Wild food thread

[David B]

It's a quiet time of year for wild food, but there are a few things on my 'to do' list.

Firstly, I'm going to pick a few ounces of wild chives. They are ready now, so first opportunity I get, I'll do it.

Then I will freeze some, and the rest I will chop up and put in the airing cupboard to dry, and see which work best for flavouring stews, omelettes, etc.

The nettles are beginning to shoot, but not quite big enough yet. I've yet to eat nettles, but the plan is to steam them for a couple of minutes, and fold them into a cheese omelette.

I'm keeping a close eye on the Alexanders

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexanders

The best developed ones are nearly ready to harvest.

I intend to take a few pics of them in the wild, through preparing them to cook, though eating them. I fancy ham with new potatoes, alexanders, and a cheese sauce.

The sea beet still has old, tough, winter leaves. They are OK, but not the best. A week or so and the young spring shoots will be ready. Good as a green veg (better than many commercial greens) to my mind, and I've also enjoyed them in the past lightly cooked, and folded into an omelette.

David B

[DMB]

We have a lot of alpine strawberries growing wild in our Swiss garden, if the gardener doesn't get too zealous and weed them out.

[Cath B]

The sorrel is well peeping up in my garden now.

So I guess the wild sorrel is emerging too though I haven't checked.

[Mung Dynasty]

Ok, I have to ask: nettles?

I've heard of using nettles for a lot of things but I've never heard of any eating them.

[David B]

Ok, I have to ask: nettles?

I've heard of using nettles for a lot of things but I've never heard of any eating them.

If you google 'nettle recipes' you'll find a lot of pages.

I haven't eaten them yet, but Cath has, so I'll leave her to report back

David

[Mung Dynasty]

Well that may be true, but googling for nettle recipes was not something that had crossed my mind. :D

Now recipes for quail are different.

[David B]

Today I browsed a bit on some Salad Burnet leaves on my walk.

I like to browse when walking.

Slightly bitter, very cucumbery. Nice.


http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/B/Burnet(Salad)/Burnet(Salad).htm

David B

[Redshirt]

Wild food, Swedish style :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH9MaW1tjig

[Worldtraveller]

I had some awesome wild boar from the Black Forest when I was in Germany. That was....nom nom nom. :D

[Pendaric]

Sorry. I'm not one of these survivalist type chaps. My food comes from the supermarket in tins and cellophane.

[Christina]

There's wildlife all over here that you could trap or shoot but we don't. The only thing that grows naturally on my property that I'm aware that you can eat are chantrelles growing back in the woods but they're surrounded by poison oak. I don't want them that badly. I have other mushrooms too but I have no idea what they are or if they're poisonous. I have lots of fruit trees and some grapes but they aren't wild, and neither are any of the herbs or edible flowers. I'm sure we must have something but I don't know what.

[Goldie]

Every year I pick morrell, puffer-ball and brains mushrooms. We also pick huckleberries and wild raspberries. Dandelions make a good salad... and we've eaten deer, elk, moose, bear, grouse, pheasant, chukkar and quail...oh and trout... but we don't hunt anymore. We'd rather take pictures.:) We hunted, basically out our back door because we were poor. Now we can afford beef. If someone wants to give me game, I won't turn it down, though. I love grouse. We have wild turkeys, but I wouldn't want to eat one.
ETA: Salmon... Things don't begin to start popping out of the ground until late April, early May.

[Christina]

Oh yeah. We have blackberry brambles everywhere. Dandelions are an abomination to a gardener, though. They don't last long enough to be food. And of course if I were a fisherman (or woman) there is fish to catch down at the coast.

[PostMortem]

Hi, silly question time: What qualifies as 'wild food'?

[Ray Moscow]

Ok, I have to ask: nettles?

I've heard of using nettles for a lot of things but I've never heard of any eating them.

I've had them in a couple of things, like yarg cheese and even a quiche.

But I'm not brave enough to try cooking with them. I suppose I should read up on this.

Oh, and we still have quite a few blackberries from last season in the freezer.

[David B]

Hi, silly question time: What qualifies as 'wild food'?

Working definition - food items foraged for, fished for or hunted, that is not deliberately farmed for.

Fish, game, snails, leaves, stalks, blossoms, roots, insects...ETA shellfish, seaweed

I'd count cockroaches, though I've never eaten one.

David

[PostMortem]

Working definition - food items foraged for, fished for or hunted, that is not deliberately farmed for.

Fish, game, snails, leaves, stalks, blossoms, roots, insects...

I'd count cockroaches, though I've never eaten one.

David

AH thanks I see, sort of. So to be wild food you couldn't purposely grow any of this stuff in your back yard?

[David B]

AH thanks I see, sort of. So to be wild food you couldn't purposely grow any of this stuff in your back yard?

Grey area with stuff like dandelions, nettles, chickweed.

Even nasturtiums, which are not usually grown for food, but can be eaten.

[PostMortem]

Grey area with stuff like dandelions, nettles, chickweed.

Even nasturtiums, which are not usually grown for food, but can be eaten.

Thanks.

Years ago I used to work at a garden centre and one of the other workers there was an expert on what plants can or cannot be eaten. Nasturtiums were one of his favorite. He would walk around all day plucking leaves off various plants and eating them, I don't think I ever saw him take a sit-down lunch.

[nygreenguy]

There are tons of thing out there that can be consumed. Better yet, most cant be used in novel ways, like jellies, flour, tea, and syrup!

[Goldie]

I love using pansies in salads. They are so pretty. Not wild...but... I love the hot flowers that grow from chives. POW! Rose petals are good, too.
Something pretty is to "frost" pansies with sugar and place on ice cream with mint leaves. it's easy and impressive. :)

[Cath B]

Today I browsed a bit on some Salad Burnet leaves on my walk.

I like to browse when walking.

Slightly bitter, very cucumbery. Nice.


http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/B/Burnet(Salad)/Burnet(Salad).htm

David B

Salad Burnet is thriving in my garden.

A native plant but was deliberately planted there.

Nettle soup is great.

The way I make it is pretty much as recommended by Richard Mabey from the copy of Food for Free (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Free-Collins-Natural-History/dp/0007247680/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235946616&sr=8-2) I bought in the 1970s.

Cook a load of young, washed nettle leaves (use gloves!) in a sealed pan for a few minutes till collapsed and softened. Press though a sieve or blend, add to a very thin roux sauce and simmer gently for a few minutes.

I reckon this would also make a good sauce

Last year I made a nettle quiche:-

Make a basic short crust quiche base, prick with a fork and cooked for 15 minutes at 180 degrees C
Coat with beaten egg and cook another 5 minutes
Meanwhile wash a bag of young nettle leaves (use gloves!) and cook in the drips in a sealed pan for a few minutes stirring occasionally until they collapse.
Add nettles to quiche base.
Cover with a topping of milk or cream plus two eggs, salt and pepper.
Top with grated cheese if wished and bake for around 40 minutes until set.
Delicious and very nutritious.

