My daughter and I went hedgerow foraging yesterday evening. It was something we had been planning to do for a while, as we had seen the bountiful autum crop of wild fruit developing very nicely over the past few warm, wet weeks. After about an hour, our many plastic carrier bags were straining under the weight of out wonderful plunder. And the joy of it all is that it was free for the picking from the hedgerows!
I am always surprised to find that the number of people doing this is getting smaller each year, considering that it was something that families traditionally did together at this time of the year. I think that many people today have never been taught the old ways, and they thing that everything that grows in the wild is 'dirty' or 'dangerous'. What a pity for them - but it leaves the fields clear for the declining number of those who still know how to find wild food.
In the short time that we spent searching, we managed to find endless apples - most of them on land that had once been an orchard, so they were bramleys and varies species of dessert fruit, not the sour wild crab apples. We also found sloes and damsons in profusion, and also some rose hips. The photo above shows what was left after giving a large bag of fruit to our young neighbour. (The other day she had given us a wonderful supply of mussels which she and her son had foraged from the local seashore.)
There are many, many wonderful old recipes for these autumn hedgerow crops, but here are a few easy ones which take very little time or energy to prepare, and which preserve all these nutritious foods so that you can enjoy them all through the cold winter months.
Recipe for Apple Jelly
Ingredients:
4 lbs (1.8 kg) crab or cooking apples
2 pints (1200 ml) water
Stick cinnamon or a few cloves or strips of lemon rind
1 lb (450 g) of sugar per pint of juice obtained.
Method:
Wash the apples and wipe. Cut into quarters but do not remove the skin or core.
Put the fruit into a pan with the water and the cinnamon, cloves or lemon peel tied in a piece of muslin.
Stew until the fruit is pulpy.
Test for pectin.
Remove the flavouring ingredients.
Turn into a jelly bag and leave to strain overnight.
Measure the juice and heat in a pan.
Add 1 lb (450 g) warmed sugar to each pint juice, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until the jelly sets when tested.
Remove the scum.
Pot and seal whilst still hot.
No-Bake Blackberry Bread Pudding
1 loaf day-old French bread
1/3 C. softened butter
1 C. blackberry syrup
about 4 C. blackberries
about 1 C. of sugar
For berry syrup, simmer 1 cup of blackberries with 1/4 cup sugar until thickened. Strain and cool.
Lightly butter a 9 x 5 deep loaf pan. Remove all crust from French bread and slice long way into 1/2 inch slices. Butter all sides and edges of bread. Place a layer of berries into pan followed by a sprinkling of sugar. Cut and arrange bread into the pan for the next layer. Repeat layers of berries, sugar and bread until pan is full. Place another loaf pan on top of layers and weigh it down.
Refrigerate overnight. To remove from pan, place pan in warm water for 5 minutes and invert. Slice, drizzle with berry syrup, top with whipped cream and serve.
[I obtained this recipe from Razzledazzle Recipes website at http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/berrylane/blackrec.htm]
Sloe Jelly
Put sloes into pan, cover with water and simmer till tender. Strain through jellybag,
Measure juice, allowing 1lb sugar per pint. Mix sugar and juice in pan and boil until setting point is reached. Pot into warm jars.
Sloe Gin
Pick enough sloes to half fill a clean Kilner jar, about 1lb. Prick all over - or just put in the freezer overnight (either way and put in jar with 4oz granulatd sugar. Seal jar and leave for 3-4 days, shaking jar twice a day.
Fill jar with gin and stir well, seal and leave for at least 6-8 weeks, or even better, until Christmas, gently shaking jar from time to time. Strain through muslin into clean bottle.
It improves with keeping, but is very good after just a few months. Very sweet (and strong) but delicious when drizzles over puddings and ice creams, or added - just a shot! - to coffee.Even if you don't like gin, it is worth making as it tastes more like a liqueur, as you can make it as sweet as you like.
I am always surprised to find that the number of people doing this is getting smaller each year, considering that it was something that families traditionally did together at this time of the year. I think that many people today have never been taught the old ways, and they thing that everything that grows in the wild is 'dirty' or 'dangerous'. What a pity for them - but it leaves the fields clear for the declining number of those who still know how to find wild food.
In the short time that we spent searching, we managed to find endless apples - most of them on land that had once been an orchard, so they were bramleys and varies species of dessert fruit, not the sour wild crab apples. We also found sloes and damsons in profusion, and also some rose hips. The photo above shows what was left after giving a large bag of fruit to our young neighbour. (The other day she had given us a wonderful supply of mussels which she and her son had foraged from the local seashore.)
There are many, many wonderful old recipes for these autumn hedgerow crops, but here are a few easy ones which take very little time or energy to prepare, and which preserve all these nutritious foods so that you can enjoy them all through the cold winter months.
Recipe for Apple Jelly
Ingredients:
4 lbs (1.8 kg) crab or cooking apples
2 pints (1200 ml) water
Stick cinnamon or a few cloves or strips of lemon rind
1 lb (450 g) of sugar per pint of juice obtained.
Method:
Wash the apples and wipe. Cut into quarters but do not remove the skin or core.
Put the fruit into a pan with the water and the cinnamon, cloves or lemon peel tied in a piece of muslin.
Stew until the fruit is pulpy.
Test for pectin.
Remove the flavouring ingredients.
Turn into a jelly bag and leave to strain overnight.
Measure the juice and heat in a pan.
Add 1 lb (450 g) warmed sugar to each pint juice, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until the jelly sets when tested.
Remove the scum.
Pot and seal whilst still hot.
No-Bake Blackberry Bread Pudding
1 loaf day-old French bread
1/3 C. softened butter
1 C. blackberry syrup
about 4 C. blackberries
about 1 C. of sugar
For berry syrup, simmer 1 cup of blackberries with 1/4 cup sugar until thickened. Strain and cool.
Lightly butter a 9 x 5 deep loaf pan. Remove all crust from French bread and slice long way into 1/2 inch slices. Butter all sides and edges of bread. Place a layer of berries into pan followed by a sprinkling of sugar. Cut and arrange bread into the pan for the next layer. Repeat layers of berries, sugar and bread until pan is full. Place another loaf pan on top of layers and weigh it down.
Refrigerate overnight. To remove from pan, place pan in warm water for 5 minutes and invert. Slice, drizzle with berry syrup, top with whipped cream and serve.
[I obtained this recipe from Razzledazzle Recipes website at http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/berrylane/blackrec.htm]
Sloe Jelly
Put sloes into pan, cover with water and simmer till tender. Strain through jellybag,
Measure juice, allowing 1lb sugar per pint. Mix sugar and juice in pan and boil until setting point is reached. Pot into warm jars.
Sloe Gin
Pick enough sloes to half fill a clean Kilner jar, about 1lb. Prick all over - or just put in the freezer overnight (either way and put in jar with 4oz granulatd sugar. Seal jar and leave for 3-4 days, shaking jar twice a day.
Fill jar with gin and stir well, seal and leave for at least 6-8 weeks, or even better, until Christmas, gently shaking jar from time to time. Strain through muslin into clean bottle.
It improves with keeping, but is very good after just a few months. Very sweet (and strong) but delicious when drizzles over puddings and ice creams, or added - just a shot! - to coffee.Even if you don't like gin, it is worth making as it tastes more like a liqueur, as you can make it as sweet as you like.
Enjoy!
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