Atomic Shrimp - Tag - Hedgerows2023-02-01T12:10:35+00:00urn:md5:c0b98cd55ab1d3c468ecdbd19e8bc1dbDotclearRosebay Willowherburn:md5:0b376e5b6d0b195200ae1c94f7009ec02016-07-26T20:18:00+00:002016-07-27T20:43:25+00:00MikeForagingHedgerowsSummerVideo<figure style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;"><img alt="rosebaythumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosebaythumb.jpg" />
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<p>Rosebay Willowherb is a common plant of roadsides and riverbanks which has edible roots, stems and flowers.</p> <h3 class="clearleft">What Is Rosebay Willowherb?</h3>
<p>Chamerion angustifolium - also known as 'fireweed' and 'bombweed' on account of its tendency to appear on disturbed or scorched ground - this is a common plant, often seen in great patches along roadsides, path edges, river banks and wood edges.</p>
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<p>It grows up to about two metres tall, producing a spike of pink flowers that open progressively over time - starting at the bottom end,</p>
<p>The leaves are long and slender and their arrangement on the stem is similar to that of some willow trees - which is where the plant get the 'willowherb' part of its name.</p>
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<p>The individual flowers have four petals surrounding a protruding and intricate arrangement of stamens and stigma.</p>
<p>The flowers are edible - I nibbled one and it was mildly sweet and slighty fruity to taste.</p>
<p>They can be infused in hot water to make tea, and are sometimes made into jelly by steeping in water, straining, then boiling the resulting decoction with sugar and pectin.</p>
<p>The plant produces thick creeping roots which can be cooked and eaten.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
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<p>It's the stems that probably of most immediate interest to the casual forager. They contain a moist, slightly stringy pith that can be scraped out and eaten raw.</p>
<p>The pith is distinctly sweet and sticky. I have heard it described as tasting like melon, but I think that's probably a little generous - there's a faint cucumber-like taste - not at all unpleasant.</p>
<p>Each stem only produces a fairly small amount of the sweet pith, so it would be quite an undertaking to make a proper meal of this plant, but it's an interestng wayside nibble and even on a hot and sunny day, the juicy pith is quite refreshing.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
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<p>The flowers are followed by long, slender seed pods which eventually split open like bananas and release hundreds of tiny seeds embedded in clouds of wispy fluff - this can be gathered and used as tinder to assist in the lighting of fires.</p>
<p class="clearleft">I found and ate this plant whilst on a foraging walk along the Meon Valley Trail - along with a number of other interesting wild edibles - the video below details some of the things we found:</p>
<p class="clearleft"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="287" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AxqrZbOUO-o" width="510"></iframe> </p>Sliced Tree Bowlurn:md5:b63d889a76d118a97193d09d6fde7af02016-04-17T15:42:00+00:002016-04-21T20:25:34+00:00MikeCraftHedgerowsProjectsWoodworking<figure class="clearleft" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;"><img alt="treeslicebowlthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/treeslicebowlthumb.jpg" />
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<p>This is a project based on a woodworking technique that I discovered (or maybe invented!) completely by accident.</p>
<p>It's a wooden bowl made from slices of tree trunk - the clever part is that nature provides the curvature...</p>
<p> </p> <p class="clearleft"> </p>
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<p>It started with some coppiced hazel sticks - near where I live, the local council had cut down a mixed hardwood hedgerow - including some hazel coppice yielding very straight sticks in a variety of diameters from about 5cm to 15cm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'm fairly sure these poles will either just be left to rot (which isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's good for wildlife), or they will be chipped and hauled off for disposal.</p>
<p>I grabbed a small selection of them for some small-scale woodworking projects.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
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<p>The wood is still 'green' (full of natural moisture) so can't be used for ordinary woodworking purposes, but it is possible to turn items on the lathe from green, and I intended to do this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In order to square off the base of one of the pieces I had already cut, I had to slice a very thin piece off the end.</p>
<p>The resulting piece was very lovely - translucent in its wet state and it was possible to see the rings and medullary rays through the wood when it was held up to the light.</p>
<p>Because it was a curiosity, I brought it indoors and set it flat on a table. The next day, a surprising change had taken place.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
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<p>The piece had acquired a curious cupped shape - concave on the upper side that had been exposed to the air, convex on the underside that had been flat against the table.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I expected this effect to even itself out (and the piece to return to a flat disc when fully dried on both sides), but it didn't.</p>
<p>The disc, once completely dry (which only took a week, as it was so thin) retained its cupped shape. Immediately, ideas started forming in my head.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
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<p>I cut another 25 or so thin slices of green hazel log. To accentuate the cupping, I lightly sponged one side of each, and laid them, wet side down, on a sheet of plastic.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I left them there for a week - and sure enough, they all did the same thing as the original slice - they curled up at the edges, each forming a tiny bowl.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
<h3>Why Did The Wood Curl Up?</h3>
<p>Wood is composed of longitudinal fibres (that is, running up and down parallel with the axis of the trunk)</p>
<p>These shrink across their thickness (but not their length) when they dry out - and expand when they get wet - as a result, a piece of wood will swell up in directions perpendicular to the grain when it gets wet.</p>
<p>This wood was already wet with the natural moisture that exists in fresh green wood. Placing the pieces flat on the table means that the exposed upper side could dry out and shrink faster than the underside, where moisture was trapped and prevented from leaving.</p>
<p>So the top side of the discs shrank, pulling up the edges - it is quite surprising that this didn't result in the formation of cracks, but it didn't.</p>
<figure style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;"><img alt="treeslicebowl6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/treeslicebowl6.jpg" />
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<p>Of course, a collection of tiny bowls is still not a lot of use like that, however, I had an idea, but first, they would need to be tidied up a little.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
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<p>I carefully sanded the concave side of each one using an 80 grit flap wheel sanding accessory, mounted in an electric drill. This is a coarser sanding grit than I would have liked, but the finest I could find as a flap wheel, so it would have to do. I just took it gently, and the finish still came out nice and smooth,</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
<figure style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;"><img alt="treeslicebowl8.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/treeslicebowl8.jpg" />
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<p>The convex side of the pieces was easier - I sanded this smooth against a drill-mounted sanding disc.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The gloves were a worthwhile precaution, by the way - I thought I wouldn't need them, but looking at the condition of the leather after I had finished sanding all of the wooden discs on both sides, I reckon I would have lost a fair bit of skin and a couple of fingernails if I had not worn the gloves.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
<figure style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;"><img alt="treeslicebowl9.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/treeslicebowl9.jpg" />
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<p>Now it was time to start assembling my plan. I used a hot melt glue gun to stick the discs together in an overlapping pattern.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The individual small curvature of each piece very quickly compounds to form a bowl-like assembly.</p>
<p>It all went together very nicely, although the end result is not exactly regular - there are a few gaps and wrong overlaps, but still the effect works.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>
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<p>As a proof of concept, I am actually quite thrilled and excited by this - and I still have a number of the hazel logs left, so I have aple opportunity to try again - in fact, this is an incredibly economical method of making an object - it only consumed about 25cm of the hazel pole, but has made a bowl that is more than 30cm in diameter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think with a little more care in construction, it would make a good fruit bowl or serving basket for bread - despite being thin and light, it feels quite strong.</p>
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<h3>Video</h3>
<p>Here's a video showing a little more detail of the methods of construction of this experimental bowl:</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="287" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8yWq38VwmrU" width="510"></iframe></p>Greengagesurn:md5:1f3d329d008d1fcdf68d0e28b91c35dd2015-08-19T22:39:00+00:002015-08-19T23:09:18+00:00MikeFoodForagingHedgerowsSummer<p><img alt="greengages5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/g/greengages5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="greengages5.jpg, Aug 2015" />A bit of urban foraging right outside my workplace - I found a greengage tree.</p> <h2 class="clearleft">What Are Greengages?</h2>
<p><img alt="greengages1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/g/greengages1.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="greengages1.jpg, Aug 2015" /></p>
<p>Greengages are a type of plum - <em>Prunus domestica</em> - they differ from many other plum varieties and cultivars in that they remain green when ripe.</p>
<p>This attribute actually almost made me overlook them - at first glance, they're barely visible against all the green foliage.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="greengages3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/g/greengages3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="greengages3.jpg, Aug 2015" />There is one really easy way to be sure we're looking at greengages and not just unripe plums though - take a look on the ground. They're falling off the tree even though they are green - and an experimental squeeze with a shoe reveals them to be soft and squashy, so they are ripe.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Picking Greengages</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="greengages2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/g/greengages2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="greengages2.jpg, Aug 2015" />Picking greengages requires a little bit of patience. The fruits on this tree comprised a mixture of hard, unripe specimens and soft, juicy ones.</p>
<p>It's not worth picking the unripe ones, so it was necesary to test the fruits by pulling each one very gently - if they're ripe, they come away easily.</p>
<p>Another possibility would be to spread a soft cloth under the tree and just shake the branches to dislodge the ripe greengages and leave the rest on the tree for later.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Tasting Greengages</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="greengages4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/g/greengages4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="greengages4.jpg, Aug 2015" />Greengages are widely considered to be amongst the finest of plums and they certainly do have a distinct aroma and flavour.</p>
<p>In this picture, they are still not at the peak of ripeness, so this one was still a little astringent, but once they are ripened, they turn almost transparent and the flavour is quite delightful - aromatic, sweet and honey-like </p>
<p>They are best enjoyed as a dessert fruit eaten fresh - both because of their unique and delicate flavour, but also because the beautiful colour turns a sort of murky yellow if they are cooked into jam, which is a shame.</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="wikinote noteimportant">
<p class="note-title"><strong>Important</strong></p>
<p>Urban Foraging does call for a slightly different approach from the norm - the forager must consider a few extra questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Might there have been contamination by pesticide sprays, vehicle exhaust or industrial chemicals?</li>
<li>Is it even permissible to be picking these, here?</li>
<li>Can I do this without causing damage to anything (including damaging the aesthetics of display)?</li>
</ul>
<p>Talking to the park keeper or landscaping staff might help to resolve these questions - I've tried this a number of times and have thus far always received a positive and helpful response - showing a genuine interest in the plants seems to be generally quite a good way to get on friendly terms with the folks who look after them.</p>
</div>
<p> </p>Chequers - Wild Service Treeurn:md5:de04e7e75c10dd31439fe001bfb3b7ea2014-09-28T23:57:00+00:002016-07-02T23:08:42+00:00MikeAutumnBerriesFoodForagingHedgerows<p><img alt="chequersthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequersthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="chequersthumb.jpg, Jan 2015" />A few weeks ago, I found a Wild Service tree alongside a footpath near my home, fruiting very prolifically.</p>
<p>I returned at the end of September to collect some of the fruit.</p> <h2 class="clearleft"><img alt="chequers1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers1.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="chequers1.jpg, Jan 2015" /></h2>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>About The Wild Service Tree</h2>
<p>The Chequers tree is <i>Sorbus torminalis</i> - a relative of Rowan and Whitebeam.</p>