[Brianna]

I like Nettle French Onion Soup.

All the food is dead. See back in Spring.

[Cath B]

I like Nettle French Onion Soup.



How do you make that ?

I've never even made ordinary French Onion Soup.

[Brianna]

How do you make that ?

I've never even made ordinary French Onion Soup.

It is just french onion soup with nettles in it.
My friend makes it for me. :)

[Cath B]

Thanks.

I'll maybe try it.

[Brianna]

Thanks.

I'll maybe try it.

She doesn't use meat in her soup. :D

[Arctish]

Thanks.

Years ago I used to work at a garden centre and one of the other workers there was an expert on what plants can or cannot be eaten. Nasturtiums were one of his favorite. He would walk around all day plucking leaves off various plants and eating them, I don't think I ever saw him take a sit-down lunch.

I like to make a Thai style soup with coconut milk and garden veggies and garnish it with nasturtium flowers. It looks fantastic and the flowers have a nice peppery bite that blends very well with Thai cuisine.

Here is the recipe for Fireweed (aka Rosebay Willowherb) jelly David B asked for:

Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a rapid boil and pour over 2 cups of firmly packed fireweed flowers and buds. Let the mixture cool down and then refrigerate overnight. Strain the liquid through a jelly bag or cheesecloth. The yield should be about 2 cups of liquid.

When you're ready to make the jelly combine the liquid with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of powdered pectin, and 1/2 teaspoon of butter or margarine. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of sugar and boil hard for another minute, stirring constantly. Pour into sterilized jelly jars, and you're done. You can process the jars in a boiling water canner if you'd like, but I never do and my jelly comes out just fine.

[Cath B]

She doesn't use meat in her soup. :D

Neither do I :D

[Cath B]

I like to make a Thai style soup with coconut milk and garden veggies and garnish it with nasturtium flowers. It looks fantastic and the flowers have a nice peppery bite that blends very well with Thai cuisine.

Here is the recipe for Fireweed (aka Rosebay Willowherb) jelly David B asked for:

Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a rapid boil and pour over 2 cups of firmly packed fireweed flowers and buds. Let the mixture cool down and then refrigerate overnight. Strain the liquid through a jelly bag or cheesecloth. The yield should be about 2 cups of liquid.

When you're ready to make the jelly combine the liquid with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of powdered pectin, and 1/2 teaspoon of butter or margarine. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of sugar and boil hard for another minute, stirring constantly. Pour into sterilized jelly jars, and you're done. You can process the jars in a boiling water canner if you'd like, but I never do and my jelly comes out just fine.

I'd like to try that too.

And can see whether mine or David B's turns out better.

I use jam jars in the way my mother used to. Let them steep in almost boiling water will both sterilise and stop them cracking when the jelly goes in.

I won't use pectin though - not part of my tradition (I can be very set in my ways).

In our neck of the woods Rosebay Willowherb is sometimes known as Bingweed for its tendency to grow on coal tips or bings. (I live in a former coal mining area).

[Joykins]

I generally pick wild blackberries and sometimes I have a small wild "wood" strawberries (both of the above are like weeds here).

Last year my brother's friend who does some more extensive foraging introduced me to the American Persimmon. Yum!

[Mung Dynasty]

I won't use pectin though - not part of my tradition (I can be very set in my ways).
Tragic pun award. :D

[David B]

I'd like to try that too.

And can see whether mine or David B's turns out better.

I use jam jars in the way my mother used to. Let them steep in almost boiling water will both sterilise and stop them cracking when the jelly goes in.

I won't use pectin though - not part of my tradition (I can be very set in my ways).

In our neck of the woods Rosebay Willowherb is sometimes known as Bingweed for its tendency to grow on coal tips or bings. (I live in a former coal mining area).

So what will you use instead of pectin? Crabs?

David

[dug_down_deep]

We live on a 2 acre lot along the Scioto River, with 2 other 2 acre lots on either side of us that combined with ours used to be one 6 acre sheep farm. (We got the house and barns - they got the pasture.) Which means we have very fertile land, with fencerows. I'm looking forward to the spring, when I can start picking stuff out of the lawn, hedges, and trees to munch on.

Here's a list of things I've eaten:

Lamb's Quarters (spinach-like)
Clover
Day Lilies
Blackberries
Black Raspberries
Mulberries
Mustard
Chamomile
Wild Garlic
Various Mint plants
Purslane

Probably some things I've forgotten, and a few things that I know are edible but I haven't been brave enough to try, like nettles, dandelions, pokeweed, mushrooms...

[Joykins]

Pokeweed is highly toxic and can only be consumed safely--and only the leaves IIRC-- after repeated boilings and rinsings. I don't recommend it.

[David B]

Picked my wild chives today.

Half are in the freezer, half drying.

Looking at the little packs sold in Tescos and imported from Israel, presumably by air, at 70p a pack, about a fiver's worth.

David

[Brianna]

Pokeweed is highly toxic and can only be consumed safely--and only the leaves IIRC-- after repeated boilings and rinsings. I don't recommend it.

No you are very right.

[dug_down_deep]

Pokeweed is highly toxic and can only be consumed safely--and only the leaves IIRC-- after repeated boilings and rinsings. I don't recommend it.
That's one reason I haven't tried it. ;)

In Stalking the Wild Asparagus, I think that Euell Gibbons said you could eat the young plant. Another reason I haven't tried some of those other plants is because I have trouble finding the young plants. Like with dandelions.

eta Found a reference: http://www.rewild.info/fieldguide/index.php?title=Pokeweed

[Joykins]

My neighbor grew a 10-foot pokeweed in his yard-neglect stage. I had to keep my kids from getting into it, as it grew right into our deck.

[dug_down_deep]

Yeah, I hate the adult plants. Those berries stain.

[nygreenguy]

Yeah, I hate the adult plants. Those berries stain.

and they are a damn weed.

[nygreenguy]

I generally pick wild blackberries and sometimes I have a small wild "wood" strawberries (both of the above are like weeds here).

Last year my brother's friend who does some more extensive foraging introduced me to the American Persimmon. Yum!


mmm....persimmon. Diospyros virginiana, it means fruit of the gods. They are like apricots soaked in sugar. Be warned, the ones in grocery stores are often NOT the american persimmon but the japaneese persimmon kaki. Its sooooo not as good. Same goes with chestnuts. The ones in the store are chineese chestnuts which PALE in comparison to american chestnut.

[Christina]

The last place that I lived had a chestnut tree but I'm not sure what kind. The nuts were covered in a spiky covering that hurt like hell when you stepped on them but the nuts were delicious. A word of warning - they really do explode if you don't score them before roasting. I found that out by tossing a bunch in a burn pile and having flaming hot chestnut bombs flying all over the place. We had a persimmon tree too that had the most delicious fruit once it ripened to mush, but again I don't know which kind. My partner brought home a very young one last fall so I doubt we'll get fruit for a few years at least.

