The forest wraps the coast of Christchurch’s peninsula, carpets of pine needles giving way to a bright shard of green from the ocean. Nestled in the golden needles, Dylan Parker finds his prize: a cluster of dusty-brown slippery jack mushrooms, barely visible at first glance, hollow-sounding when tapped – perfect for eating. He gives them a quick slap to release the spores, trims them of their dirt, and slots them into his basket, where the ingredients of dinner are slowly accumulating.
In New Zealand, where inflation and price increases have sent food prices sky-high, increasing numbers of people are turning to foraging to supplement the contents of their pantries. Communities map out fruit and nut trees, alert one another to upcoming windfalls, develop a working knowledge of edible weeds, and teach themselves to distinguish a tasty birch bolete mushroom from a poisonous lookalike.