<p>In spring, it bears clusters of creamy white flowers reminiscent of hawthorn - these are followed by small, russet, berry-like fruits shaped like squat pears, up to about 1.5cm in length.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="chequers2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers2.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="chequers2.jpg, Jan 2015" /></p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="chequers3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="chequers3.jpg, Jan 2015" />The lobed leaves are superficially maple-like, but not especially regular or symmetrical - variations in the symmetry, the degree to which the lobes are pronounced, and their arrangement, can often all be observed on the same tree</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="chequers5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="chequers5.jpg, Jan 2015" />I picked about half a basket of the fruits - cutting off whole bunches of them along with their stalks (tearing the stalk away from the fruits might cause them to spoil quickly).</p>
<p>I also found some excellent sweet chestnuts.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Why Chequers?</h3>
<p>The exact reason for the name 'Chequers' seems to be lost to history - it may be something to do with the mottled, speckled appearance of the fruit - (which is especially noticeable when it is ripe - see below).</p>
<p><img alt="chequers4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="chequers4.jpg, Jan 2015" />This does look reminiscent of the squares of a formal chequered (checkered) pattern - the effect is somehow more noticeable in real life than this photo does justice - you may just have to trust me on this.</p>
<p>Or it may be that the name is related to the pattern of the bark on older trees, which can sometimes be gridlike and rectilinear.</p>
<p>Other theories exist that require two or more connections, perhaps tenuous, to heraldry, the Romans, beer - we just don't really know.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">A Closer Look</h3>
<p><img alt="chequers6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers6.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="chequers6.jpg, Jan 2015" />Slicing through one of the ripe fruits reveals it to be not a berry, but a pome (the same form of fruit as apples or pears)</p>
<p>At this stage of development, the fruit it crisp and a little juicy, but quite sour and astringent.</p>
<p>This is the reason that these fruits have fallen out of popularity - because, like medlars, they need to be 'bletted' before they can be eaten.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Bletting</h3>
<p><img alt="chequers7.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="chequers7.jpg, Jan 2015" />Bletting is often (and incorrectly, in my view) described as 'allowing the fruit to rot'.</p>
<p>Actually, it's really just waiting until the fruit is fully ripe - in the case of Chequers (and medlars), this ripening is accompanied by a marked change in colour, texture and firmness, but it really is only the same process as ripening.</p>
<p>In this picture, from left to right, we see an under-ripe fruit, one that is ripening, and a fully ripe (bletted) specimen.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Ripe Fruit - And Eating Them Raw</h3>
<p><img alt="chequers8.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="chequers8.jpg, Jan 2015" />Once it's ripe, the flesh of the Chequers fruit is translucent, golden-brown and soft - to the extent that the skin bursts when cut.</p>
<p>The flavour when eaten raw in this state is quite remarkable - fruity, delicious and moist - like a blend of apples, pears and with a distinct dried-fruit flavour like raisins or dates.</p>
<p>The texture is soft, but with a slight crunchy granularity, like a ripe pear. There is a hard core containing the seeds, which are not edible.</p>
<p class="clearleft">In days gone by, before the common availability of highly sweetened foods, I can well imagine these being a welcome autumn treat - they ripen a few at a time, so a bowl of them picked and left in a cool place might provide a steady supply of ripening fruit for a couple of weeks or more.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="chequers9.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers9.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="chequers9.jpg, Jan 2015" />My intention is to make them into a preserve, so I trimmed off any damaged or shriveled fruit and spread the intact ones in a shallow layer on paper in a mesh tray.</p>
<p>I will leave this covered with another sheet of paper in a cool place until a good number of them are properly ripe, then I will boil and strain them, then make a sweetened paste or jelly out of them.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">One Week Later...</h3>
<p>In the week after picking, about half of the fruits achieved the dark, fully-ripened state and all of the others were at the golden, slightly soft stage. I thought this would be the right time to make something with them.</p>
<p>I was wrong about that, but something interesting occurred to me while I was de-stalking the fruits into my big saucepan: Half of them were dark brown in colour, the other half were bright golden.</p>
<p>Half dark, half light... could this be the origin of the 'chequers' name?</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="chequers10.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/chequers10.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="chequers10.jpg, Jan 2015" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Attempting To Cook Chequers</h3>
<p>This is where it all went wrong. I cooked the mixed ripe and bletted chequers fruits in a little water for 20 minutes, then I mashed them and forced the pulp through a sieve. My intention was to make a thick, jelly-like paste that could be sliced and served with cheese - like Spanish Dulce de Membrillo.</p>
<p>I got about 600g of fruit pulp, into which I mixed 400g of white sugar and put in a pan to boil, but two things weren't right: the mixture kept burning on the bottom of the pan (and there didn't seem to be any way to prevent this), but worse, the mixture was unbelievably bitter and astringent.</p>
<p>The bitterness was down to the mid-ripe fruits. I just shouldn't have used them in this state. The burning... well, not sure how to fix that - maybe I should have spread the mixture out and baked it dry like fruit leather.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Next Time</h3>
<p>I'll pick these again, but I've learned a lesson that I think will make them more palatable in future - wait until they're fully bletted before using them!</p>
<p>The fact that they ripen progressively, a few at a time from each bunch might have posed a problem in the past, but not today - what I will do next time is to let them ripen in the tray, then every couple of days, pick out the properly ripe specimens and drop them into a box or bag in the freezer - then I'll be able to cook them all together in one go, in their properly ripe state. Roll on Autumn 2015...</p>Bullacesurn:md5:10b7d6e2cc80c28e9105e53f28df4f872014-09-14T21:46:00+00:002015-03-24T21:30:51+00:00MikeAutumnBerriesForagingHedgerows<p><img alt="bullacethumb.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullacethumb.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullacethumb.JPG, Aug 2009" />Bullaces are a variety of plum that produces small, round fruits, usually with a dark blue-purple skin and greenish flesh.</p> <p class="clearleft">August 2009 - I found a bullace tree on the edge of woodland near my home.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace1.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="bullace1.JPG, Aug 2009" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">What Are Bullaces?</h3>
<p><i>Prunus domestica var. insititia</i> - a variety of plum that produces small, round fruits, usually with a dark blue-purple skin and greenish flesh.</p>
<p>There is much confusion and debate over the distinction, if any, between bullaces and damsons (another variety of plum) - as they share many characteristics - particularly the culinary properties of the small, astringent, aromatic fruit.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace2.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace2.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace2.JPG, Aug 2009" />The tree resembles an ordinary plum tree in almost every respect. it sometimes bears a few thorns, though not as many as <a href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2014/09/14/st/content/sloes" target="_blank">Blackthorn</a> (sloe) - to which it is obviously related.</p>
<p>It's an attractive-looking fruit - two to three centimetres in diameter and <i>fiercely,</i> proudly purple.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace3.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace3.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace3.JPG, Aug 2009" />I only found the one tree and so I picked just a couple of handfuls of bullaces - but that's more than I need for what I have in mind...</p>
<p>They can be used to make a jam with excellent depth of flavour and colour, but I'm going to preserve them in brandy syrup - a bit like the method for sloe gin, except this will be an ingredient and dessert condiment, rather than a drink.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace4.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace4.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace4.JPG, Aug 2009" />A lot of my books say they're not ripe until September - but these were almost ready to fall off the tree.</p>
<p>I began by washing the fruits, then slicing them right to the stone, around their equators.</p>
<p>The flesh clings quite tightly to the stone, but that doesn't matter as I will be using the whole thing.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace5.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace5.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace5.JPG, Aug 2009" />Next, I packed them into a jar - weighing as I went</p>
<p>My jar contains 250g of fresh bullaces - to which I added 100g of brown sugar.</p>
<p>Later on, when all of the sugar has dissolved and some of the juices have been drawn out, I will taste it and I may add more sugar if I think it needs some.</p>
<p>(And if I think it will dissolve)</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace6.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace6.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace6.JPG, Aug 2009" />Then I topped it off with some good brandy.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how much - but it was just enough to immerse all of the fruit.</p>
<p>I put on the lid and gave it a good shake to start the sugar dissolving. Over the coming days and weeks, I'll give it an occasional shake to dissolve any remaining sugar and to agitate some of juices and flavours out of the fruit.</p>
<p>When it's ready (probably near the end of the year), I'll be using it to make grown-up versions of some favourite desserts such as sundaes and trifles.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">A Week Later</h3>
<p><img alt="bullace7.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace7.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace7.JPG, Aug 2009" />A week later and the sugar has all dissolved - some of the colour has come out of the skins into the liquor.</p>
<p>I tasted a little of the syrup - I think it's sweet enough, so all that remains is to invert the jar once a week to agitate the contents - for at least the next couple of months...</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Bullace Syrup</h3>
<p>I didn't find enough fruit to make jam, so I'm making these into a syrup for my ingredient cupboard.</p>
<p>Later on, I'm hoping to use it for a variety of dessert recipes - ice cream sundaes, trifles, pancakes and more - I can hardly wait!</p>
<h3>Update</h3>
<p>December 2009 - I used some of the bullace brandy to transform my <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2009/12/05/Chocolate-Beetroot-Muffins">chocolate and beetroot muffins</a> into a rather special little dessert.</p>
<p>September 2014 - Out on a circular walk not far from my home, I again found bullaces in a hedgerow. I decided to try to make Bullace Jelly.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace2_1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace2_1.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="bullace2_1.jpg, Sep 2014" /></p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace2_3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace2_3.jpg" style="line-height: 1.6em; float: left; margin: 0px 1em 1em 0px;" title="bullace2_3.jpg, Sep 2014" /></p>
<p>I picked about a kilo of bullaces, which I sorted, washed and placed in a saucepan over a gentle heat.</p>
<p>I added just a little water to help the start of the cooking process - just so the fruit wouldn't burn on the bottom of the pan.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace2_4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace2_4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace2_4.jpg, Sep 2014" />After about 10 minutes of cooking, the fruit was becoming soft enough to be crushed and mashed (I used a potato masher for this).</p>
<p>A further 10 minutes and it was nearly all separated from the stones.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace2_5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace2_5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace2_5.jpg, Sep 2014" />I poured the cooked pulp into a sieve and forced it through with a spoon - this was quite hard work, as the mixture was very thick and not juicy at all.</p>
<p>I ended up with 450g of thick, dark purple sieved pulp (I weighed the empty bowl first, then subtracted it from the final weight).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace2_6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace2_6.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace2_6.jpg, Sep 2014" />I put the pulp back in a clean pan and added 375g of white sugar. Interestingly, even before this was heated, it changed the consistency from a thick, opaque pulp, into a dark, semitransparent syrupy liquid.</p>
<p>I boiled this for just a few minutes. The low initial moisture content meant that it reached setting point very quickly indeed - I only just had enough time to sterilise jars to put it in.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="bullace2_7.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace2_7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace2_7.jpg, Sep 2014" />I ended up with one large and two small jars of very dark purple jelly, plus a little bit left over in a small bowl.</p>
<p>The taste at this point, although sweet, is also quite astringent. I'm not sure if this will mellow in storage - if it does, this will make a nice accompaniment to cheese or roast meats.</p>
<p>If it stays sour/bitter, it will probably only be useful as a roasting glaze, or as a minor ingredient in sauces.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Bullace vs Sloe</h3>
<p><img alt="bullace2_2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/bullace2_2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="bullace2_2.jpg, Sep 2014" />The bullaces I found this year are small - but still distinct from sloes in size (see below for comparison - sloes on the right, bullaces on the left).</p>
<p>There are other distinguishing characteristics - the tree/bush on which they grew is more open and willowy, less thorny, and has larger leaves than blackthorn.</p>