[nygreenguy]

The last place that I lived had a chestnut tree but I'm not sure what kind. The nuts were covered in a spiky covering that hurt like hell when you stepped on them but the nuts were delicious. A word of warning - they really do explode if you don't score them before roasting. I found that out by tossing a bunch in a burn pile and having flaming hot chestnut bombs flying all over the place. We had a persimmon tree too that had the most delicious fruit once it ripened to mush, but again I don't know which kind. My partner brought home a very young one last fall so I doubt we'll get fruit for a few years at least.

Its hard to say for the chestnut, but chances are the persimmon were the american ones.

[David B]

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/160309003.jpg

Things are starting to grow:)

These are rather strong flavoured an a little bitter for my taste, and I've found plenty of other, nicer, easy to find greens.

Ray Mears says that roasting the roots is good, so one day, when I find them eroded out, I'll try that. Common though they are round here, I'm not going to dig them out.

David

[David B]

This is nice to nibble on in the course of a walk, if you like aniseed.

I quite do, but not in excess.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/160309001.jpg

[David B]

The earlier ones are coming into flower now, and ready to harvest.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/alexanders001.jpg

The part to eat (though it's all edible) is the bottom of the stalk, which is stringy, and rather similar to celery.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/alexanders002.jpg

This is what I've collected today, trimmed

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/alexanders004.jpg

Later, I will boil up a few potatoes, while peeling the alexanders with a potato peeler, put the alexanders, chopped into inch lengths in with the spuds for 5 minutes, and make a cheese sauce.

Then I will put the alexanders and pots into an oven dish with some chopped ham, pour the cheese sauce on top, some grated cheese on that, and put in the oven till the cheese sauce looks right:)

David

[Cath B]

You don't cook the alexanders first then.

I considered picking some alexanders today but I'd already cropped a perfectly good cauli going very cheap at the Co-op.

[David B]

Yes, I cook the alexanders for about 5 min, with the pots (so I only have to use one pan) for 5 min or so as the pots finish cooking.

Are they ready up by you?

David

[Cath B]

Yes, I just noticed they were in flower over the braes (on the way to the Seafield Castle) today.

[David B]

I'll have that again!

It was very nice.

David

[David B]

Well that's something done!

No, not the paperwork for work, but collecting wild garlic flower buds, which are now in an old coffee jar in olive oil and a dark place for a while.

Will report how it works in due course.

David

[rlogan]

Blueberry stock is dwindling. Out of moose. Out of salmon. Mushrooms one jar left.

Plenty of teas left but I don't drink much of it anyway.

[Cath B]

I cooked a bit of ground elder which I noticed when I was cropping my sorrel.

Do garden weeds count as wild food gathering?

[epepke]

Around here, wild food consists mainly of coconuts, orange dates, and the occasional alligator. All good. I used to go around campus when the dates were falling.

[Berthold]

A recommendable fungus (http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Coprinus_comatus.html) that may locally be quite abundant in spring.

Allium ursinum (http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Alli_urs.html).

[David B]

My wild garlic infused olive oil is a triumph - just done steak and onions in it. Yum!

The wild brassicas I pictured earlier in the thread now have budding shoots, very broccoli like. I cooked some of them up to go with the steak, and they were very good, too. Never done it before, will do it again.

I have a pic of them on the camera, which I'll post next time I put the pics into the computer.

David.

[Gooch's Dad]

This past summer, I discovered purslane at my sister's place in California. I never new the plant was edible, but some workers told us about it. I had it both sauteed and fresh, and it's really yummy stuff.

For years, I've wanted to try some of the acorns that the California natives used as the staple of their diet, but I've never gotten around to harvesting the right kind of acorns and leaching them for eating. I'll have to try it later this summer.

[David B]

This past summer, I discovered purslane at my sister's place in California. I never new the plant was edible, but some workers told us about it. I had it both sauteed and fresh, and it's really yummy stuff.

For years, I've wanted to try some of the acorns that the California natives used as the staple of their diet, but I've never gotten around to harvesting the right kind of acorns and leaching them for eating. I'll have to try it later this summer.

Sea Purslane?

That is one of the greens I eat from time to time, sometimes as a green in itself, but more often as a mix with some others, like fat hen and sea beet.

I wouldn't put it among my favourites by itself, but I like a bit of it to add texture to a mess of greens.

If not Sea Purslane, then what?

David

[Gooch's Dad]

Nope, plain old purslane:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea

The Mexican workers who told us about it called it Verdolaga, and I guess it is commonly sold by that name at many California farmer's markets.

[David B]

Looks interesting, though I don't think I've seen it in my neck of the woods.

David

[Cath B]

Portulaca oleracea is not native to the UK.

The Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose lists three members of the purslane family only one of which, Blinks, Montia fontana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montia), is native here. I don't recall seeing it.

Several years ago I was puzzled by an unfamiliar pink woodland flower in Perthshire and last year found a load of it carpeting a Fife wood near me. I identified it as Claytnia sibirica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claytonia_sibirica) which a local book describes as threatening the native bluebells. My UK flower book calls it Pink Purslane, but Wiki gives it several different US names. Interestingly, one of these is Siberian Miners Lettuce, which implies edibility. I can show it to you when you visit and we can think about sampling it.

Do you know that one, Gooch's Dad?

[Cath B]

Here are some pictures:-

http://www.floralimages.co.uk/images/claytonia_sibirica_13f8.jpg

http://www.floralimages.co.uk/images/claytonia_sibirica_13f8.jpg

http://www.floralimages.co.uk/images/claytonia_sibirica_1706.jpg

http://www.floralimages.co.uk/images/claytonia_sibirica_1706.jpg

[Cath B]

Further investigation confirms that Claytonia sibirica is edible.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 62, 183]. They usually have a fairly bland flavour and are quite nice in a salad or cooked as a green vegetable. The leaves have a distinct earthy after-taste rather like raw beetroot[K]. They are available all year round but can turn rather bitter in the summer, especially if the plant is growing in a hot dry position[K]. Although on the small side, the leaves are produced in abundance and are very easily harvested[K].

http://pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Claytonia+sibirica

[Monad]

Claytonia is not native to the UK but it seems to be common in many woods here. It has a fascinating, almost succulent habit and very regular growth pattern. It may be a weed but I rather like it - it reminds me of a miniature Lewisia (it is closely related of course)

[David B]

These are the shoots I picked yesterday, on the plant

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/April132009023.jpg

And this is what I took

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/April132009024.jpg

They were really very good - one of my real foraging successes.

David

[Monad]

This is one you wild food lovers should try:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apios_americana

esp in the US

[Cath B]

Claytonia is not native to the UK but it seems to be common in many woods here. It has a fascinating, almost succulent habit and very regular growth pattern. It may be a weed but I rather like it - it reminds me of a miniature Lewisia (it is closely related of course)

It looks lovely in the woods hereabouts.

