Let me fess up; I haven’t actually tried out this excellent book — subtitled Wild Maritime Food to Preserve, Cook and Eat — yet, because I won’t be anywhere near the sea until August.
But I’ve been wanting for ages to be able to identify and cook with seaweed, and this is a really helpful guide to identifying the umpteen varieties, harvesting them and cooking with them. It’s not just seaweed, though is there anything more fashionable than dulse? There are sections on the plants and fruits that flourish near the sea, including Alexanders and sea buckthorn.
The lovely painted illustrations by Sofia Iva and photographs make identification easy. This is in fact a guide to responsible foraging. There’s also a section on shellfish… apparently limpets are tasty. When I next go to the beach it will be with purpose, a bucket and a copy of The Coastal Forager.