<p>I tasted one of the bullaces raw though, and it was face-puckeringly sour/bitter - just like a sloe.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Wild Cherriesurn:md5:7513a4528ffc70d35f1814861b4c7daa2013-07-14T20:44:00+00:002016-07-02T23:09:23+00:00MikeBerriesFoodForagingHedgerowsSummer<p><img alt="wildcherrythumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherrythumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherrythumb.jpg, Jul 2013" />July 2013 - Wild cherry is quite a common woodland tree, but frequently overlooked - let's take a closer look.</p> <h3 class="clearleft">What Are Wild Cherries</h3>
<p><i><img alt="wildcherry2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherry2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherry2.jpg, Jul 2013" />Prunus avium</i> - Wild cherry is a medium-sized tree with a rounded crowm - when grown in the open - as in this photo - these wild cherry trees are planted in a park - it takes on a sturdy spreading habit - when found in its more usual woodland habitat, it is more often slender with long, reaching, whippy branches.</p>
<p>The leaves are oval with toothed margins and in early spring, the tree is covered with abundant blooms - white to very pale pink and slightly fragrant.</p>
<h3>A Closer Look</h3>
<p>The fruits, which ripen in mid summer, are small - up to about 1cm in diameter, hard until fully ripe and sour to the taste even then.</p>
<p>They are somewhat variable - some trees will produce fruit that are little more than a stone with a thin layer of skin over it, others are more recognisably cherries - with juicy red or yellow flesh (but almost invariably still very sour).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="wildcherry1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherry1.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherry1.jpg, Jul 2013" />You may also sometimes find feral cherries - that is, the chance offspring of cultivated varieties of cherry - perhaps grown from a stone that someone discarded into a hedgerow, perhaps stolen and dropped by a bird.</p>
<p>Feral cherries will often retain a little of the character of their cultivated parent - that is, larger, sweeter fruit and perhaps a different colour from the standard orange-red.</p>
<p>Once, on a camping trip to Yorkshire, I discovered a feral cherry tree heavy with perfect, large, dark purple fruit- the tree was growing alongside a layby on a quiet country road - obviously, grown from a seed discarded from someone's picnic lunch many years previously. picked several pounds of big, sweet, juicy cherries - they were delicious!</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="wildcherry3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherry3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherry3.jpg, Jul 2013" />Sometimes, you'll find the cherry tree, but it won't seem to have any fruit on it, even in season - but often if you get underneath it and look up through the canopy, you'll see what you were missing on first glance.</p>
<p>Unlike cultivated cherries, the fruits tend to ripen progressively over the space of a few weeks - in a way, this is good - because you're more likely to find them, but it does also mean you're not ever likely to pick a lot in one place.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="wildcherry4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherry4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherry4.jpg, Jul 2013" />From wild-growing and planted wild cherry trees within walking distance of home, I managed to pick a good double handful of cherries.</p>
<p>Even the sweetest, juiciest one of them was extremely sour - but quite aromatic. I decided to make cherry brandy.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="wildcherry5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherry5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherry5.jpg, Jul 2013" />I removed the stalks and scored the cherries around their equators with a sharp knife, then put them in a preserving jar.</p>
<p>To this, I added about 500ml of Spanish brandy and half a cup of white sugar, then sealed down the lid and shook it up.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="wildcherry6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherry6.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherry6.jpg, Jul 2013" />I'd have liked to use a few more cherries even for this small amount of brandy - so I left a bit of headspace in the jar. Over the next week or so, I'll pick more wild cherries and add them in.</p>
<p>Once the first lot of sugar has dissolved, I'll add another half cup - cherry brandy should be sweet - and the mixture needs to be syrupy enough to draw the juices out of the cherries.</p>
<p>I'll leave the fruit to soak for a couple of months at least, then I'll strain it off into little bottles - I'm going to save it to drink at Christmas.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Finding Wild Cherries</h3>
<p>The fruits of the wild cherry, although bright red, are not always very conspicuous. Here are some tips on how to locate the trees (some of them require patience!</p>
<h3>The Bark</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="wildcherry7.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherry7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherry7.jpg, Jul 2013" />The bark of wild cherry trees is slightly glossy silver-grey, sometimes with a purplish-bronze hue and has distinctive, horizontal raised streaks of rough, corky brown.</p>
<h3>In Spring</h3>
<p>Look out for the blossom - White to pale pink, falling like snow in the woods in spring (NB: there are other relatives of the cherry - notably the Cherry Plum and Blackthorn - that produce similar blossom at the same time - but these are also good wild foods, so finding those won't be a disappointment.</p>
<p>Make a note of where you saw the blossom and return back there in summer for the fruit.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Look On The Ground</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="wildcherry8.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/wildcherry8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="wildcherry8.jpg, Jul 2013" />When wild cherries are in full fruit, birds will be visiting the tree to eat them - the ground beneath the tree may become quite conspicuously covered with half-eaten fruit.</p>
<p>As is very often the case with foraging for things that grow on trees, the very best specimens are just out of reach - the temptation is to return with hooks and ladders, but I prefer to just visit more trees, pick those that I can reach and leave the higher-hanging fruit for the birds.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Elderflower Cordialurn:md5:3432370cfff541e38df1885532925d672013-06-30T21:19:00+00:002015-03-04T21:33:27+00:00MikeForagingHedgerowsSummer<p><img alt="elderflowercordialthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordialthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordialthumb.jpg, Jun 2013" />30 June 2013 - This cordial captures the fragrant grape-like flavour of Elderflowers, but is much quicker and easier to make than Elderflower Fizz.</p>
<p>It can be diluted with still or sparking water to make a delicious summery drink, or can be used as a light syrup for fruit salads or cocktails.</p> <p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial1.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial1.jpg, Jun 2013" />The Elder tree (<i style="line-height: 1.6em;">Sambucus nigra</i>) is a fast-growing tree with upright, pithy branches. In early summer, it produces large, flat umbels of creamy white, fragrant flowers.</p>
<p>(Harry Potter fans may note that this is the tree from which the Elder Wand is made)</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial2.jpg, Jun 2013" />But it's the flowers with which we will be making magic here.</p>
<p>Select the flower heads that are fully open and creamy yellow-white in colour - these are the best ones of flavour - if they've turned pale white, or brown, or if they have dark centres instead of yellow, they will be no good for making cordial.</p>
<p>Pick whole umbels of flowers - the quantity you pick is up to you - I gathered about half a plastic grocery shopping bag full, which was enough to make two bottles of cordial.</p>
<p>It's worth inspecting the flowers for large insects before they go in the bag - green caterpillars are quite common - transfer them to another part of the plant so that they can continue their lifecycle (or so they can provide food for other wildlife).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial3.jpg, Jun 2013" />Inspect the flower heads again for small insects such as flea beetles and shake these off.</p>
<p>Using sharp scissors, cut the flowers away from the thicker branches of stem - discarding as much stem as possible, but keeping the flowers - it's OK to keep the finer branched stems though.</p>
<p>Allow the flowers to fall into a large bowl or pan.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial4.jpg, Jun 2013" />Pour over enough cold water to completely immerse the flowers - press them down to ensure they're fully submerged.</p>
<p>Cover and leave to infuse for half an hour - an occasional stir will help to infuse the aroma of the flowers into the liquid.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial5.jpg, Jun 2013" />After the flowers have infused, the water will turn pale greenish yellow in colour and slightly cloudy.</p>
<p>Don't worry about all the bits floating about - or if there are any remaining small insects swimming/drowning - because the next stage is to strain the liquid.</p>
<p>Strain off the liquid through a fine sieve, jelly cloth, muslin or (as here) coffee filter paper.</p>
<p>Discard the flowers (they can be composted).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial7.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial7.jpg, Jun 2013" />Measure the quantity of liquid</p>
<p>For each litre of liquid (approx 1.75 UK pints, or 1 US quart), you will need:</p>
<ul>
<li>The strained juice of one lemon</li>
<li>200g (approx 7 ounces or 1 cup) of granulated white sugar</li>
</ul>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial8.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial8.jpg, Jun 2013" />Transfer the liquid to a large pan, add the sugar and lemon juice, then warm over a moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved.</p>
<p>Then turn up the heat and bring to the boil - allow to boil for no more than a minute (or you will boil out the aromatic flavours) then take off the heat.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial9.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial9.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial9.jpg, Jun 2013" />There are two options for bottling, depending on whether you intend to keep the cordial refrigerated.</p>
<p><b>Either</b> sterilise the bottles, then fill them (carefully!) with the hot cordial and seal them whilst still hot - these can be stored in a cool dark place for months without spoiling, but once opened will need to be refrigerated.</p>
<p><b>Or</b> just allow the cordial to cool, transfer into bottles and store them in the fridge - they'll keep for a few weeks - but this cordial is so delicious, the relatively short storage life won't be a problem.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflowercordial10.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowercordial10.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowercordial10.jpg, Jun 2013" />Dilute one part cordial to five or six parts cold still or sparkling water to taste.</p>
<p>It can also be used undiluted as a dressing for fruit salad, or frozen in ice cube trays to make tasty ice for summer drinks.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Elderflowers, And Things That Are Not Elderflowers</h3>
<p>Around the same time as Elder is flowering, there are a number of other things about that may look superficially similar, but should be avoided - mostly, just because they're not nice, but in some cases, because they could be poisonous.</p>
<p>These include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Guelder Rose (<i>Viburnum opulus</i>) - a tree of similar size to elder, but with smaller, rounder flower heads, and roundish leaves that have an orange tinge.</li>
<li>Rowan or Mountain Ash (<i>Sorbus spp</i>) - this actually flowers a bit earlier than elder - the smell of the flowers is quite unpleasant - reminiscent of decayed food or urine.</li>
<li>Cow Parsley - or other plants of the carrot family - these are herbaceous plants so shouldn't be easy to mistake for Elder, except that they are sometimes found growing right up through the middle of an Elder bush - however, a cursory examination of the flowers and stems is all that's needed to tell the difference.</li>
</ul>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Sea Buckthornurn:md5:8aabec28ff51d107f794e85f463a64712011-09-22T23:41:00+00:002016-07-02T23:09:52+00:00MikeBerriesFoodForagingHedgerowsSeashore<p><img alt="seabuckthornthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthornthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="seabuckthornthumb.jpg, Sep 2011" />September 2011 - I went for a walk along Portchester shore where I sampled the surprising and delightful berries of a common seaside shrub - Sea Buckthorn.</p> <h3 class="clearleft">What Is Sea Buckthorn?</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="seabuckthorn1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthorn1.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="seabuckthorn1.jpg, Sep 2011" /></p>
<p><i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> - a stiff, wiry shrub with narrow, greyish green leaves which are almost like the needles of a conifer in appearance and arrangement.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="seabuckthorn2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthorn2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="seabuckthorn2.jpg, Sep 2011" />Male and female flowers are produced on separate plants - and on the female plants, these are followed by dense clusters of orange berry-like fruits, borne on short stalks along the branches.</p>
<p>The plant is only usually found within a few hundred yards of the shore.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="seabuckthorn3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthorn3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="seabuckthorn3.jpg, Sep 2011" />The berries are bright orange when fully ripe, but they're nearly impossible to pick in any conventional manner - partly because the plant is armed with vicious spines, but mostly because they are so juicy and fragile that they burst at the slightest touch.</p>
<p>If they remain intact on the plant into winter, they may freeze solid, which makes it then possible to pick them.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="seabuckthorn4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthorn4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="seabuckthorn4.jpg, Sep 2011" />Otherwise, the only practical way to gather them is to pick whols sprigs of them, then bag them for processing later..</p>
<p>Obviously if this is done indiscriminately and in massive bulk, it will harm the plants - as it entails removal of twigs that would grow further and fruit again in future,</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="seabuckthorn5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthorn5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="seabuckthorn5.jpg, Sep 2011" />Back at home, the sprigs can be artifically frozen to remove the intact berries, but if you just want them for ther flavour, they can be squeezed off the twigs directly into a strainer over a bowl.</p>
