UKC

Sweet chestnuts, blanched and peeled and ready for the freezer. Hard to not eat them. I’ve also got over a litre of quince juice ready to make jelly, foraged from someone’s front garden. (That sounds a bit rude).

Nice one. A couple of weeks ago I visited 2 sweet chestnut trees that used to be reliable, but I hadn't been to for nearly 10 years. Both of them were dead. The various other trees around were fine, very odd.

At the moment I'm attempting to make raw rosehip syrup and crab apple cider vinegar, both for the 1st time. 

We got a huge haul of trumpet chanterelles a couple of weeks ago - I've never seen so many in the one place, there was about 30 square metres carpeted in them and we filled four bags, barely making a dent in it. Also found a few chanterelles and hedgehog mushrooms.

It's getting a bit late in the season for that, though, sogginess is increasing and frosts will destroy a lot soon.

My quince jelly. 
Pity about your trees. I find that my sweet chestnuts need a good spring otherwise they don’t produce big enough nuts. One autumn I foraged kilos of them, making falafel type things. 
In between watching Wigan Latics get beat by Chorley (where I was born), I am topping and tailing rose hips ready for wine. 

Wow!  Rubbish for mushrooms where I live. 

I've collected some Oak Galls and I'm going to have a go at making oak gall ink, if I can find the wire wool scrubbers.

I made quince vodka last year but think I'll go back to jelly this time. Japanese quince but they stiil do the trick.

It's been an amazing Autumn here for fungi here in France.  Loads of cepes, girolles and other chanterelles.  The great diversity of species has allowed us to try a few new ones, including clitocybe odora (great taste of aniseed) and tricholoma portentosum (superb in stews and casseroles as keeps it's firm texture even when cooked for ages).  Black trumpets are just getting going and while the lockdown here makes it difficult to access my "drive-to" spots, there are some decent crops within walking distance of our house so we can stock up and dry a few jars full for winter.

That's a lot of juice from a front garden, well done.

tried that one year without a great deal of success, ink was very pale.

This year made some, made might be an overstatement (collected), Shaggy Ink Cap, though we did put a bit of mace in it to "fix" the ink, very dark and smooth.

I also ate some of the mushrooms, very mushroomy, but a bit slimy in texture

One of the best tasting mushrooms but they need to be eaten right after picking ( as you probably know)

People round here rave about  bluestaliks. I can't find out if they are the same as blewitts ( since no-one will divulge their favourite bluestalks location)

Did you try the rosehip harissa? I've just finished my jar, kept well in the fridge. I had it as a relish with meat, as a sandwich spread on toasted cheese and ham salad. The best thing was a veg tagine type thing with cauliflower with nuts, dates and dried apricots. 

Just made a spicy crab apple and sultana chutney which is so tasty I had to force myself to stop eating it out the pot and put it in jars! 

Cant remember what it is, but like so many trees, sweet chestnut has a fungal disease that's working it's way through the population, like ash dieback

I think its bleeding canker in horse chestnut I'm thinking of, but google says there are plenty of sweet chestnut nasties

Rosehip Harissa: not yet.  I have 8.5 pounds of frozen hips though but need most of these for wine.

I have however found some crab apples and will be trying your method.  I’ve also foraged some mega apples, will post a photo later.

Oh, I’ve also ‘foraged’ more quince. Getting quite into my sub urban foraging.  

I found a new spot for hedgehog mushrooms today. Delicious and unmistakable.