And intriguing as pink is an unusual colour in British wood floor plants.

But the news that it is threatening local species is not so good.

[nygreenguy]

Burdock is a great edible plant. The young roots make a fantastic tea that allegedly is a blood purifier and the roots themselves can be eaten.

Staghorn sumac is another good one. You take the young mature berries and slightly bruise them and make them like a tea. I suggest having it iced as it tastes like lemonade.

A good tea can be made from white pine needles also. It's very high in vitamin c.

I also know a ton of medicinal plants is anyone cares.

[nygreenguy]

Crap, I left out a few. Marsh marigold leaves can be eaten like spinach. Same with dandelion greens. You can eat the young shoots of cat tail and their pollen makes a great flour additive. It adds a ton of protein to bread. The young rhizomes can be eaten fresh and the older ones cooked like potato!

We have ethnibotany at our school. What a great class!

[SteveF]

This is an amazing book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Free-Richard-Mabey/dp/0002201593

[Monad]

Claytonia is not native to the UK but it seems to be common in many woods here. It has a fascinating, almost succulent habit and very regular growth pattern. It may be a weed but I rather like it - it reminds me of a miniature Lewisia (it is closely related of course)

It looks lovely in the woods hereabouts.

And intriguing as pink is an unusual colour in British wood floor plants.

But the news that it is threatening local species is not so good.

I found a large patch of a pink colour form of Anemone nemerosa today - very pretty flower in all its forms (I have a luminous lavender-blue one in my garden)

[Monad]

Crap, I left out a few. Marsh marigold leaves can be eaten like spinach. Same with dandelion greens. You can eat the young shoots of cat tail and their pollen makes a great flour additive. It adds a ton of protein to bread. The young rhizomes can be eaten fresh and the older ones cooked like potato!

We have ethnibotany at our school. What a great class!

I have a load of Caltha palustris growing in my garden - I planted it in a mini pond in a large planter a few years ago but it's self seeded into neighbouring pots despite the fact that most of them are relatively dry (apart from an even smaller mini pond in a tiny pot to which it has adapted its size - I'll post some pics later)

Pretty sure they are quite poisonous though so I wouldn't recommend eating them myself

[nygreenguy]

Crap, I left out a few. Marsh marigold leaves can be eaten like spinach. Same with dandelion greens. You can eat the young shoots of cat tail and their pollen makes a great flour additive. It adds a ton of protein to bread. The young rhizomes can be eaten fresh and the older ones cooked like potato!

We have ethnibotany at our school. What a great class!

I have a load of Caltha palustris growing in my garden - I planted it in a mini pond in a large planter a few years ago but it's self seeded into neighbouring pots despite the fact that most of them are relatively dry (apart from an even smaller mini pond in a tiny pot to which it has adapted its size - I'll post some pics later)

Pretty sure they are quite poisonous though so I wouldn't recommend eating them myselfnative peope and I have been eating itbfir some time and never had any ill effects!

[dug_down_deep]

Nope, plain old purslane:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea

The Mexican workers who told us about it called it Verdolaga, and I guess it is commonly sold by that name at many California farmer's markets.
That stuff grows as a weed in my garden. I should probably just pull the stuff I plant and eat that instead.

[nygreenguy]

Crap, I left out a few. Marsh marigold leaves can be eaten like spinach. Same with dandelion greens. You can eat the young shoots of cat tail and their pollen makes a great flour additive. It adds a ton of protein to bread. The young rhizomes can be eaten fresh and the older ones cooked like potato!

We have ethnibotany at our school. What a great class!

I have a load of Caltha palustris growing in my garden - I planted it in a mini pond in a large planter a few years ago but it's self seeded into neighbouring pots despite the fact that most of them are relatively dry (apart from an even smaller mini pond in a tiny pot to which it has adapted its size - I'll post some pics later)


Pretty sure they are quite poisonous though so I wouldn't recommend eating them myselfnative peope and I have been eating itbfir some time and never had any ill effects! Actually it's just a matter of cooking theblike spinich like I said and the are perfectly ok.

[Monad]

OK but it looks like it needs a lot more preparation than Spinach (which you can eat raw):

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Calthpa.htm

[nygreenguy]

OK but it looks like it needs a lot more preparation than Spinach (which you can eat raw):

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Calthpa.htm

Well, I never eat adult spinach raw. YUCK! :) But you just boil it and change the water ones. This plant has been a staple of the native american diet for quite some time. People just tend to get scared to eat new things! Hell, potatoes can be highly toxic and thats americas favorite veggie!

[Monad]

The young tender leaves are lovely in a salad - I hate overcooked spinach.

[David B]

I had some Sea Beet today, which I reckon better than spinach.

Especially the tender young spring leaves.

David

[nygreenguy]

The young tender leaves are lovely in a salad - I hate overcooked spinach.


Absolutely. Baby spinach is one of my absolute favorite greens AND its a super food!

My basic point was people have lost touch with whats out there. Native peoples can identify and use over 200 different plants, while the average person can barely even identify 10. There are just too many good things out there that we pass by every day!

[Brianna]

The young tender leaves are lovely in a salad - I hate overcooked spinach.


Absolutely. Baby spinach is one of my absolute favorite greens AND its a super food!

My basic point was people have lost touch with whats out there. Native peoples can identify and use over 200 different plants, while the average person can barely even identify 10. There are just too many good things out there that we pass by every day!

Most people I know can't id as many plants as I do. I actually will chew on pine needles just to see how they taste :D

[David B]

So Cath and I had a cheese and nettle omelette today.

I found the nettles a bit tasteless, compared with some of the other wild greens I've folded into a cheese omelette, but it added some body. Maybe should have used more.

Accompanied by a green salad from her garden, with loads of different stuff in, including hawthorn and raspberry leaves, as well as Welsh onion, chives, sorrel, fennel, lettuce, rocket, coriander, good king Henry and ground elder.

David

[Cath B]

Picked a bag of comfrey today as an experiment to make a liquid food for the tomatoes not for me!

Does that count as wild food?

[Brianna]

Picked a bag of comfrey today as an experiment to make a liquid food for the tomatoes not for me!

Does that count as wild food?

So have you heard that comfrey causes cancer?

And yes it does! :)

[David B]

Picked a bag of comfrey today as an experiment to make a liquid food for the tomatoes not for me!

Does that count as wild food?

So have you heard that comfrey causes cancer?

And yes it does! :)

The first link I hit in my search for comfrey and cancer says it is an anti cancer agent:dunno:

http://www.doctoryourself.com/comfrey_herb.html

The wiki article seems to state that liver damage is more of a problem than cancer, if taken internally, but its most remarkable alleged physiological property ... well, I'll just quote wiki

In past times comfrey baths were popular to repair the hymen and thus ‘restore virginity’.