<p>Don't attempt this without gloves - disposable polythene ones are OK - clean rubber household gloves are better, as they will afford a little protection from thorns.</p>
<p>Each berry contains a single hard pip, but the juicy pulp is easy to press through a sieve.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Flavour</h3>
<p>The berries are sharply acidic, but in quite an exciting, complex way, reminiscent of apples and passionfruit. They contain citric, malic, ascorbic (Vitamin C) and other acids. They're too sour to eat in any quantity on their own, but I think they'd make an excellent flavour enhancer, so I set about testing this.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="seabuckthorn6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthorn6.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="seabuckthorn6.jpg, Sep 2011" />My few sprigs of Sea Buckthorn berries produced a couple of tablespoons of brilliant orange juice.</p>
<p>To this, I added half a dozen apples, sliced and cored, plus a few tablespoons of sugar and a dash of water.</p>
<p>The first thing to notice is that the juice did an excellent job of preventing browning of the apple pieces.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="seabuckthorn7.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthorn7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="seabuckthorn7.jpg, Sep 2011" />I simmered the mixture over a gentle heat for about five minutes, then set it aside to cool.</p>
<p>The vivid orange colour of the Sea Buckthorn juice wasn't lost in cooking - and gave a wonderful golden glow to the apple pieces.</p>
<p>I tasted some when it had cooled to room temperature. The Sea Buckthorn does have a distinct, pleasant fruity taste of its own, but it also made the apples taste more apple-ey. I expect this is the malic acid content.</p>
<p>I chilled the cooked fruit overnight in the fridge and served it with Greek yoghurt and some crisp, buttery biscuits - delicious.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="seabuckthorn8.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/s/seabuckthorn8.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="seabuckthorn8.jpg, Sep 2011" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Verdict</h3>
<p>This plant deserves to be more commonly used - although acidic and fiddly, it has the kind of flavour and aroma that one might normally associate with tropical fruits such as mango or passion fruit.</p>
<p>It's perfect in combination with apples, but I suspect the unsweetened juice could also be used anywhere as a direct substitute for lemon juice.</p>
<h3>Health Benefits Of Sea Buckthorn</h3>
<p>The berries of this plant are very rich in Vitamins C, E and carotenes - they're practically naturally-occurring vitamin pills. I wonder why they're so overlooked here in the UK...</p>
<h3>Relation To Common Buckthorn</h3>
<p>Sea buckthorn is not related to common Buckthorn (also known as Purging Buckthorn) which is common on chalk downland, bears clusters of black or dark purple fruits and is not edible - well, not unless you want to find out firsthand what 'purging' means.</p>Horseradishurn:md5:78423f1d37d964772db26f34f68602472011-08-21T21:59:00+00:002015-01-12T22:11:27+00:00MikeFoodForagingHedgerowsSummer<p><img alt="horseradishthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/horseradishthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="horseradishthumb.jpg, Aug 2011" />All along a broad roadside verge near where I live, Horseradish grows - I've been noticing it for years, intending to forage some.</p>
<p>I finally got around to that - and picked some of the flowers to make fritters.</p> <h3 class="clearleft">What is Horseradish?</h3>
<p><img alt="horseradish1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/horseradish1.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="horseradish1.jpg, Aug 2011" /></p>
<p><i>Armoracia rusticana</i> - horseradish is a perennial related to mustard and watercress, It forms dense clumps of large, robust upright leaves, wavy at the edges, arising from a thick, fleshy taproot that may grow down a couple of feet or more.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="horseradish2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/horseradish2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="horseradish2.jpg, Aug 2011" />These particular horseradish plants happen to have been cut down to the ground by mowing about a month ago - causing them to regrow quite vigorously.</p>
<p>The resprouted foliage has a variably pinnate, fern-like arrangement normally only seen in the smaller first leaves of the season.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="horseradish3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/horseradish3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="horseradish3.jpg, Aug 2011" />The further north you go, the less likely it is that horseradish plants will produce flowers. Down here in the south, they're not uncommon.</p>
<p>The flowers are pure white and four-petalled - very typical of plants in this genus - and are held on slender stems radiating and branching from a central stalk.</p>
<p>The open flowers have quite a distinctive and strong aroma - sort of musky honey-mustard.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="horseradish4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/horseradish4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="horseradish4.jpg, Aug 2011" />I picked some of the open flowers and some of the more tightly-packed heads of unopened buds. They have a similar appearance to sprouting broccoli or turnip tops.</p>
<p>At the younger, unopened stage, the stems were very tender and snapped easily - I might even try eating these raw sometime.</p>
<p>I do, of course, intend to go back later in the year and unearth samples of the real treasure - the pungent horseradish root.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="horseradish5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/horseradish5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="horseradish5.jpg, Aug 2011" />I gave them the treatment I usually prefer for leafy sprouts like these - dipping in a simple seasoned flour batter and frying quickly in hot oil.</p>
<p class="clearleft">The result was these tasty and substantial fritters. I expected them to be quite pungent - in fact, they were fairly mild, but with a good crisp crunch and flavour.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="horseradish6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/horseradish6.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="horseradish6.jpg, Aug 2011" /></p>
<p>Tasty on their own, they were made perfect by the addition of a little spiced plum jelly I happened to have in the cupboard.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Uses For Horseradish</h3>
<p>Horseradish is most commonly used as a sauce, made from the grated root - the process of shredding it causes the cells to release the eye-wateringly pungent chemicals for which horseradish is famous.</p>
<p>Classically, horseradish is a companion for roast beef (and this is a fantastic combination). It also works very well with oily fish such as mackerel or salmon, or smoked and preserved meats, salami and other cured sausages and strong cheeses. A teaspoon of grated horseradish root gives a great kick to coleslaw.</p>
<p>Medicinally, horseradish is useful for the relief of symptoms of colds and flu - the hot pungency is great for loosening congestion of the nose and sinuses and somewhat counter-intuitively, it's great for sore throats and tickly coughs.</p>Rose Petalsurn:md5:ffd3f82846c32f50f03f1980f509a82f2011-05-19T19:53:00+00:002016-07-02T23:13:21+00:00MikeFoodForagingHedgerowsSpringSummer<p><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><img alt="rosepetalsthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetalsthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetalsthumb.jpg, May 2011" />May 2011 - Wild roses are in full and copious bloom. Let's see what we can do with rose petals.</span></p> <h3 class="clearleft">Picking Rose Petals</h3>
<p><img alt="rosepetals2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals2.jpg, May 2011" />Wild roses are common in hedgerows, parks, woods and field edges nearly everywhere in the UK. A number of different species and hybrids may be found, and to be honest, they can be a bit difficult to tell apart.</p>
<p>For our purposes here, however, that doesn't matter too much - insofar as any selection must be made, it can be done on the basis of fragrance - just pick petals from the wild rose plants that smell sweet.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals3.jpg, May 2011" />Rose petals are best picked in the morning, after the dew has evaporated, but before the sun is at full strength. They can be picked later in the day, but will have lost some of their aroma.</p>
<p>Each individual flower persists for several days - it's best to pick the petals from those that are freshly-opened. These will have bright, fresh-looking yellow stamens and bright, clean petals that come away with a crisp snap when pulled.</p>
<p>Give each flower a few sharp finger-taps before picking the petals, to dislodge any beetles or bugs that might be resting in there. If this causes the petals to fall, then they weren't fresh enough to be worth picking anyway. It's usually possible to grasp and pick all 5 petals in one action, saving time.</p>
<p>I usually advise against picking wild foods into plastic bags, but this is an exception. Pick the petals into a plastic bag to keep them fresh. Try to keep the bag out of the sunshine - take the harvest straight home to use immediately.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals4.jpg, May 2011" />Back at home, shake the petals out on a large tray and pick them a few at a time into a clean jug - it would be good if it were not necessary to handle them again, but regardless how careful you are out in the field, it's almost inevitable that one or two creepy crawlies will be in there.</p>
<p>I prefer to do this sorting outdoors, and just allow the earwigs, spiders and bugs to crawl away.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals5.jpg, May 2011" />A pint jug loosely packed with fresh rose petals will yield a little under half a pint of infused rosewater.</p>
<p>It's possible to make a very intensely-scented rosewater by distillation - gently boiling the petals in water and condensing the steam - a mixture of the essential oils and water, or by very careful distillation, extract the essential oil alone, but there's an easier way.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals6.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals6.jpg, May 2011" />For a quick and easy extraction of rosewater, just steep the petals in boiling water, cover and leave to cool.</p>
<p>They turn from vivid pink to a very disappointing muddy brownish colour straight away, but don't worry about that for now. They also collapse down to about one third of their loose volume. Only add enough water to cover the petals.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Using Rosewater</h3>
<p>I used my rosewater to try to make Turkish Delight.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals7.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals7.jpg, May 2011" />I started by adding the juice of one lemon to the strained rosewater. It acts as a PH indicator and the acidity of the lemon restores the colour immediately to a lovely rose pink.</p>
<p>I added cold water to the rose/lemon mix, to make up 500ml.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals8.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals8.jpg, May 2011" />I wanted a traditional gelatin-free recipe - the one I found called for 500g of sugar and 125g cornflour (corn starch) - the cornflour is mixed with enough of the rosewater to make a creamy liquid in one pan, then the sugar is simmered to a syrup with the remainder in another pan.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals9.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals9.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals9.jpg, May 2011" />Here's where it started to go off-course. The recipe called for mixing the two liquids, then bringing to the boil and simmering for an hour and a half!</p>
<p>The problem is, 125g of cornflour and 500ml water, with or without the sugar, cooks to a very, very stiff gel almost straight away. There's no way to simmer this for any length of time without burning it - I chickened out after 10 minutes, at which point there was already a brownish burnt layer appearing on the bottom of the pan.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals10.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals10.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals10.jpg, May 2011" />I poured the mixture into a tray lined with baking parchment, spread it out with a spatula and left it to cool.</p>
<p>The mixture is supposed to be near-transparent, but that would presumably be after longer cooking. Maybe a double-boiler is necessary to be able to cook the mixture for a prolonged period without burning it.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals11.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals11.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals11.jpg, May 2011" />After a couple of hours, the miture had set sufficiently as to be sliced into cubes.</p>
<p>The texture was fairly soft, but generally correct - a sort of rubbery, gelatinous paste,</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals12.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals12.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals12.jpg, May 2011" />I tossed the cubes in a 50/50 mixture of cornflour and icing sugar (powdered sugar).</p>
<p>This gave me my first opportunity for tasting - and it was pretty good - a little softer than the Turkish Delight I've bought and eaten before, but close enough to be recognisable, and the flavour was lovely, with a perfectly balanced, subtle-but-aromatic rose flavour.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Eating Turkish Delight</h3>
<p>Probably the best way to enjoy these very sweet little morsels is in accompaniment with a cup of strong, unsweetened coffee.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals13.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals13.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="rosepetals13.jpg, May 2011" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">However</h3>
<p><img alt="rosepetals14.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals14.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals14.jpg, May 2011" />My Turkish Delight had very poor keeping qualities - even in a tightly-sealed box, it just kept on turning sticky, attracting and absorbing moisture from the air and turning softer almost by the minute.</p>
<p>I assume this is because I didn't cook it for the required duration, however, the flavour was excellent, so I will be experimenting further...</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Other Rose Petals</h3>
<p>The petals of almost any rose species or variety may be used to make rose water - allowing for considerable variety in flavour, as some garden roses have citrus-like or other scents.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals1.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="rosepetals1.jpg, May 2011" /></p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosepetals15.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosepetals15.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosepetals15.jpg, May 2011" />The rugosa species roses would probably be quite good for this, as the flowers have plenty of petals with abundant scent.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Other Uses For Rose Water</h3>
