Pig nuts

Have you ever dug for pig nuts? You perhaps can’t see them well in this photo, but in the cleared patch surrounded by broom there are masses of white flowers on very delicate leaves. Each of these has a tuber underground which once dug up is absolutely delicious.

You’ll know how passionate I am about wild, foraged and free food (see here for last April’s foraging challenge) – but pig nuts have two pretty major downsides as I see it. One, when you dig up the tuber you kill the plant. That’s it. Gone. And two, the amount of effort it takes to dig up the ‘nut’ on this hard and stony soil must surely outweigh the energy gained.

Pigs have a liking for them too, hence the name, but are perhaps better equipped for digging them up.

Conclusion? Survival foraging!