Sloe TV

It is that time of year again, when we start to think about gathering Sloes. In Celtic folklore, the Blackthorn occupies a dark and possibly even sinister area concerning Samhain (the precursor to Halloween), and facing your own mortality. Certainly, once the leaves come off the trees, they can have a somewhat foreboding skeletal look about them.

You can make many interesting things out of the wood of the Blackthorn tree but the most popular use for the Sloe Berry is deliciously plummy Sloe Gin. You should get your Sloe Gin started by mid November, if you want to have it ready in time for Xmas. It can make a very welcome gift, especially if you store it in decorative bottles. Lore states that you should ideally wait until the first frost, before you pick them (alternatively, sling them in the freezer). After this these highly astringent fruits apparently ripen and taste sweeter.

Obviously, the name of the Blackthorn contains a barely veiled warning, it can be a prickly business, but picking these bloomy blue/black babies brings its own reward. To make Sloe Gin, simply immerse your Sloes in Gin, add some sugar, to help bring out the juice. Leave the mixture to steep for at least a month giving the jar a regular shake (every day for the first week, then every week for the following month or so). Some people recommend piercing the sloes with a thorn first but my experimentation has shown this to be unnecessary. 

I picked mine during lunch-time walks and ferried them home each day in my sandwich box. I already knew where the bushes were because I had spotted to Blackthorn blossom in the hedgerows in March. I filled a large Kilner-jar with berries and then topped it up with gin and a little sugar. I taste it regularly, just to check, then filter off the debris before decanting it into bottles. All that is then required are some decorative labels.

To get a bit more product from your efforts, another top tip, is to reuse the gin soaked sloes by pouring red wine over them, I'm using Elderberry Port from 2013). Leaving them to soak further, produces a fortified wine, ideal for the winter months. I like experimenting, and can't see any good reason for not giving this a go. I then intend to take this a stage further by using the resultant brew to make mulled wine!

Don't forget to put, the Urbane Forager book on your Christmas present list. 

Order your copy now!

You can buy this lovely book for your friends and family from all good book-stores or Amazon.

the Urbane Forager: Fruit and Nuts for Free

Author: Alan Gibson

ISBN: 978-1-78507-300-7

The best Urbane Forager images are now on Pinterest. Please follow & share.

Organic Fruit & Nuts For Free

Regular readers of this blog will know by now that we pick a colossal amount of Apples (as well as other fruit and nuts) from public ground around the city and all of it is available for free, but only for those willing to seek it out and collect it.

You might be tempted to think that because we harvest so much, there will be none left for everyone else who is interested, but nothing could be further from the truth. There is still a great quantity of fruit out there, waiting to be picked.

With this in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to show just some of the trees that we have not picked any fruit from. They are ripe and waiting to be harvested, or ready to drop on the ground and be heartily consumed by Mother Nature (which is also good). In these times of enforced austerity, where we are constantly bombarded with news of food poverty and food banks, I have been known to make bold proclamations about the democratisation of food.

Mostly what we do is explore our environment and then pick free fresh fruit and nuts because they are available and to prevent it being wasted. It is nice to be outdoors and we do have a great deal of free fun. However, despite the huge amounts that we pick, there is still far, far too much for us. This is why we want to engage and inspire other people, to do similar things. WE aim to enable anyone else to do the same for themselves; hence the open access global fruit map and free Seasonal id Sheets.

We are fortunate to have steady employment and often buy food in the shops, like everyone else but we will not be buying Apples, Pears, Blackberries, Hazelnuts, Walnuts, Apple Juice etc. this Winter, because we have stacks stored away. It does surprise me when I see people crushing fresh fruit under the wheels of there large vehicles, as they queue in dense polluting traffic in order to get to the overcrowded, overpriced sterile environment of the supermarkets.

These people could be out in a field, enjoying the open air and gathering organic Fruit and Nuts for Free, but the fact that they are not, means that there is always plenty left for those who are making the effort to forage.

Don't forget to put, the Urbane Forager book on your Christmas present list. 

Order your copy now!

