[hunter63]

Might help if you gave an idea of what you are looking for?....Specifically? ....For what dishes?
That information will help decide what terrain, soil type, time of year and amount of trouble to gather, harvest, pick......

[RandyRhoads]

I wouldn't be serving the public mushrooms at a restaurant if I was just learning. Hopefully you plan on waiting quite a while...

[wanderingchef]

again you people don't get it. im asking for just any knowledge about stuff that grows locally in RI if you read the other post, I specifically said.
this is for my own personal use and my own personal experimentation. I would never go and pick something especially a mushroom and then serve it to someone, seeing as I just started to be interested and don't know what I am doing. I also said that I would purchase the said item from a established farm, because the RI health department only allows for restaurants to by from people who are food safety certified to sell food.
I also said I would like to find something like morels (as I specified in an earlier post for the one that said I didn't mention anything specific ) that can be anywhere from 20-30 bucks a # just for me to play with I live on my own I work to much to have a second job and I just don't have the money to buy that stuff. all I want is to find some high-end ingredients that I went out and found my self to help me grow as a cook I think its a good skill to have. I have already had luck in the past couple days with books and some local spots I found myself so thank you all you people who would rather be negative and pick at stupid BS instead of sharing what knowledge you have.
unless you have valid information that is positive and helpful why would you bother posting anything. the world today is very ignorant.

[wanderingchef]

also Nasturtiums come in every box of mixed micro greens I know them very well I would like to find something that is its own element not just garnishes. and yes I know they have a good mustard flavor. I want mushrooms mostly or berrys

[crashdive123]

I sure hope you treat your customers with a little more respect than you do the people of this forum. Good luck with that.

[Rick]

If a group of people "don't get it" maybe you aren't explaining yourself very well. Sorry I tried to help.

[gryffynklm]

Pack your ego no need to get cranky. Folks trying to help and offer cautions and what little info or suggestions they may have with the best intentions. Remember Most of us do not live in RI.

[hunter63]

Just remember to save a piece of what ever you pick and eat....to show the EMT what you poisoned your self with......


Have a nice day.

[RandyRhoads]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x1iV24hL8Rk


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