Now Forage

Muscadine: Large, bronze or purple berries; thick skin. Ripe when fully coloured and falls freely from the vine with a shake. Very sweet and musky; thick skin usually discarded. Harvest by shaking clusters over a bucket.

Sassafras: Dark blue-black berries on red stalks. Edible but rarely used. The bark and roots (root beer flavour) contain safrole — regulated. Young leaves can be dried and ground as filé powder for gumbo.

Wild garlic: Star-shaped white flowers and glossy, oval leaves appearing in March–May. Harvest leaves before the flowers open for best flavour. Strong garlic smell confirms identification — do not confuse with toxic lily of the valley (no garlic smell). Bulbs, leaves, and flowers all edible.