<p>Any number of recipes exist for natural remedies and cosmetics based on rosewater - or it could just be used as-is to scent bath water, or as a scented rinse for the hair.</p>Hops And Hop Shootsurn:md5:285da4818c2e6a67018dd17bb4c3afc12011-05-02T22:36:00+00:002015-03-12T22:40:09+00:00MikeFoodForagingHedgerowsSpring<p><img alt="hopsthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hopsthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hopsthumb.jpg, May 2011" />May 2011 - I found some hops growing wild in a hedgerow. It's a little early to be looking to harvest the fragrant flowers, but in spring, the tender shoots are available to pick as a green vegetable.</p> <h3 class="clearleft">Hops</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops1.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="hops1.jpg, May 2011" /></p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops2.jpg, May 2011" />Hops - <i>Humulus lupulus</i> - a phenomenally fast growing twining climber with three-lobed, toothed leaves and tough, wiry fibrous stems.</p>
<p>The stems are covered with tiny backward-pointing bristles which snag and catch on just about everything, helping the plant to maintain purchase on twigs and branches as it climbs.</p>
<p>The flowers, when they appear in late summer, are clusters of bell-like cones, composed of overlapping pale green scales. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants.</p>
<p>They were supposedly introduced to Britain by the Romans, but for use as a green vegetable (which is what I'm trying here). Only later, around the turn of the first millennium did they start finding a use as flavouring and preservative in beer.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops3.jpg, May 2011" />The part of the plant of interest here is the tender growing tips of the shoots.</p>
<p>In spring, harvesting these will do the plant no harm at all - it'll just send out new side shoots from below the point the shoots are picked.</p>
<p>Lower down, the stems are tough and stringy - so the best way to pick them is just to find the lowest point at which the growing shoot separates easily when pulled.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops4.jpg, May 2011" />I only picked a couple of handfuls of shoots - but it's enough to have a proper taste.</p>
<p>After rinsing them under the tap, I dropped them wet into a hot pan with some butter and a splash of white wine.</p>
<p>In about three or four minutes, they had turned dark, fresh green and wilted.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops5.jpg, May 2011" />I served the shoots simply with a slice of buttered bread.</p>
<p>The taste is pleasant, but not remarkable.</p>
<p>The texture, however, makes this wild vegetable a bit tricky. The bristly nature of the stems persists through cooking (or at least, it did through the light cooking I gave them - and I didn't want them to discolour through overcooking). This makes them feel wooly in the mouth, and hard to swallow.</p>
<p>It's said that Hop shoots are similar to asparagus, but in my opinion - and at least this time - they fall short of the mark.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Hops As A Vegetable</h3>
<p>I'm just not sure Hop shoots are the delicious and delicate wild vegetable that their reputation seems to suggest - maybe I did something wrong, but it's hard to see how they could be made palatable in texture, as a whole vegetable, without being cooked to the extent that they start to lose appeal in terms of colour and nutrition.</p>
<p>Apparently they can be cooked in omelettes and made into soup - perhaps these are better options. If you find them growing in great abundance, and the terminal shoots are plump, it might be worth picking them for these purposes.</p>
<p>If you have an experience of eating hop shoots that went better than mine, I'd love to hear about it.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Update - August 2011</h3>
<p>August 2011 - I'm planning to brew my own beer later on this year, so I set out to find some hops to use in it.</p>
<h3>What Are Hops?</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops2_1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops2_1.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="hops2_1.jpg, Aug 2011" /></p>
<p>Hops are the cone-like female flowers of - <i>Humulus lupulus</i> - a fast growing twining climber with three-lobed, toothed leaves and tough, wiry fibrous stems.</p>
<p>They're not exactly wild in Britain, but can be found in hedges and woods where they have escaped from cultivation in fields and gardens. They tend to be regionally common - that is, if you find one plant, you'll probably find other specimens not too far away.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops2_2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops2_2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops2_2.jpg, Aug 2011" />Male and female flowers are produced on separate plants - and unfortunately, the specimen I visited earlier in the year to pick shoots (see above) is a male.</p>
<p>So I had to look around a little further - but quite easily found some female plants in various hedgerows within a mile or two of my home - and in perfect condition for picking.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops2_3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops2_3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops2_3.jpg, Aug 2011" />The pale green, nodding flowers are borne in dropping clusters - not always immediately apparent, but looking up through the plant from underneath, there were plenty to be found.</p>
<p>They're quite delicate and easily bruised - best picked in whole sprigs, rather than as individual flowers (leaving the stalks on makes them easier to hang up for drying too).</p>
<p>These are wild, or at least feral hops - and the flowers are fairly small - less than 2cm in length. Cultivated varieties often bear great cascades of larger flowers.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops2_5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops2_5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops2_5.jpg, Aug 2011" />I picked a large double handful of hops - enough, hopefully, for one batch of beer making.</p>
<p>But I'm not ready to start brewing just yet, so I'll need to preserve them. They can be frozen or dried.</p>
<p>At commercial scales, they're dried in an oasthouse using artificial heat, but I won't need anything so elaborate.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops2_6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops2_6.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops2_6.jpg, Sep 2011" />To dry them, I just strung them together and hung them in an airy corner of a room, not in direct sunlight.</p>
<p>In a couple of days, they were papery and completely dry. I packed them in a plastic bag and sucked the air out to keep them as fresh as possible.</p>
<p>Before I can start brewing, I need to complete <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2011/08/13/Project-Wholegrain-Garden-Scale-Cereal-Crops">Project Wholegrain</a>, which will provide the barley I need to make malt for my beer.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Hop Flowers</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hops2_4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hops2_4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hops2_4.jpg, Aug 2011" />The flowers produced by the male plants are just big clusters of frothy little blossoms - no good for brewing.</p>
<p>In addition to their primary use as a flavouring and preservative for beer, female hop flowers are also used in herbal medicine - a small pillow stuffed with hops is reputed to aid sleep, but I have no idea if this is truly effective.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Update (Much Later)</h3>
<p>Project Wholegrain unfortunately didn't yield enough barley to make beer and other priorities took precedence - and that's as far as this project ever went. I do now know where I can get plenty of hops when I am ready to try this all again...</p>
<p> </p>Whitebeamurn:md5:0222933e5bd3cf215793d82a3676771a2010-09-29T14:29:00+00:002016-07-02T23:10:24+00:00MikeAutumnBerriesFoodForagingHedgerows<p><img alt="whitebeamthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeamthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeamthumb.jpg, Oct 2010" />Urban foraging in the historic market town of Wymondham, Norfolk, I found a number of street-planted Whitebeam trees, heavy with loads of really plump fruits.</p> <h3 class="clearleft">What Is Whitebeam?</h3>
<p><img alt="whitebeam1.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam1.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="whitebeam1.jpg, Oct 2010" /></p>
<p><i>Sorbus ssp:aria</i> - A group of several species of medium-sized tree - closely related to <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2010/09/22/Rowan-Berries">Rowan</a> - with large, stiff leaves which are dark green on top and white and felty underneath. In Common Whitebeam, these leaves are broadly oval in shape. In other species, they may be deeply toothed, almost to the extent of being palm-shaped.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam2.jpg, Oct 2010" />They bear cup-shaped whitish cream flowers in spring, followed by clusters of fruits which are, when unripe, glossy green but are inconspicuous, being covered in a whitish mealy down.</p>
<p>As the fruits ripen, they turn orange-red, then brownish-tan, at the same time as shedding their downy covering, thus revealing their colour.</p>
<p>Although commonly called 'berries', the fruits are in fact <i>pomes</i> - like apples and pears (to which they are related).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam3.jpg, Oct 2010" />The trees I found were bearing a very heavy crop of fruits, each up to about 2cm in diameter, which is the largest I have seen (these trees are probably a named cultivar or hybrid selected for abundant flower and fruit).</p>
<p>Many fruits had already ripened, fallen to the ground and begun to decompose, but there were plenty more still on the tree.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam4.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam4.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam4.jpg, Oct 2010" />Although ripe and soft, the ripe fruits are not at all juicy - they're mealy and granular in texture.</p>
<p>Tasted raw at this stage, they're neither sweet nor sour, nor particularly tasty, but they can be 'bletted' (left to ripen until almost rotten) and they will become sweet, moist and aromatic.</p>
<p>Normally, I would be reluctant to pick anything from right beside a road, but this is a fairly quiet street, so there's no great need to worry about contamination from vehicle exhaust - there is no lead in fuels here any more, but heavy traffic can often leave a coating of carbon and oily grime. This was not in evidence here though.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam5.jpg, Oct 2010" />I've never eaten Whitebeam before, so I only picked a small bag of fruits (about 300g), for experimentation.</p>
<p>A local shopkeeper interrupted me, expressing a mixture of concerns that we might pick the lot and deprive the blackbirds of their winter sustenance, or that we were just pointlessly spoiling the tree.</p>
<p>I explained my intent to try eating them and that I was leaving plenty on the tree that were out of my reach, and - well, with a few more raised eyebrows - this seemed OK. I'm not certain he actually believed me.</p>
<p>I stored the fruits for a few days, until I returned back home, then set about making something with them - I didn't have enough of them to use them on their own. I toyed briefly with the idea of mixing them with rosehips, haws and crab apples to make some hedgerow jelly, but I felt this might just obscure their flavour (if they had any) - and as I've never tried them before, I wanted to be able to taste them.</p>
<p class="clearleft">I settled on a plan to mix them with some Bramley apples and make jelly. My ingredients list was:</p>
<ul>
<li>300g Whitebeam fruits</li>
<li>500g Bramley apples</li>
<li>550ml water (which was the amount needed to just cover the raw ingredients in the pan)</li>
<li>750g white sugar</li>
</ul>
<p>I chopped the apples and boiled the Whitebeam fruits with them in the water for about 30 minutes, using a potato masher halfway to break everything up and try to extract as much flavour as possible.</p>
<p>Then I strained it through a jelly bag. Confession time: I know you're not meant to, but I squeezed the jelly bag - for two reasons; firstly, because the juice the initially dripped out was cloudy anyway, secondly, because it doubled the extraction - it stopped dripping at about 500ml, but after squeezing, I ended up with a full litre of extract.</p>
<p>I boiled the liquid up with the sugar for about twenty minutes until it reached setting point (the cloudiness turned into foam, which I skimmed off, leaving a clear syrup), then I poured most of it into two sterilised jam jars.</p>
<p>I decided to try something a bit different with the last bit, so I added some finely chopped dried red chillies and poured this into a smaller jar - the chillies initially floated to the surface (as seen in the photo below), but after the jelly had begin to set, I stirred them back in so they can infuse into the jelly.</p>
<p>The resulting jelly is quite pretty - fairly clear (although not to show standard) and pinkish-amber in colour. Initial tasting suggests that this jelly will be slightly astringent to taste, so probably a condiment for meats and cheeses, rather than a spread for toast, but I'll confirm this and update this page in due course.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam6.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam6.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="whitebeam6.jpg, Oct 2010" /></p>
<h3>Tasting</h3>
<p>OK, it turns out I was wrong. I tried some of the jelly (which has achieved a perfect set) on a slice of buttered toast - it's pleasantly balanced between fruity, sweet and acidic, but there's none of the astringent bitterness I was half expecting. It's really quite nice.</p>
<p>The flavour of the whitebeam fruits is in there somewhere - it's slightly unusual - maybe a bit pear-like, but it's really quite subtle.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam13.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam13.jpg" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="whitebeam13.jpg, Oct 2010" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Chilli-Infused Version</h3>
<p><img alt="whitebeam14.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam14.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam14.jpg, Oct 2010" />This is delicious - the perfect balance between hot and sweet. Great with cheese and crackers - nice enough to eat just spread on buttered toast.</p>
<p>On a whim, I tried some as a dessert topping on a bowl of ice cream and canned pears - it was fantastic! Strange as it might sound, hot, sweet, sticky chilli jelly with creamy, cold vanilla ice cream really is a wonderful combination.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Using Whitebeam Fruits</h3>
<p>Here are some of the photos from the process of making the jelly:</p>