David

[Cath B]

In past times comfrey baths were popular to repair the hymen and thus ‘restore virginity’.

David

Wow, I didn't know that!

[Brianna]

Picked a bag of comfrey today as an experiment to make a liquid food for the tomatoes not for me!

Does that count as wild food?

So have you heard that comfrey causes cancer?

And yes it does! :)

The first link I hit in my search for comfrey and cancer says it is an anti cancer agent:dunno:

http://www.doctoryourself.com/comfrey_herb.html

The wiki article seems to state that liver damage is more of a problem than cancer, if taken internally, but its most remarkable alleged physiological property ... well, I'll just quote wiki

In past times comfrey baths were popular to repair the hymen and thus ‘restore virginity’.

David

It is an argument between herbalist all the time. I'd still eat it myself...

http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/UnconventionalTherapies/Comfrey.htm

"One should entirely forgo the internal administration of the drug [comfrey], due to the presence, however small, of pyrrolizidine alkaloids which have hepatotoxic and carcinogenic effects." (Physician's Desk Reference)

"In view of the hepatotoxic properties documented for the pyrrolizidine alkaloid constituents, comfrey should not be taken internally. The topical application of comfrey-containing preparations to broken skin should be avoided... Comfrey should not be taken during pregnancy or lactation." (Newall)

[Cath B]

I'd still eat it myself...



I was wondering about it but decided to give it a miss - in any case, it's in flower now and leaves are generally better before flowering.

[David B]

First prawns of the year. Time to start shelling. Enough for a meal or two. Tomorrow the tide is better, so I'll try to feed the freezer.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/june09003.jpg

And a nice big spider, big enough to eat, so I will. Yum!!!

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/june09004.jpg

David

[Cath B]

Very impressive Dave.

The Elder is ideal for making what my Dad calls Elderflower Champagne now.

I'd like to try making some myself, but too busy with other stuff right now.

[David B]

I see that the fireweed is starting to flower, so I'm planning on making jelly within the next few days.

I've been using fat hen as a green veg for the last few weeks, and today I intend to get some of that, as well as picking wimberries.

Will take camera, so pics will follow.

David

[dug_down_deep]

I found some purslane growing as a 'weed' in our garden last night. I was going to eat it, then I lost confidence and threw it away. I need to start munching on the lawn again.

http://www.umassvegetable.org/ethnic-crops/crops/images/purslane_500_400.jpg

[Cath B]

There's lots of pink purslane growing in nearby woods as invasive species.

It took me a long time to identify it.

Haven't tried earing it yet.

[Ray Moscow]

I remember an essay by Thoreau in which he mentioned eating pursane.

Anyway: yesterday we looked over the local berry patches. Nothing looks to be ready for a few weeks yet.

[David B]

?

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/Raystripflowersforidentification009.jpg

David

[David B]

Just finished cooking prawns - not a bad day, just under 2 lbs. The bad news is that my net got damaged and needs fixing before I go again. Weather looks not to good tomorrow, so it will give me till the nest tides.

Shelling, keeping some to eat tomorrow, and freezing the rest comes next.

And I also have an excuse to see what a photobucket copy of a phone cam pic of a live prawn in my bath looks like. On the camera it looked pretty damn good:)

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/july2009prawn001.jpg

David

[Berthold]

?

David
This (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gew%C3%B6hnlicher_Schneeball).

"Slightly toxic"

[David B]

?

David
This (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gew%C3%B6hnlicher_Schneeball).

"Slightly toxic"

Bugger:( Lots of fruit there. Still better to learn what not to eat than to just eat it:)

David

[nygreenguy]

Bugger:( Lots of fruit there. Still better to learn what not to eat than to just eat it:)

David


Yes, dont ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER eat anything without ABSOLUTELY knowing what it is and its ACTUAL toxicity first.

[Berthold]

Bugger:( Lots of fruit there. Still better to learn what not to eat than to just eat it:)

David
Such a lot that you might think of this:
Vor allem in der Türkei und besonders in der zentralanatolischen Stadt Kayseri werden die Früchte in Fässern mit Leitungswasser eingelegt. Das Wasser in den Fässern wird alle 2 Wochen einmal ausgetauscht. Nach gut einem Monat sind die eingelegten Beeren "reif" und werden dann vor allem im Sommer ausgepresst und mit Wasser und Zucker zu einem wohl schmeckenden Erfrischungsgetränk "Gilaboru" vermischt.?
(storage and leaching with water detoxifies them)

Sorry, the English version (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viburnum_opulus) of wiki does not have this recipe.

ETA: googling for gilaboru gives lots of quotes, but except for this German one they are in Turkish ;)

[dug_down_deep]

I just finished preparing about 3 quarts of pickled purslane that will be ready to eat in about 2 weeks. It was growing as a weed in our garden, so I decided to make it earn its keep. I'll let you all know how it tastes.

We have multitudes of some species of Sagittaria growing along the river bank (probably Duck Potato, but I'm not 100% sure). But I'm afraid to eat the rhizomes, since the river is probably pretty polluted.

[Berthold]

Can't be really bad if Sagittaria grows there. ;)

[dug_down_deep]

I don't know, Berthold. I'm under the impression that some plants thrive on pollutants.

Is RBH ever around lately? I would like to get his opinion on the safety of eating plants growing along the Scioto River.

[Berthold]

Just associated it with relatively nature-near environments.

Looked some up now and found, e. g., this:
Other info. - This species can be found scattered throughout Missouri but is absent from the farmland areas of north-central portion of the state.
on this site (http://www.missouriplants.com/Whitealt/Sagittaria_latifolia_page.html).

[dug_down_deep]

I'm going to have to take a picture of it, because it definitely isn't latifolia, based on those pictures. Hmmmm.

[Matty]

does roadkill count as wild food?

I saw some program a while back about the use of fresh roadkill as an overlooked meat source and it was quite convincing so i though i'd give it a go next time i inadvertently ran something down. I trimmed off the worst of the damaged tissue, carved it up into decent sized but not too big pieces and marinated with a little olive oil and white wine vinegar for a couple hours before grilling it. It was surprisingly tasty and there was a lot of good, nicely marbled meat to be had even after you had extensively trimmed and skinned it .

Now i just need to know what to do with her bike.

[David B]

does roadkill count as wild food?

I saw some program a while back about the use of fresh roadkill as an overlooked meat source and it was quite convincing so i though i'd give it a go next time i inadvertently ran something down. I trimmed off the worst of the damaged tissue, carved it up into decent sized but not too big pieces and marinated with a little olive oil and white wine vinegar for a couple hours before grilling it. It was surprisingly tasty and there was a lot of good, nicely marbled meat to be had even after you had extensively trimmed and skinned it .

Now i just need to know what to do with her bike.

Wot, no fava beans?