You can buy this lovely book for your friends and family from all good book-stores or Amazon.

the Urbane Forager: Fruit and Nuts for Free

Author: Alan Gibson

ISBN: 978-1-78507-300-7

We now have our best images on Pinterest. Please follow & share.

Picknik Aborted Due To Fruiticide!

In my guise, as the Urbane Forager, I organise free local fruit picking group activities. I was looking forward to an event aimed at picking an abundant source of apples next to the big Asda roundabout in Chandlers Ford.

I gaffer-taped my fruit picker to my bike and cycled the few miles down to the previously arranged meeting point. On the way I checked out a walnut tree and there were a few down, so I quickly gathered them up.



Anyone For Jousting



When I arrived at the location I was puzzled because I could not see the huge apple tree, laden with fruit that I had spotted from the road the month before. I gazed about, to see if I had somehow been mistaken and found only a Crab Apple tree.



Too Small!



Then I noticed (what at first glance looked like) a lot of windfall apples on the ground… Then I saw masses, piles of apples all over the ground… Then, with a mounting sense of horror, I saw the freshly sawn STUMP!



The Naked Stump and Piles of Apples



Someone had cut down this lovely big apple tree in its moment of prime – full of glorious ripe apples. The piles of apples were now smashed and rotting on the ground; the buzzing of wasps was loud in my ears, or was that my indignation, my outrage...



What A Dreadful Waste!



The government tells us that we should eat our five a day.

They tell us to worry about national food security.

We are told we should not waste food.

I rang the Eastleigh borough council tree services department but they had no knowledge of any work being done here recently. I was shocked again, when they told me that a local woman had recently applied for a nearby apple tree to be cut down, because children had been throwing apples! This might be a reason for reprimanding/punishing children but is surely not a motive for cutting down mature fruit trees.



We Cannot Use These



I do understand that there might have been a good reason for cutting down the tree; if it had blown down in the recent wind, then we were simply unlucky with our timing but if it was cut down for other reasons, I would like to know why - and also why the apples were not harvested and put to good use first (I could have made gallons of cider out of them, for instance).

There is rarely a good reason for wasting this much food – there would have been several hundred kilograms off apples on this tree prior to its being felled.



Ruby Reds



On the positive side of things, I spotted several new trees on my journey home and checked out a lovely apple tree in Swathling, which my friend Diane had mentioned to me. It had delicious, juicy, ruby apples that had pinkish/red flesh when you bit them – Just like the apples at Fleming Park Sports Centre in Eastleigh.

Right Through!

I have got permission to pick them on Saturday afternoon, so I propose a Picknik around 2.00pm. Followers of the Urbane Forager will be notified of the location tomorrow.

A Nice Pear

After my whistle-stop tour of the firm apples and pert plums near my work place, my mind turns to another voluptuous shape – the pendulous pear. I located another tree this week. I don’t think I am going to have too much competition collecting the fruit of this one because you need a boat to reach it (unless you want to wade through the mud at low tide).

These Pears Grow by the River

We know at least four other trees locally, all laden with fat, juicy pears; they won’t be ripe for a couple of months but like a good boy scout, I'm always pre-peared (ho ho).

These Nice Round Pears Came From Pear Tree Green!

It’s quite easy to spot fruit trees when they are heavy with fruit; the branches bend down and droop in a recognisable way. This also helps to make picking the fruit more simple when it ripens. As you remove the fruit though, the branches become lighter and they may spring back up out of reach - so you will need a picking tool. I have a couple of these and a small one for the children. I also made a couple myself (see the Phantom Limb Fruit Picker) and they have proved to be invaluable, especially when it comes to cherries apples and pears, which tend to grow on tall trees.

More Pears Ripening

It never ceases to amaze me that you can find trees full of delicious pears, hanging around on public ground, just waiting to be picked. I think I may try pressing some in my cider press this year, pear juice is lovely and it can be frozen too. Having said this, another good way of preserving the juice would be to make Perry! Last year we made 8 gallons of tasty Cider and I’m starting to think that September/October will be very busy months for us this year.

