Food and Recipes
Camping just got comfier: Our top 2025 camping chair picks
Our BBC Countryfile Magazine experts tested the best camping chairs of 2025 to take on your next trip.
These are the foods your dog should avoid (and eat) this Christmas
At the Christmas table it's all too easy to give your dog a nibble of turkey or a pig in blanket... or several. But while it feels like a treat, many festive foods aren’t the best choice for dogs. A safer and far more festive way to include your four-legged friend is with a Christmas dinner made especially for dogs. Forthglade's recipes are made with natural ingredients and are hypoallergenic. The prices start as low as £1.75 per meal making them an afforadable way to include your dog in the festivities this year. Christmas Classics Variety Pack This variety pack
Camp in comfort: OLPRO’s Directors Chair combines style and strength
The OLPRO Directors Chair is durable, comfortable with great extra features
“Unbelievable”: huge animal longer than bus seen leaping from Irish waters
No one knows exactly why these enormous sea creatures breach.
It has a fruity flavour, helps insomnia and you can combine it with coconut to make a yummy ice lolly: The edible weed that thrives in the city and country
Find out more about this hardy plant – including how to identify it, how to make pineapple weed tea and other recipe ideas – with our forager's guide to pineapple weed.
What's new?
Strawberries AND soft cheese? Make your own summer sandwiches with this delicious recipe
These easy-to-make summer sandwiches are perfect for a family lunch in the garden or a picnic by the river.
April foraging: here's what you can find in the UK right now
Spring is finally here – and with it comes longer days, warmer temperatures and blooming flowers. It's a great month to be outside, not only for spotting wild things but for gathering them, too. Find out what to forage in the UK this month how to do it responsibly.
Hot cross buns: history of our favourite Easter bake – and the perfect recipe
Easter wouldn’t be the same without hot cross buns. Their history can be traced back to the Hertfordshire countryside, where an old mill still bakes buns to an ancient recipe. Learn all about the origins of the hot cross bun, why they are eaten at Easter and the best recipe to make your own.
These are five ways apple cider vinegar can improve your wellbeing – and the science that backs it up
Bring the beauty of the British countryside to your doorstep in 2025!
Baking
Zucchini, feta and broad bean quiche
Be the star baker at all your summer parties with this foolproof veg-filled recipe from celebrated Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood's new book, Celebrate
Spiced toffee apple cake
This autumn, why not make this Bonfire Night-inspired cake? A great twist on traditional toffee apples, enjoy with a cuppa, or warm with cream and extra toffee sauce – yummy!
How to make homemade dog treats
This dog treat recipe is quick and easy to make, and a safe, natural and healthy alternative for your pets.
Camping
Coleman Battery Guard 600L lantern review
Looking for a traditional camping lantern to illuminate your family trip? The Coleman Battery Guard 600L lantern's got you covered.
Best camping kitchen units in 2025: upgrade your al fresco menu
Store your camping food essentials, and cook up a storm at your campsite with a trusty camping kitchen unit
A quest for one of Britain's rarest birds in the Cairngorm mountains
Join naturalist and author James MacDonald Lockhart walking and camping deep in the Cairngorm Mountains in search of the dotterel, a bird that breeds on remote peaks – in episode 14, season 16 of the Countryfile Magazine Plodcast
Foraging
Black truffle guide: what they are, where to find them and recipe ideas
What is a black truffle, can you find them in the UK, when are they in season and how can you use them? Find out all this and more with our guide to this prized fungus
The perfect sloe gin recipe
Try making this delicious sloe gin recipe in the autumn months and enjoy a warming sup when the weather cools. It also makes the ideal gift for any gin lover.
Wood sorrel: how to identify, forage and use this zingy herb
This resilient wildflower has captivated us for centuries, sparking folktales and finding its way onto plates.
Seasonal recipes
Seasonal recipes from warming soups to foraged fodder.
Boxing Day recipes: how to use up your Christmas leftovers
Reduce your food waste over the festive period with our selection of easy but tasty recipes to use up your Christmas leftovers
Christmas recipes: Festive vegetables
Delectable dishes of carrots, parsnips and sprouts add colour, flavour and texture to make your Christmas feast sparkle. Claire Thomson presents six seasonal recipes
Elderberry wine
Try your hand at winemaking this autumn using one of the UK's most bountiful hedgerow fruits. This light but rich elderberry wine is perfect for the cooler months
Vegan
The perfect elderberry cordial recipe
This simple elderberry cordial recipe is the perfect way to use your foraged elderberries, says forager and chef Rachel Lambert
Mulled spiced cider
This delicious, festive spiced cider recipe is perfect for warming you up in autumn and winter – and if you have any left over, it’s wonderful as a poaching liquid for pears, says chef and food writer Gill Meller.
The perfect oat milk recipe
Fed up with the packaging and expense of plant-based milks? Make some yourself with this tried-and-tested recipe for homemade oat milk.
Vegetarian
Wild garlic pesto
Turn your foraged finds into a delicious, vibrant pesto to enjoy this spring. Here is our easy recipe for wild garlic pesto which can be added to pasta or soups.
Cherry gin
Gin fans will love this festive alternative to your classic G&T by chef and food writer Claire Thomson.
Crunchy ‘Biscotti’ biscuits
These sturdy biscotti by chef and food writer Claire Thomson can be dunked into a cup of tea or coffee, or better still, into a glass of sweet wine or fizz as they do in Italy.