<h3 class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam7.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam7.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam7.jpg, Oct 2010" />Ready For Cooking</h3>
<h3 class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam8.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam8.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam8.jpg, Oct 2010" />Cooked And Pulped</h3>
<h3 class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam9.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam9.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam9.jpg, Oct 2010" />Straining The Juice</h3>
<h3 class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam10.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam10.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam10.jpg, Oct 2010" />Boiling With The Sugar</h3>
<h3 class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam11.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam11.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam11.jpg, Oct 2010" />Setting Point, After Skimming</h3>
<h3 class="clearleft"><img alt="whitebeam12.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/w/whitebeam12.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="whitebeam12.jpg, Oct 2010" />Chilli-Infused Jelly</h3>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Raspberriesurn:md5:90a57ef372adf66da9c3135e61dcb3782010-08-20T15:00:00+00:002015-03-24T21:18:54+00:00MikeBerriesFoodForagingHedgerowsHighlandSummer<p><img alt="raspberriesthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/raspberriesthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="raspberriesthumb.jpg, Aug 2010" />Our holiday in the Highlands of Scotland in August 2010 was very productive time for foraging - one of the most plentiful wild food resources was raspberries.</p> <h3 class="clearleft">What Are Raspberries?</h3>
<p><i>Rubus idaeus</i> - common in woodland, hedges and riverbanks, especially in mountainous and moorland regions, this plant is a close enough relative of the <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2007/08/05/Blackberries">blackberry</a> and <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2009/07/26/Dewberries">dewberry</a> to be able to crossbreed with them - in cultivation, these unions gave rise to the Loganberry, Tayberry and many other hybrids. Crossbreed plants can occasionally be found in the wild, but are uncommon because the habitats and flowering seasons of the different species only partly overlap.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="raspberries1.jpg" class="media" src="http://gurman.co.uk/public/r/raspberries1.jpg" style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin: 0px auto; display: block;" title="raspberries1.jpg, Aug 2010" /></p>
<p>Unlike blackberries, the fruits are highly delicate when picked - because the red, juicy drupelets detach from the fruit core and come away on their own - for this reason, raspberries can't really be washed, transported or stored for long - but that's not a bad thing, because they are fantastic to eat fresh straight away.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="raspberries2.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/raspberries2.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="raspberries2.jpg, Aug 2010" />As is often the case, some of the best fruits are hidden under leaves, within the plant or are slighty out of reach.</p>
<p>However, the raspberry is not a thorny plant - the stems are sparsely clothed with stiff bristles - so it doesn't hurt to wade in to reach the best pickings.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="raspberries3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/raspberries3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="raspberries3.jpg, Aug 2010" />These are probably the best raspberries I've ever picked in the wild - fat, juicy and in great condition.</p>
<p>Eaten straight from the hand, they feel ever so slightly downy when they first hit the tongue, but they are so soft and juicy that the delicate fragrant flavour soon bursts through.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="blackcurrants3.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/blackcurrants3.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="blackcurrants3.jpg, Aug 2010" />I picked a mixture of raspberries, bilberries (locally known as blaeberries) and <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2010/08/25/Wild-Blackcurrants">blackcurrants</a>.</p>
<p>Ideally, I'd have picked the different types of fruit into separate containers, but I only had one with me on the walk, so I had to pick out the blackcurrants from the mixture on returning back to the holiday cottage, so I could cook them with sugar.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="blackcurrants5.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/blackcurrants5.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="blackcurrants5.jpg, Aug 2010" />I made some scones (recipe <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2009/06/25/Fruited-Scones">here</a>).</p>
<p>I served the raspberries and bilberries fresh and raw on whipped double cream on the scone, with the warm blackcurrant compote spooned over the top.</p>
<p>In case it isn't immediately obvious... this was remarkably good to eat.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Dewberriesurn:md5:a0e47d4d89eabe2307c1bfe6c7c10c312009-07-26T22:14:00+00:002016-07-02T23:11:40+00:00MikeBerriesFoodForagingHedgerowsSummer<p><img alt="dewberrythumb.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/d/dewberrythumb.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="dewberrythumb.JPG, Jul 2009" />July 2009 - A trip to Old Winchester Hill in the South Downs - chalk downland is a good place to find dewberries.</p> <h3 class="clearleft">What Are Dewberries?</h3>
<p><i>Rubus caesius</i> - A close relative of blackberries and raspberries, the fruits are borne on plants resembling bramble canes, although generally lower-growing, slightly less spiny and with paler green leaves.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="dewberry1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/d/dewberry1.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="dewberry1.JPG, Jul 2009" /></p>
<p>It tends to be overlooked, for a number of reasons - it doesn't fruit prolifically, the fruits are often low down and hidden beneath the leaves and they somewhat resemble malformed, mildewy blackberries.</p>
<p>In fact, the surface colouration is just a waxy bloom - similar to that often found on plums, blueberries and grapes.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="dewberry3.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/d/dewberry3.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="dewberry3.JPG, Jul 2009" />It's not at all unusual for them to consist just of one or two large drupelets, instead of the normal spherical cluster - but these specimens can still be picked.</p>
<p>The fruits do tend to break apart when picked, staining the fingers, but the individual drupelets themselves stay fairly intact and can still be used.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="dewberry4.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/d/dewberry4.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="dewberry4.JPG, Jul 2009" />I could probably have picked ten times the amount of blackberries in the same time as it took me to pick this half pound of dewberries, but the blackberries aren't ripe yet (dewberries ripen up to a month earlier).</p>
<p>It's just enough to make a few little tarts...</p>
<p>First, I made some little tart cases, using a digestive biscuit recipe (100g flour, 75g oats, 75g butter, 100g golden syrup - I'll post the full recipe in a separate article later) and baked these blind (empty).</p>
<p>Then I put the dewberries in a pan with just a tiny splash of water and about half their own weight in sugar. I gently heated this until the berries burst, releasing their juice.</p>
<p>I stirred 2 level teaspoons of cornflour (cornstarch), premixed with a couple of tablespoons of water, and stirred this in while turning up the heat. The cornflour thickened the juice just sufficiently to set it to a velvety jelly-like consistency.</p>
<p>Before I started, I had reserved a dozen of the nicest-looking dewberries - one to top each of the tarts.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="dewberry5.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/d/dewberry5.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="dewberry5.JPG, Jul 2009" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Dewberries vs Blackberries</h3>
<p>Picking dewberries is far more laborious than picking blackberries, which they resemble, so is it even worth it?</p>
<p>I would answer yes, for a number of reasons:</p>
<p>They're earlier than blackberries by a month or more. They taste different - tarter and fruitier, with a subtly different aroma. And they're a bit less 'pippy' than blackberries - or rather, the pips are smaller, as is the pip-to-flesh ratio.</p>
<p> </p>Cherry Plumsurn:md5:42072de757d42423ecdd8a66c53f9e5f2009-06-25T22:28:00+00:002015-03-01T22:38:26+00:00MikeFoodForagingHedgerowsSummer<p><img alt="cherryplumthumb.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/cherryplumthumb.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="cherryplumthumb.JPG, Jul 2009" />July 2009 - last year was disappointing for wild plums, but the trees are more than making up for it this year - including enormous crops of cherry plums.</p> <p class="clearleft"><img alt="cherryplum5.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/cherryplum5.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="cherryplum5.JPG, Jul 2009" /></p>
<h3>What Are Cherry Plums?</h3>
<p><i>Prunus Cerasifera</i> - Also known as <i>Myrobalan</i> - cherry plum is a small to medium sized tree found in hedgerows and sunny edges of woodland, producing small plums ranging in size between about 1 to 4cm (so between the sizes of grape and golf ball). The fruit has golden-yellow to rosy-pink, translucent flesh with a pale yellow to deep maroon skin.</p>
<p>The plant crosses quite readily with other similar species of <i>Prunus</i> - so it is often possible to find hybrids that resemble very large sloes, or domestic plums.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="cherryplum1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/cherryplum1.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="cherryplum1.JPG, Jul 2009" />The plums should be picked when they are ripe enough to fall off the tree at the slightest touch.</p>
<p>They will continue to ripen off the tree and are perhaps at their very best when they darken a little and turn slightly translucent and soft.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="cherryplum2.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/cherryplum2.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="cherryplum2.JPG, Jul 2009" />The skin tends to be a little sour - this isn't a problem when they are eaten fresh, but if they are cooked, the acid becomes a dominant flavour and requires quite a lot of sugar to counteract.</p>
<p>Alternatively, the plums can be used in recipes where an acidic result is desirable (ketchups, chutneys, etc).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="cherryplum3.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/cherryplum3.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="cherryplum3.JPG, Jul 2009" />I'm going to make some of mine into prunes - as I did last year with ordinary <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2008/08/14/Preserving-Wild-Plums">plums</a> - this is quite easy to do - just halve the fruits and lay them out on a tray, then place it on a sunny windowsill.</p>
<p>If possible, leave the window slightly open, as even a gentle breeze will dry them much faster than the sun alone. It's best to start them off in the morning, so they will have a full day of drying at the beginning of the process.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="cherryplum4.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/cherryplum4.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="cherryplum4.JPG, Jul 2009" />After just one day, the fruits have dried and shrunk quite considerably - this is a good start, as the removal of surface moisture makes them less susceptible to rotting or going mouldy.</p>
<p>Once they've started drying like this, they will continue even if the conditions are less than optimal - which is a good thing, because sunshine is by no means guaranteed here in England.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Production Line</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="cherryplum6.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/cherryplum6.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="cherryplum6.JPG, Jul 2009" />As the plums progress toward becoming prunes, they shrink considerably.</p>
<p>This means each batch can be bunched closer together - making space to add new ones.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="cherryplum7.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/c/cherryplum7.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="cherryplum7.JPG, Jul 2009" />Here are some of the fully-dried prunes - alongside a fresh cherry plum to demonstrate just how much they shrink.</p>
<p>By my estimation, that little bowl, now containing about 50g of prunes - represents maybe a couple of kilos of fresh plums.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">What Are They Like?</h3>
<p>The prunes are small and fairly hard. They're glossy, sticky and they taste quite sour - very similar in flavour to dried cranberries.</p>
<p>I'm going to keep on producing them as long as the cherry plum crop keeps going - I'll update this page with my end results...</p>
<h3>Update (later, much later...)</h3>
<p>I made a huge pile of cherry plum prunes and packed them in a jar with brandy and sugar. I stored them and used them for my 2009 Christmas pudding (similar recipe as <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2008/11/30/Plum-Pudding">this </a>one).</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Urban Foraging</h3>
<p>You don't need to trek out to the countryside to find cherry plums - they are often planted as ornamentals in gardens and parks - perhaps most frequently in the form of the red-leafed cherry - which is the same species and often produces glossy red fruits with sweet pink or deep red flesh.</p>Elderflower Fizzurn:md5:128e95d62b52b2cba1bc0203c529acbe2009-06-03T21:17:00+00:002015-03-12T22:41:20+00:00MikeForagingHedgerowsSummer<p><img alt="elderflowerthumb.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflowerthumb.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflowerthumb.JPG, Jun 2009" />June 2009 - Elder trees here have produced a real profusion of bloom this year. I'm going to try making a real old-fashioned favourite - Elderflower Fizz</p> <p class="clearleft">I've drunk this excellent, mildly alcoholic fizzy beverage many times before but have never actually made it myself (although I did make <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2008/07/12/Lime-Flowers">something similar</a> last year).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflower1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflower1.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="elderflower1.JPG, Jun 2009" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">What Is Elder?</h3>