These Ones Are Delicious - We Had Loads Last Year

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Well, I’m not sure what Shakespeare would have thought about this, but according to arcane wisdom (folk /old wives lore), the fruitfulness of your crop can be guaranteed by leaping about the garden naked - especially around midnight on Midsummers Eve!

Redcurrants Add Pectin to Jam

Allegedly, this effect also applies to the potency of the leapers, so be warned.

Ripe Redcurrants - Also Good in (Mid) Summer Pudding

I have no idea what effect plucking cherries or plums naked at midnight on the 21^st of June might have, but if you do feel the urge to experiment, I suggest doing it in the privacy of your own property if possible. Please pluck carefully and listen out for the sound of distant Pan-pipes and the feint tinkling of bells… Always be sure not to tread on any faery folk as this is considered unlucky, not least for the faeries.

Cherry Jam - As Made by My Mum

I was sporting shorts and sandals on our latest mission - and that’s about as adventurous as I get most days. We popped round to a nearby neighbour who kindly allowed us to crop some fruit off her cherry tree. It kept pouring with rain but the cherries were sweet, big and juicy. In a short while we collected enough fruity booty to take over to my parents on Father’s day.

All Food is Fully Tested, Naturaly

My Mum kindly offered to turn the harvest into several pots of delicious Cherry Jam. She even donated her ancient brass and iron preserving pan to us, to help in our own future endeavours.

Mum's Old, Brass Preserving or Maslin Pan

Mum’s Recipe for Cherry and Redcurrant Jam

2.5 Lb Cherries

2 Lb Redcurrants

1 Pt Water

3.25 Lb Sugar

Method

Simmer Redcurrants and water for 1 hour.

Strain through a cloth to give half a pint of juice.

Add the cherries and simmer for 20 mins.

Add the sugar, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins.

Test for setting, pot and cover.

I call this my Mum's recipe, but all recipes are handed down from someone else - very much like folk-lore, fairy-tales and nursery-rhymes.

Mothers & Others, have been making jam for centuries, so it's impossible to hold on to ownership of them.

As such, I make no appologies for copying any I find anywhere.



Cherry Red

During my lunchtime wander two weeks ago, I spotted RED CHERRIES in the nearby trees. Not all of the trees, and not a lot in those where I did find them, but they are definitely on the way.

Nearly Ripe Cherries in a Local Tree

What this means, is that from this time it is a straight race between us foragers and those feathered fiends our feathered friends, who are also partial to a juicy cherry or two. Of course, every cherry eaten by a bird may grow into a new tree elswhere, which is probably why there are so many of them.



The First Cherry of the Season is Always Special (and probably not quite ripe too).



The trick is to keep a close eye on your chosen trees and not pick them too early, wait until most of the fruit is ready (red or black depending on the type)  - then pick them quickly, before the birds realise what’s going on (maybe distract them with a worm or something).



Cherry Picking



We spent the half-term in Devon and on our return we scoped out the local trees. One small tree by the railway looked ripe. The cherries were large and they tasted good – so we grabbed as many as we could.

Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries - Apparently

YUMMY! Sorry, there's none left. We are hopefully picking again next Sunday though.

National Cherry Day is on Sat July 16^th apparently (although this seems a tad late in my experience). According to Cherry Aid, in the last 50 years we’ve lost 90% of our Cherry orchards and now import around 95% of the Cherries we eat. A couple of weeks ago I bought a reduced punnet of Cherries for £2.00, but I won’t be buying any for the next month, not while the wild trees are bursting with juicy goodness.




Ripe Cherries - Yum, Yum, Yum!

 

You can cook them, freeze them, boil them, preserve them, dry them, turn them into wine, probably even pickle them or even just eat them straight off the tree. The good thing about all these options, is that the sour/bitter tasting fruits are better for cooking and of course the sweet delicious ones are best for simply scoffing!

Assorted Cherry Recipes can be found here...

Click on the recipe name and the detals should appear below.

No Fruit Without Flowers

Even though blossom spotting keeps you engaged during early spring and is a good way of identifying trees, there is no guarantee that fruit will follow flower. So, after dancing round the May-Pole you can go back over your previous observations and check for signs of young fruit.