I suppose most people here will be too young to remember Chad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_%28graffiti%29

Yeah, sure roadkill is wild food. I just don't fancy badger or fox, and the squirrels and hedgehogs I've come across so far have been too flat:(

David

[Matty]

heh, i have to thank frankie boyle for that one, just thought it was apt, though i do remember Hugh Fernly Whittingstall doing a bit about fresh roadkill once.

We hit a deer a couple years back ad i did go looking for it with a view to calling my hunter mate to pick me up and help dress it in exchange for half the meat, but bambi had run off unfortunately. Have to get a hummer or truck with bull bars for next time.

[Monad]

I'm eating home made Irish stew made with semi wild goat meat at the moment - took all day to cook slowly but yummy

[David B]

Marsh Samphire is one of the year's real treats.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/Augustnaturepics012.jpg

A good wash, simmer for 5 min, knob of butter, no added salt, good accompaniment for fish in particular, but also raw as part of a salad.

David

[dancer_rnb]

I've got some stuff in the fridge that probably qualifies as "wild" now.

[Ray Moscow]

We picked some bilberries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilberry) while walking in Snowdonia over the weekend. They are basically a wild blueberry.

[David B]

I've been neglecting this thread, and have been busy learning how to make jams and jellies, cakes, puddings, muffins.

Made two lots of wild plum jam, blackberry and apple jelly (apple's from Dad's garden), blackberry and apple muffins, cake and upside down cake, boiled up wild plums to use as ice cream sauce (yum - most of it frozen, some eaten) have collected haws for jelly and more wild plums to make wild plum vodka, hope to get hips to make jelly and syrup tomorrow.

David

[Ray Moscow]

We gathered a couple of pints of blackberries and about a pint each of rose hips and hawthorne berries on our walkabout last Sunday.

There are still some good batches of late blackberries to be had here.

[Cath B]

We gathered a couple of pints of blackberries and about a pint each of rose hips and hawthorne berries on our walkabout last Sunday.

There are still some good batches of late blackberries to be had here.

What are you planning to do with all this largesse?

[Ray Moscow]

We cook crumbles with the blackberries, and we make teas (infusions) with the rose hips and hawthorne berries.

We'll cook up a crumble if you guys visit us in scenic Surrey.

[Cath B]

We cook crumbles with the blackberries, and we make teas (infusions) with the rose hips and hawthorne berries.

We'll cook up a crumble if you guys visit us in scenic Surrey.

Sounds good :)

[Ray Moscow]

We picked a couple of more pints of blackberries yesterday and some more rose hips.

And we cooked up a blackberry crumble this weekend, too. Good stuff.

[dug_down_deep]

I've been eating the pickled purslane. Good stuff, though I will be looking for a tastier vinegar/spice recipe next time.

[Berthold]

...wild plums to make wild plum vodka,...

David
That's a funny name for Slivovitz. ;)

[Ray Moscow]

...wild plums to make wild plum vodka,...

David
That's a funny name for Slivovitz. ;)

I've drunk a lot of it in my time in (now former) Yugoslavia.

[Cath B]

I've made some with my garden plums a few times.

I didn't know it was called Slivovitz though.

[Ray Moscow]

"Sliva" just means "plum", so the name is just derived from the fruit.

Since the war, I've noticed that the Serbs have taken to drinking mostly kruscovic, from pears. Before the war, everyone (Serbs, Croats, Muslims) seemed to like both. I don't know whether this is a nationalistic thing or just practical, since trade between the regions is now limited.

[Berthold]

Quite a few species (and in them, varieties) of fruit give very aromatic brandies. Apricots, cherries, gages, apples, pears, plums, grapes...

[Cath B]

Quite a few species (and in them, varieties) of fruit give very aromatic brandies. Apricots, cherries, gages, apples, pears, plums, grapes...

Apple brandy! There's a thought! Easier (though pricier)to make than cider.

I've made and enjoyed cherry brandy and elderberry brandy.

[David B]

I have fireweed infusing now, to make jelly. Should be interesting.

Samphire is delicious and at its best at the moment - £8.45 a kilo in my local market, but I know loads of places where it grows in profusion - brilliant with fish. Especially salmon.

David

[Prosthetic Head]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokeweed

This is usually what I pick were im from. The morels are very tastey.

[Arctish]

I have fireweed infusing now, to make jelly. Should be interesting.

Samphire is delicious and at its best at the moment - £8.45 a kilo in my local market, but I know loads of places where it grows in profusion - brilliant with fish. Especially salmon.

David

How did the jelly turn out, David?

[Cath B]

I have fireweed infusing now, to make jelly. Should be interesting.

Samphire is delicious and at its best at the moment - £8.45 a kilo in my local market, but I know loads of places where it grows in profusion - brilliant with fish. Especially salmon.

David

I'm glad you managed to pick some.

How's it going?

Some folk around here call fireweed / rosebay-willowherb bingweed because it grew in profusion on the coal bings (waste tips).

My daughter Jenny has made some redcurrant jelly and raspberry jam using garden fruit though both, especially rasps, can be found in the wild.

[David B]

The jelly is made, but I didn't have any solid pectin, as in the recipe post 28, so used liquid instead. I wonder how it will set - too hot to tell right now.

It's pretty clear, has a nice colour and tastes fine.

David

[Ray Moscow]

We're starting to get ripe blackberries here now. Looks like a good year for them.

[Arctish]

We had a warm, dry May and a wet June and July. The wild strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries and producing like crazy, and the fruit is very juicy and sweet.

[Cath B]

The jelly is made, but I didn't have any solid pectin, as in the recipe post 28, so used liquid instead. I wonder how it will set - too hot to tell right now.

It's pretty clear, has a nice colour and tastes fine.

David

Sounds good!

I've never used pectin, just apples or lemon juice, but perhaps they'd detract from the flavour of your willow herb.

We're starting to get ripe blackberries here now. Looks like a good year for them.

I haven't seen any ripe hereabouts yet.

We had a warm, dry May and a wet June and July. The wild strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries and producing like crazy, and the fruit is very juicy and sweet.

Mmm ....

[Cath B]

I've just had a fun afternoon collecting wild* cherries at the Ecology Centre about a mile from my home. I ate a lot as I went and am wondering what to do with the rest.

Cherry brandy is a likely contender.

*Maybe wild is an overstatement as they were planted by a landlord and friends enthusiastic about the idea of encouraging folk to gather fruit.

They are not grafts as each tree's fruit has a distinctive flavour and,in many cases,appearance.

But I don't know whether or not the pips were sourced from the wild.

[Schneibster]

I have some sorrel rumex growing alongside my cultivated beds, there as far as I can tell from time immemorial as a part of the low coastal chaparral native to the area. I spotted it and recognized it while weeding. I'm going to keep an eye on it and cultivate it; we'll see what happens. If it responds well I might wind up eating some, at this point there's so little that it would use it all up. It's a good addition to commercial spring mix salads, and will add some tang and a unique taste that all my guests will remember.