<p><i>Sambucus nigra</i> - A common shrub or small bushy tree found throughout much of the UK - in early summer, it produces large, flattish heads of creamy white fragrant flowers - followed in late summer by deep red/black berries.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflower2.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflower2.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflower2.JPG, Jun 2009" />But it's the flowers I'm most interested in right now. I picked enough to fill two supermarket carrier bags - must have been about a kilo of flowers or so.</p>
<p>If you're doing this for the first time, make sure it <i>is</i> elderflowers you're picking - there are a couple of other things around at the same time that are superficially similar - including Guelder Rose (<i>Viburnum opulus</i>) and a few umbellifers such as Cow Parsley and (the unrelated) Ground Elder. If in any doubt at all, consult a native tree guide and match ALL of the descriptors against the plant you're collecting.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflower3.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflower3.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflower3.JPG, Jun 2009" />Back home, I took a large, brand new bucket, washed it thoroughly and filled it with 10 litres of cold water, into which I dissolved one kilo of granulated sugar.</p>
<p>I roughly cut up two lemons and a tangerine and crushed them a bit and added them to the liquid.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflower4.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflower4.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflower4.JPG, Jun 2009" />Then I added the flowers - shaking off the bugs and caterpillars, then cutting off as much stalk as possible and stirring them into the liquid.</p>
<p>Now I just have to wait a day or two - the natural yeasts on the flowers should start to ferment the sugar, then it will be ready to go into the bottles.</p>
<p>The next day, I opened the lid to stir the contents and the aroma was really quite fantastic - there's no conspicuous sign of fermentation yet, but the bucket is in a fairly cool place - I expect one more day will have it ready for bottling.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflower5.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflower5.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflower5.JPG, Jun 2009" />Saturday morning - approximately 36 hours after starting, I washed and scrubbed some bottles with wire spring stoppers and got ready for bottling.</p>
<p>As you can see, the brew bucket I'm using here is just an inexpensive plastic bin (brand new and clean).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflower6.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflower6.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflower6.JPG, Jun 2009" />I strained the mixture straight into the bottles, using my fine mesh jelly bag inside a funnel. The result is cloudy, but it's meant to be that way.</p>
<p>The flowers and little bits of stem didn't go to waste - I put them on the compost heap.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflower7.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflower7.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="elderflower7.JPG, Jun 2009" />There was enough to fill 11 bottles (only 10 in this picture, I know), with a litre or so left over - which I chilled and served as non-sparkling cordial with dinner.</p>
<p>The flavour is really quite intense and I'm really looking forward to the finished product, which should be ready after a couple of weeks' fermentation in the bottles.</p>
<p>So, here we are at the end of June and I took a couple of bottles with me to the beach - it's worked really well - lightly sparking after a couple of weeks in the bottle - a couple more weeks and it will be quite exuberantly bubbly, I think.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="elderflower8.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/e/elderflower8.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="elderflower8.JPG, Jun 2009" /></p>
<p>I used a lot of elderflowers to make this batch - more than most of the recipes suggest - the result is quite an intense aroma, but it's really nice.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Hawthornurn:md5:3971d67a7e4f889d652a9eb7e26319122008-09-15T21:33:00+00:002015-03-08T21:46:11+00:00MikeAutumnBerriesFoodForagingHedgerows<p><b><img alt="hawthornthumb.jpg" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hawthornthumb.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hawthornthumb.jpg, Mar 2015" />September 2008 -</b> There's a very heavy crop of Hawthorn fruits this year - but how can this abundance be put to good use?</p> <h2 class="clearleft">What is Hawthorn?</h2>
<p>Crataegus spp - also known as May or Mayflower (because the white and pink flowers typically appear in early May and persist about a month). This is a common deciduous tree, often the chief species in planted hedges. It bears fruit in late summer to autumn and the berry-like 'haws' (which are actually not berries, but <i>pome</i> fruits, like apples and pears) may still be found on the trees right through the winter - or at least until the birds eat them.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hawthorn1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hawthorn1.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="hawthorn1.JPG, Sep 2008" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Picking Hawthorn</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hawthorn2.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hawthorn2.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hawthorn2.JPG, Sep 2008" />The haws are considerably variable from one tree to the next - perhaps depending on a combination of microclimate and genetics - some plants produce small, hard, dry fruits, others bear great clusters of fat, mealy ones.</p>
<p>It's well worth spending a little time and effort looking for the plants with the big haws - as these have a vastly greater flesh-to-seed ratio.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hawthorn3.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hawthorn3.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hawthorn3.JPG, Sep 2008" />I used my home-made <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2008/06/01/Berry-Picker">berry picker</a> to speed up the process of gathering the fruits.</p>
<p>It doesn't work as well for Hawthorn as it did for Bilberries, but it's still a big improvement over picking by hand - if for no other reason than it leaves one hand free to keep the thorny branches under control.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">In The Kitchen</h3>
<p>Like <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2010/09/22/Rowan-Berries">Rowan</a>, Hawthorn is very common, yet frequently ignored as a food source - perhaps because, like Rowan, 'wild berries' are generally considered poisonous by default.</p>
<p>Hawthorn fruits can in fact be eaten raw - I've tried nibbling on some of the fatter ones - they taste a bit like a very mealy, over-ripe apple.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Making Hawthorn Sauce</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hawthorn4.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hawthorn4.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hawthorn4.JPG, Sep 2008" />I started with a generous colander-full of haws, a couple of apples and onions and about a tablespoonful of mixed whole picking spices (includes cloves, cinnamon, allspice, coriander, cumin and cardamom)</p>
<p>I removed most of the foreign debris from the berrries - all of the leaves and spiders plus most of the stalks, but scrupulous picking-over isn't necessary, as it will all be sieved later.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hawthorn5.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hawthorn5.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hawthorn5.JPG, Sep 2008" />I put all of this into my biggest saucepan and added just enough water to cover, then brought it to the boil and simmered until the haws were completely tender and breaking apart.</p>
<p>Then I pounded the contents of the pan with a potato masher for a while.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hawthorn6.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hawthorn6.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hawthorn6.JPG, Sep 2008" />Next, I forced the cooked mixture through a tough, fine sieve using the back of a spoon - this was quite hard work and I'm sure would be more productive using a mouli or something like that.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hawthorn7.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/hawthorn7.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hawthorn7.JPG, Sep 2008" />I was left with a couple of pints of juicy pulp - at this point, I gave it a little taste - big mistake - it was really, <i>really</i> unpleasantly bitter.</p>
<p>I put the pulp back in the (rinsed) pan, adding (for each pint of pulp) a quarter pint of distilled malt vinegar, three ounces of soft dark brown sugar and about a quarter teaspoon each of ground allspice and cayenne pepper</p>
<p>I brought this mixture back to the boil and simmered it until thickened to the desired consistency</p>
<p>Then I poured it into sterilised sauce bottles and capped them tightly while still hot.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">The Finished Sauce</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="hawthorn8.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/h/.hawthorn8_m.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="hawthorn8.JPG, Sep 2008" />The first taste of the sauce (the part-bottle, the next day) was a big disappointment, as it still had a very bitter tang which overwhelmed all the other flavours - I put the two full bottles in disgrace at the back of the cupboard.</p>
<p>After a month, I thought I'd give it another try. What a difference!</p>
<p>The sauce has mellowed into a fruity, piquant brown ketchup - bitterness has subsided to a level that is actually pleasant and the sauce now makes an excellent accompaniment to almost any savoury dish.</p>
<p>I should have known this, of course - leaving pickles and chutneys to mellow and mature is not at all unusual - but this is the first time I've known it to eliminate bitterness like that.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Blackberry And Apple Crumbleurn:md5:4fcdd50ac900b0a48e9cdac9c334a6252008-08-17T23:07:00+00:002015-02-28T23:15:54+00:00MikeBerriesFoodForagingHedgerowsRecipesSummer<p><b><img alt="crumble1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/.crumble1_t.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble1.JPG, Aug 2008" />August 2008 -</b> This summer's crop of blackberries has started well and looks like it's going to continue in like manner.</p> <p class="clearleft"><img alt="crumble1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/crumble1.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble1.JPG, Aug 2008" />I went out for a stroll and in a few minutes, picked a couple of kilos of the biggest, juiciest blackberries I've ever seen. I decided to use some of them in a good old favourite pudding - blackberry and apple crumble.</p>
<h2 class="clearleft">The Recipe</h2>
<h3>Ingredients:</h3>
<ul>
<li>At least 200g of wild blackberries</li>
<li>Two or three dessert apples</li>
<li>200g plain white flour (or half white and half wholemeal)</li>
<li>140g granulated or caster sugar</li>
<li>100g butter</li>
<li>50g rolled oats</li>
<li>A couple of tablespoons of brown sugar</li>
</ul>
<h3>Method:</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="crumble2.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/crumble2.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble2.JPG, Aug 2008" />Put a layer of blackberries in a large, ovenproof dish.</p>
<p>My blackberries were so plump and juicy, I decided to make just a single neat layer, but there's no reason why they can't be piled in much deeper than this if you like - it's up to you.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="crumble3.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/crumble3.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble3.JPG, Aug 2008" />Cover with a layer of thinly-sliced, or diced apple (after removing the peel and core).</p>
<p>Sprinkle on a little brown sugar.</p>
<p>Some people like to pre-cook the apple a little before assembling the dish - and there's nothing wrong with that - I prefer to put it in raw - it will cook when the dish is baked, but it will stay mostly intact.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="crumble4.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/crumble4.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble4.JPG, Aug 2008" />Put the flour, butter, sugar and oats in a food processor and mix until combined to a crumb-like texture.</p>
<p>If you don't have a food mixer, the flour, oats and butter may be rubbed together by hand until crumbly, then the sugar can be mixed in.</p>
<p>Then just spoon the topping mixture over the fruit - try not to pack it down, or it will bake into a solid cookie - level it out, then rough up the top gently with a fork</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="crumble5.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/crumble5.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble5.JPG, Aug 2008" />Bake in a medium oven until the top goes toasty brown</p>
<p>If you use a glass dish like this one, you'll be able to see that the fruit has cooked in the bottom.</p>
<p>It's not unusual for the fruit to bubble up and erupt through the edges of the topping (although it didn't happen here) - this might look a bit messy if it happens, but it doesn't spoil the eating qualities of the dish - in fact the fruit juices may caramelise in this case and sometimes people fight over that bit.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="crumble6.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/crumble6.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble6.JPG, Aug 2008" />Serve piping hot with thick cream, or custard, or ice cream, or anything else you can think of.</p>
<p>I served this one with some good vanilla ice cream and a couple of dollops of clotted cream with brandy. Yum.</p>
<p>Of course, the recipe can be used with almost any other fruit - apple alone is quite nice, peach and pineapple is an interesting change, but - for me at least - blackberry and apple is the one to which they are all compared.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Storing Away The Summer</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="crumble8.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/crumble8.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble8.JPG, Aug 2008" />Whenever I go picking, I always come back with far more blackberries than I need for a single meal, but fortunately, they can be frozen - they lose a bit of their shape on thawing and they'll never be the same as fresh-picked fruits, but they're still pretty good.</p>
<p>I'm sure this sounds a bit twee, but whenever I use one of my bags of frozen blackberries - particularly if it's on a dark, dreary winter's day, I always feel like I'm opening a little packet of sunshine.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Pick Your Own!</h3>