Baby Apples

I popped out this lunch time to see how the young cherries and plums were looking. I was pleased to see that many of the trees are looking very healthy already and I am hoping that we may be able to get some fruit in time for the school summer fayre.

Baby Cherry Plums

I also noticed that the cherry trees that had the frillier ornamental blossom rarely have fruit on them. Perhaps they put so much effort into their foppish flowers that they have no strength left for the more essential act of reproduction, or making cherries.

Baby Cherries

Cherries, plums and damsons may actually ripen be a bit too late for the fayre, but I will be keeping a keen eye on them. I was pleased though, to spot my first elderflowers of the year and elderflower cordial should definitely go well on the stall. Elderflower champagne on the other hand, will go well down well in our kitchen.

First Elderflower of Spring

Spring is always a good time to start a ginger-beer plant, we always used to help Mum make and consume this when we were kids. Although ginger is not strictly foraged, we are here to have fun and celebrate, not to be pedantic.
Recipe link Cordial

Recipe link Champers

Cider Inside ‘er Insides

Next came the pears from by the school – they were very tasty and we picked about 30Kgs in a fairly short time. I borrowed my mum’s fruit picking tool for these and I highly recommend getting one of these. (I still have not given it back!) As we picked, we gave lots away to other curious children and parents.

Scrumptious Pears

Later I also found pears on… Peartree Green! This inspired me to search on local maps for places with fruit in the names. Fairly soon we had found apples on Orchard Lane (thanks Mark), walnut trees in Walnut Avenue and chestnut trees in Chestnut Avenue – it’s a no-brainer when you think about it.

Very Tasty Indeed

Soon it was time for the apples, and I realised we would need to store them somehow as there were several trees filled with fruit that I had my eye on. Without getting overly technical, there are basically two types of apple in my book – eaters and cookers. Cookers are anything that is too sour to eat straight off the tree (the same is true for cherries incidentally). I decided that we could also use the large amount of excess fruit to turn into cider, as this seemed like a very sensible way of preserving the juice!

When making apple juice or cider it is a good idea to mix several different types of apples as this gives a more rounded flavour. Apples grown specifically for cider-making have a high tannin content and taste far too tart to eat fresh off the tree.

A lovely apple tree ready for picking

I hastily purchased an antique cider press off ebay and dug out an old pamphlet on how to make beer and wine. When the time came we were a whirlwind of action. In one day, my child army and I (with the help of a Gareth, his girlfriend and my brother John) picked over 40Kgs of apples and turned them into 5 gallons of lovely apple juice, which soon (with the addition of only a packet of yeast) became a five gallon barrel of highly drinkable golden cider!

It’s a very simple and enjoyable process. You chop the apples up into quarters roughly, removing any bad bits but leaving the skin and cores. Next you smash them to a pulp in a bucket and finally press the juice out. All that remains to be done is to add some Camden tablets and yeast (if you wish). Naturally you can make the process far more complicated, if you are that way inclined.

Cider Making - That 5 gallon bucket is full!

With the help of my buddy Pete and Finbar & Jonah his children, we picked a similar amount the following weekend, which we stored up and gradually consumed during the winter. The stock lasted until March. Cider will keep until you drink it all. Apparently it can keep for well over a year, although this theory has never actually been tested.

Children love to climb trees and pick apples - that bucket is full too!

Apples keep very well, but you must not let them touch each other. This way if one goes off, it will not spread to the rest, like the apocryphal bad apple in the barrel. I was lucky enough to be given a wooden apple store by my friend Gary. It’s like a skeleton chest of drawers and the apples sit in there waiting to be consumed. Some varieties keep better than others, trial and error will tell. They must not be bruised or maggoty at all for storing, so sort them appropriately and use the less good fruit for juicing.

Thanks Gary - the perfect way to store apples

Other items that we squirreled away around this time of year were Walnuts (16Kgs off one tree!) and Hazelnuts (a wicker wastepaper basket full). Nuts of course will keep all year long, as long as they are kept dry. They make tasty and healthy snacks to take to work when mixed with sultanas, raisins or even dried cherries.

Hazelnuts! I'm still eating these now.