[Cath B]

Do you have cultivated sorrel too?

I have cultivated sorrel which isn't grown much hereabouts. I love it. I also know where I can access the wild variety but don't use it much.

I used some of the cherries I gathered in a cake which was much nicer than cake with glace cherries though the small size of the fruit made the stone removal hard going. I stewed up the rest with a little brown sugar and have just finished the last of them off with a bit of yoghurt. Delicious!

I'm hoping to gather more for cherry brandy and maybe a crumble with the stones left in for the eaters to remove.

[reddhedd]

I just found out that a tree in my yard is an autumn berry...and the berries are edible, and delicious! Large pits, but boil them down in a bit of water, strain off the pulp and it makes good syrup...gonna try to save some for making jelly, but the syrup is lovely with biscuits.

Also made cherry syrup with the fruit of my wild cherry...it's bitter fresh, but once sugar is added, it's a tasty concoction. I've just gotten a book on wildcrafting/foraging for edible plants, and hope to hit the woods soon, to see what I can gather.

I've planted bloody dock, which is a rumex that is a bitter green, like spinach. It looks pretty in salads, but for me, a small amount goes a long way...it's fairly bitter.

[Cath B]

Cherry syrup sounds good.

I recently bought what was named a red veined sorrel plant at a herb store which I haven't sampled yet. It looks very much like your bloody dock and a quick google suggests that it is the same plant (Rumex sanguineus) though I had assumed it to be a variety of Rumex acetosa, the same species as both garden and wild sorrel.

Do you know the name of your autumn berry tree?

[David B]

Another first attempt from me. Today I dragged my dad out and he helped me pick dewberries. As I type I have jam jars in the oven to sterilise, and dewberries and apple (as per recipe, more or less - no cookers in shop so using Braeburn) dripping away into a bowl in my jelly bag.

Also have a load of rugosa hips, which will be made into jelly tomorrow - so that will be two firsts in two days.

Will they be successes or monumental failures?

:dunno:

David

[David B]

Dewberry jelly report.

Clear enough, set OK, tastes OK too - but doesn't really taste of dewberry.

I'll certainly eat it, but don't number it among my greatest successes.

David

[Cath B]

I like to call Rubus caesius (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_caesius) blueberry rather than dewberry, likely confusion with other species notwithstanding) as it's the name traditionally used by our family. I have only come across the name dewberry in books - either Mum's Skene (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Flowers-MacGregor-Skene/dp/1406797286)or Keble Martin's flora (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concise-British-Colour-W-Keble-Martin/dp/0718114175/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281337837&sr=1-2) in the first instance - and, in recent years, yourself.

Mum never bothered collecting it as she did blackberries, though she was happy enough for me to do so. During my late teens I was sufficiently enthused to make pies with them now and again (I liked them for a change, though they weren't as tasty as blackberries) but I don't recall making jam.

Dewberries taste really good off the bush but are a bit watery and more inclined to go mushy than blackberries and might not be great for jam. I suspect the braeburns wouldn't match up to cookers either. I think you need to make friends with someone who has early cookers in their gardens and try again. :D. Or you could try some of the local crabs. And maybe increase the berry:apple ratio.

You're welcome to bring some up for me to sample. :)

Damp here this morning.I'm hoping for drier weather in a few days time so I can go cherry picking again.

[Arctish]

We have some berries in our area that are tasty fresh but are pretty bland when cooked. They are really useful as extenders in jams and jellies when the crop of more flavorful berries is small.

[David B]

The wiki article on dewberries ain't very good. Some of them are very sweet, and there are many berries larger than small blackberries. I suspect that there is a lot of variation in the species, if not as much as the blackberry.

IIIRC I came across the name Dewberry in Mabey's Food For Free.

I didn't want to let the bag drip overnight, as I have the rosehip to do today. So I squeezed the bag - not into the jelly but into some yogurt. Which was fine, but not wonderful.

I'm glad I made the experiment, but in future I think I'll confine dewberries to stuffing myself with in situ.

David

[Cath B]

The wiki article on dewberries ain't very good. Some of them are very sweet, and there are many berries larger than small blackberries. I suspect that there is a lot of variation in the species, if not as much as the blackberry.

Yes, I find them larger than most blackberries and generally sweet.

IIIRC I came across the name Dewberry in Mabey's Food For Free.

Yes, it's the name I've come across in all the books I've read. But I wonder whether many books simply copy other books and don't show local variations. Grigson's Englishman's Flora is a great source of a range of British names and includes "blueberry" IIRC.

I didn't want to let the bag drip overnight, as I have the rosehip to do today. So I squeezed the bag - not into the jelly but into some yogurt. Which was fine, but not wonderful.

Good idea!

I'm glad I made the experiment, but in future I think I'll confine dewberries to stuffing myself with in situ.

David

I'm now hankering for blueberry crumble - but don't know anywhere they grow hereabouts.

[Rie]

I used to pick dandelions to cure warts. I think that the milky sap is probably very dangerous to eat but it burns off warts after a few applications.

[Berthold]

I used to pick dandelions to cure warts. I think that the milky sap is probably very dangerous to eat but it burns off warts after a few applications.
Young dandelion is a wonderful salad*. At that stage it does not yet have too much milk sap, which, by the way, is just bitter, not toxic.

*That is, if you like radicchio and chicoree.

[Cath B]

My daughter and I went cherry picking yesterday.

Several trees - some cherries deep red, others almost translucent.

My daughter wants a cherry pie - but which of us will make it?

[David B]

Lousy year for wild plums of any description round here, but I picked 2 varieties yesterday and have enough for jam.

The damsons npw sitting in frig, ripe, the others out of frig in plastic bag with a banana, ripening.

Jam making tomorrow after work.

On the plum picking trip visited an apple tree in a hedgerow on the way back. Apples extremely unripe, so left them though lack of ripeness has never stopped my dad, and he took 4.

The are big apples with an unusual shape, and when I download my photos next I'll upload a pic to see if anyone can spot the variety.

David

[Cath B]

On the plum picking trip visited an apple tree in a hedgerow on the way back. Apples extremely unripe, so left them though lack of ripeness has never stopped my dad, and he took 4.

The are big apples with an unusual shape, and when I download my photos next I'll upload a pic to see if anyone can spot the variety.

David

Whereabouts?

[David B]

On the plum picking trip visited an apple tree in a hedgerow on the way back. Apples extremely unripe, so left them though lack of ripeness has never stopped my dad, and he took 4.

The are big apples with an unusual shape, and when I download my photos next I'll upload a pic to see if anyone can spot the variety.

David

Whereabouts?

On the back road out of (or into) Landshipping

David

[David B]

The crop of wild damsons was pretty sparse this year, as I mentioned, but I now have 5 recycled jars of various sizes cooling before I put the lids on them - looking and tasting good.