<p><img alt="crumble7.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/b/crumble7.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="crumble7.JPG, Aug 2008" />Blackberries grow abundantly nearly everywhere - my mind boggles at the thought of it - such abundant free food - and yet so often ignored.</p>
<p>If these delicious, juicy, aromatic little treats were sold in the shops, people would pay a fortune for them.</p>
<p>Wait... they <strong><i>are</i> </strong>sold in the shops and people <strong><i>do</i> </strong>pay a fortune for them - equivalent to 12 quid a kilo. Twelve British Pounds per kilogram of blackberries. Unbelievable.</p>
<p>WAKE UP PEOPLE! You're paying through the nose for something you could pick from the hedge in the supermarket car park (actually, that's probably not the best place to pick them, but maybe you get the point).</p>
<p>One more thing. Those blackberries you get in the refrigerated fruit section of the supermarket will never be as fragrant and delicious as wild blackberries, eaten within an hour or two of picking.</p>
<p>This really is one of those cases where there is a vast difference between what you can buy and what you can gather for yourself.</p>
<p>Try it. I promise you won't be disappointed.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Rose Hipsurn:md5:47d02f41476ea0f27fc69e2fa1c86bdd2008-08-15T21:48:00+00:002016-07-02T23:13:51+00:00MikeAutumnBerriesFoodForagingHedgerowsSummer<p><b><img alt="rosehipthumb.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehipthumb.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosehipthumb.JPG, Aug 2008" />August 15 2008 -</b> We tried walking the Hamble Valley Strawberry Trail from Hamble Point up to Manor Farm, but kept getting lost. Fortunately, our random detours took us past some great wild food resources - some nice blackberries, a row of wild plum trees heavy with fruit and a planted rose hedge bearing lots of ripe rose hips.</p> <h2 class="clearleft">What Are Rose Hips?</h2>
<p>There are hundreds of species and varieties of rose - wild and cultivated - the good news is that they all produce usable fruits. The plants I found were an ornamental variety that produces dark purple-black hips.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosehip7.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip7.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="rosehip7.JPG, Aug 2008" /></p>
<p>More common sights (as depicted below) are the big, tomato-like hips of <i>Rosa rugosa</i> and those of wild hedgerow roses such as eglantine or dog rose (unripe in this photo)</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosehip8.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip8.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="rosehip8.JPG, Aug 2008" /><img alt="rosehip9.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip9.JPG" style="margin: 0 auto; display: block;" title="rosehip9.JPG, Aug 2008" /></p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Picking Rose Hips</h3>
<p>There's no point picking rose hips until they're really ripe - they will have hardly any flavour until then - in the case of most wild species, the fruits ripen in late summer to autumn, but some of the garden varieties ripen a lot earlier. If the rose hips can be crushed between finger and thumb, they're ready - in some cases, this will only be true after there has been some frost to soften them.</p>
<h3>Safety</h3>
<p>Most roses have very sharp, backward-pointing thorns that will happily snag clothes and pierce and lacerate human flesh - another minor risk is the little hairs inside the rose hips - these can quite easily work their way into the skin, becoming a painful irritant. If preparing the hips for jam, it's best to wear rubber gloves - if straining them for jelly or syrup, don't squeeze the jelly bag, or the little hairs may be forced through the mesh.</p>
<h3>Hairy Rose Galls</h3>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosehip10.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip10.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosehip10.JPG, Aug 2008" />Quite a common sight on wild rose bushes - these spongy, hairy growths are galls - they're caused when a certain parasitic insect lays its eggs on the stems - they secrete a chemical that provokes the plant to form these abnormal structures which the developing larva then inhabits and feeds upon.</p>
<p>they're not, as far as I know, useful for anything - I just thought they were interesting enough to warrant a mention.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Rose Hips In The Kitchen</h3>
<p>Rose hips are packed with vitamins - during WWII, when imported fruit was scarce, the government organised volunteer picking of rose hips by the ton and these were processed into syrups and health tonics.</p>
<p>So rose hip syrup is probably the most familiar culinary use for this often-neglected wild resource.</p>
<h2 class="clearleft">Cooking</h2>
<p>I picked a good couple of pounds of black rose hips</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosehip1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip1.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosehip1.JPG, Aug 2008" />For any preparation that would contain pieces of the actual fruit, it would be necessary to trim and de-seed the rose hips - being careful also to remove the irritating little hairs in which the seeds are packed. But because I was making syrup, it was only necessary to wash them.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosehip2.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip2.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosehip2.JPG, Aug 2008" />After washing, I put them in a large pan, added just enough water to cover, then brought it to the boil and simmered until the rose hips became soft and mushy. Then I tipped it into a jelly bag and left it to drip.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosehip4.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip4.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosehip4.JPG, Aug 2008" />The resulting juice was an incredibly dark, staining purple colour. I put it in a clean pan and added 300g of sugar to my 400ml of juice and boiled it for about ten minutes</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosehip5.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip5.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosehip5.JPG, Aug 2008" />I ended up with a little over a jar full of syrup.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="rosehip6.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/r/rosehip6.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="rosehip6.JPG, Aug 2008" />Syrup made from the black rose hips has a sweeter, more rounded fruity flavour than my memory of the stuff I've made from wild red hips in the past - which is usually more acidic and aromatic.</p>
<p>It's great poured over ice cream or pancakes.</p>
<p class="clearleft"> </p>Preserving Wild Plumsurn:md5:0635e7f84402f2d88a0eba51cb99f8af2008-08-14T20:40:00+00:002015-01-17T21:05:41+00:00MikeFoodForagingHedgerows<p><img alt="prunesthumb.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunesthumb.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunesthumb.JPG, Aug 2008" />People have been drying fruit for storage for millennia - and probably the most familiar dried fruit - at least in Britain - is the prune. Prunes are just dried plums - how hard can it be to make them? Let's find out...</p> <h2 class="clearleft">Drying Prunes</h2>
<p><img alt="prunes1.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes1.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes1.JPG, Aug 2008" />I started with a dozen of my <a class="ref-post" href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2008/08/07/Wild-Plums">wild plums</a> - I know it's going to be difficult drying them in the typical British summer climate, so I'm not even going to attempt leaving them whole - they'll dry much quicker if they're halved and stoned - the exposed flesh will release its moisture faster than the intact skin of a whole plum.</p>
<p>I experimented a bit with cutting and stoning them and found that cutting at right angles to the cleft on the fruit is the way to go - cutting in line with it leaves the flesh attached to the stone and the skin comes away empty.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes2.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes2.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes2.JPG, Aug 2008" />By slicing against the cleft, then setting aside for a minute or so, then gently twisting, I was able to get the fruit to separate fairly cleanly from the stone - requiring only a little bit of teasing with the point of a knife to remove it from the other half.</p>
<p>I could dry them in the oven or by some other artificially accelerated method, but I want to do it as simply as possible - sun-drying.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes3.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes3.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes3.JPG, Aug 2008" />This technique worked fairly well for making <a href="https://atomicshrimp.com/post/2008/08/14/st/content/crab_apples">fruit leather</a> from crab apples, so it ought to work for prunes.</p>
<p>The stoned, halved plums were laid out, cut-side-up on a piece of clean plastic sheet on a tray and this was placed in a sunny spot next to an open window (not essential, but a gentle breeze greatly speeds drying times).</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes4.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes4.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes4.JPG, Aug 2008" />A friendly spider living on a web strung right across the outside of the window helps to prevent flies entering and landing on the fruit.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes5.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes5.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes5.JPG, Aug 2008" />The tray was moved to another window ledge as the sun moved around.</p>
<p>At the end of day 1, the plums were noticeably shrunken.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes6.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes6.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes6.JPG, Aug 2008" />By the end of day 2, they're really drying quite well - a couple more days of sunshine and they'll be ready, I reckon.</p>
<p>I did lose one to mould - for some reason, just one half of one plum developed white spots on it and had to be discarded - the rest are OK, as far as I can see.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes7.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes7.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes7.JPG, Aug 2008" />Once they're past a certain point, they seem to keep on drying even out of the sunlight - at the start of day 3, they'd shrunk considerably overnight, even though it was quite cool.</p>
<p>We found another group of plum trees while out walking near Hamble village, so I decided to start another batch, so here they are alongside the first lot.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes8.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes8.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes8.JPG, Aug 2008" />End of day 4 - the prunes from the first batch are now very dry and shrivelled, but still quite soft - the second batch is about halfway there.</p>
<p>I tasted one of the drier specimens - they're good, but really quite sour. I think I'll preserve them in an alcoholic syrup or make them into a chutney.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes9.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes9.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes9.JPG, Aug 2008" />Day 6 - they're all done - the second batch must have had a higher sugar content than the first, as they ended up slightly more plump and were less sour to taste, They're proper prunes - and I think with a little further drying they would keep well for winter use. I'm surprised at how easy this was.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="prunes10.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/prunes10.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="prunes10.JPG, Aug 2008" />I wanted to turn my prunes into something a bit special - so I packed them into a jar, added a couple of heaped teaspoons of sugar and topped it up with brandy. I'll keep them for use around Christmas sometime, I think.</p>
<p>Fascinating to ponder that this little jar of prunes - that fits easily in my hand - was made from quite a sizeable bowl of fresh fruit.</p>
<p class="clearleft"><img alt="driedfruit.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/driedfruit.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="driedfruit.JPG, Jul 2010" />Plums aren't the only fruit that can be dried using this method - I've had similar success with cherries and gooseberries - I'm pretty sure tomatoes would also work..</p>
<h2 class="clearleft">Other Uses For Wild Plums</h2>
<h3>Plum Sauce</h3>
<p>My wife found a great recipe for plum sauce - she made a couple of pints of this and we froze it in cup-sized portions - taking one out of the freezer today to thaw and serve with some roast turkey (excellent combination), I noticed that the sauce is a pretty tasty, tangy sorbet if eaten straight from frozen.</p>
<p>The sauce is made by taking a pound of plums (stones removed) with 6 tablespoons of brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons of water and stewing gently until tender, then blending with a slug of sherry and 4 tablespoons of redcurrant jelly (we had none, so we used seedless raspberry jam).</p>
<h3>Plum Jam</h3>
<p><img alt="plumjam.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/plumjam.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="plumjam.JPG, Aug 2008" />Bit of an obvious one this, but wild plums make a fantastic jam that sets easily, spreads smoothly and has a lovely sweet-sour taste that is just brilliant on toast, crumpets or scones</p>
<p>It's easy to make too - I cut about 500g of plums in half (just to check them for foreign bodies) and put them in a pan with a tiny splash of water to stop them burning. The fruit was gently stewed until it broke down completely, then the stones were removed by passing the mixture through a coarse colander.</p>
<p>The sieved pulp was then returned to the pan with about 75g of sugar to every 100g fruit and simmered until the sugar dissolved, then boiled for about five minutes before pouring into sterilised jars.</p>
<h3 class="clearleft">Spiced Plum Chutney</h3>
<p><img alt="plumchutney.JPG" class="media" src="https://atomicshrimp.com/public/p/plumchutney.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 0 1em 1em 0;" title="plumchutney.JPG, Aug 2008" />Almost the same method as for the jam - the plums were cut coarsely, then stewed and sieved through a colander to remove the stones.</p>
<p>The pulp was returned to the pan with a couple of onions, finely chopped, about 50g of brown sugar to every 100g of fruit, about half a cup of white vinegar, plus some ground allspice, nutmeg and a touch of cayenne pepper (all to taste) - simmered for about 45 minutes until thick and poured into clean jars.</p>
<p class="clearleft">Ideally, the chutney should be left for a few months to mellow, but jam and chutney-making always ends up making a few whole jars plus a little bit - and I tasted the little bit - on its own, with some strong cheese on a cracker - and in a sandwich with some ham - it's really good - smooth enough to spread easily - rich and spicy - sweet and sour. It will improve with age - I'm looking forward to it..</p>