David

[Rie]

Does this count? When I was new to the ways and places to grow it etc. of the weed, i saw what I was certain was a prime clump of said substance and smoked it.

It tasted shocking and i mentioned it to an experienced researcher of the ways of the weed and he said ' It's a wonder that didn't kill you' So I smoked some green stuff that could have poisoned me! Now that's why we must educate out teenagers well and let them know what the weed looks like!
As if they don't already know.

[Cath B]

Did you find out what it was?

An argument in favour of legalisation is that it's easier to keep tabs on quality control - and more difficult to imbibe the wrong stuff!

It tasted shocking ....

And there's a very good reason for us evolving senses of taste and smell as I am reminded from time to time when I accidentally start biting into a garden plum that's going rotton.

Though it ain't a perfect foil to poisoning, an ability to imbibe culture and learn from the mistakes of others can come in handy too.

[Cath B]

Collected brambles* yesterday a two minute walk from my house and made a very tasty pie addiing a few apple windfalls.

A few other folk pick their own but the majority of folk who eat soft fruit here buy them at the supermarket.

* Is bramble used for as a word blackberry outside the UK? I usually say blackberry, but bramble is more common among native Scots hereabouts

[David B]

Is not 'bramble' a word for that sort of plant, while blackberry, raspberry etc are the fruits of brambles?

David

[Cath B]

Is not 'bramble' a word for that sort of plant, while blackberry, raspberry etc are the fruits of brambles?

David

I think that's generally the case in England and English as spoken in Wales (though for the plants which spread out like blackberry, dew/blueberry (R. Caesius), Japenese wineberry etc. not raspberry),but hereabouts folk of local origin tend to gather brambles and make bramble jelly . They also gather raspberries and make raspberry jam.

But as the practice has become less widespread so has the preservation of the local vocabulary.

You'd probably enjoy browsing through my Englishman's [sic] Flora when you visit - but you'll have to help me find it first!

[Cath B]

A BlackBerry is very useful email and phone device.. Bramble is a berry that's nice to eat on its own or baked in a pie.

From here :):-

http://www.ukqna.com/food/1269-2-food-ukqna.html

[Matty]

bramble jelly

http://img.dooyoo.co.uk/GB_EN/175/food-drink/food/robertson-s-bramble-jelly.jpg

if you eat enough you can collect a whole set of Gollywogs

http://daddytypes.com/archive/gollycorner_scr.jpg

[toodles off to the "I'm old enough to remember" thread. :)

[reddhedd]

I have a mature autumn berry (or autumn olive) tree in my front yard...I knew the birds eat the berries each year, but didn't know they were edible for humans.
Yummy! HUGE stone inside a tiny berry, so I boiled in them down in water to extract the juice, and strained it. Out of 4-5 cups of berries, I got about 12 oz of syrup...but it's tasty!

[Cath B]

bramble jelly

http://img.dooyoo.co.uk/GB_EN/175/food-drink/food/robertson-s-bramble-jelly.jpg

Ah yes, a Scottish company.

if you eat enough you can collect a whole set of Gollywogs

http://daddytypes.com/archive/gollycorner_scr.jpg

[toodles off to the "I'm old enough to remember" thread. :)

Oh yes, I'd forgotten about the Gollywogs!

[nygreenguy]

[QUOTE=Cath B;

Oh yes, I'd forgotten about the Gollywogs![/QUOTE]

So, there are blackface cartoon characters in the UK? :dunno:

[rog]

not anymore, for some reason it was considered bad PR.

[Cath B]

Oh yes, I'd forgotten about the Gollywogs!


So, there are blackface cartoon characters in the UK? :dunno:

not anymore, for some reason it was considered bad PR.

It came as a complete shock to me when I discovered in later childhood that many folk connected the Robinson jam badges and the soft toys with people with dark skins.

[David B]

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/IMGP1885.jpg

Still on the tree, even after the gales of last week. Too high to reach so I have a few pounds of windfalls today, the third lot I've collected this year. They mainly land on soft grass and dead leaves, and hardly bruise at all.

These are really rather good apples. I've known the tree for years, but have always found the apples sour, but I've never tried them so late in the year. Crisp, and hold their crispness aster being kept for...I don't know yet, but much better than many apples I know.

The flavour is very good, too. I have been using them as eating apples, and there are few commercial types I know that match them for flavour. Coxes do, but they are certainly as good as a Braeburn, better I think.

Tomorrow I am planning on a lot of peeling, stewing and putting into freezer bags to keep frozen for apple sauce with pork, or to mix with yogurt or ice-cream.

I feel sure that if the tree were properly pruned the fruits would be bigger.

I have no idea what variety they are, or even if they are a known variety at all. Might be a fortunate variation from seed from a core thrown in the hedge.

I'm even wondering if I could get some cuttings to Cath's garden maybe it could be developed commercially. The combination of lateness, flavour, texture, resistance to bruising and, as far as I know so far the keeping qualities would, I think, be rare.

David

[Cath B]

Where is the tree Dave? Wonder if it's one I know.

You can be cryptic if you like!

A lot of apples sweeten with time.

Thoreau comments on Indians eating apples after the frosts in Walden and my Ashmead Kernal improves on keeping.

I can eat my ornamental crabs from the tree (up to a point) after a prolonged cold snap.

[David B]

I have a pan few of those apples stewing now, having done a bit of nibbling as I peeled.

What else has impressed me about them?

No bugs in any core, or signs of any having eaten their way out, in contrast to some of Dad's at the old house.

I peeled and sliced a load of them, and the ones I did first had little sign of browning when I got them on the boil.

I am really seriously impressed by these apples.

David

[Rie]

And the white stuff that comes from the dandelion is probably poison too but if you put it on a wart then the wart turns brown and after a few such applications it goes away.

[Berthold]

Dandelion isn't toxic, the white stuff is just bitter. In early spring the bitterness isn't yet too much, and the small rosettes can be used for a nice salad (not, of course, for people who don't like chicoree, radicchio, etc. :)).

[David B]

So this afternoon I melted some chocolate ready to decant last years wild plum vodka into a bottle, with a view to covering the wild plums with chocolate.

Didn't turn out as well as I would have wished.

The vodka is over-sweet and a bit cloying, but does taste of plum, and is warming. 6 out of 10, maybe an optimistic 7. No more. It will be drunk, though. It's not bad.

I wonder if the vodka would make a nice sweet with a tot of it mixed with yogurt or ice cream. I''ll try both.

The texture of the wild plums wasn't good, though they had absorbed some vodka and sugar. In the end decided to bin them, and, the choc being melted, I now have some raisins soaking in rum, which I will coat in choc when they have absorbed the rum.

Taste test will follow.

David

[Cath B]

As I write I'm breakfasting with pleasure on yoghurt and rose-hip syrup, the syrup freshly made by my daughter from hips gathered from various paths round about.

Rose Hip December

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