The Many Colours of June and July

Mirabells on the Road

Cherry Plums and Mirabells are ripe early and are now falling from the trees. They are basically, slightly smaller, wild plum varieties. Very tasty, plentiful, and often found in clusters in the wild or in parks, gardens or verges in the city. Characterised by many different colours, yellow, orange, purple and even shiny bronze, these vibrant fruits are perfect to gather at this time of year and easy to spot due to the bright, often squashed, fruits on the ground.

Delicious Cherries

I have been supplementing my breakfast muesli with garden berries, specifically Blueberries, early Raspberries and Wild or Alpine Strawberries. Getting up, then dropping down into the garden to gather the latest ripe fruits, is one of my favourite things at this time of year and my muesli tastes fantastic for the colourful flavour boost.

Fruity Selection for my Museli

Elsewhere in the garden, my Peas, Squash and Cucumber plants seem to be growing well, despite the extreme heat that is now assailing us. At least the water butts are reasonably full after the rain in May/June. I’m looking forward to the early “Snack” cucumbers, getting ready to add them to my lunch-time sandwiches.

Poppies

Tall Poppies are popping up everywhere in July, you can easily gather the seeds from the heads, by cutting them off and storing in paper envelops, keep them in a dry place for later use. Poppy seeds add a unique, nutty flavour to dishes, enhancing both sweet and savoury recipes. Their mild taste becomes more pronounced when toasted, making them an excellent addition to various foods. They also provide a delightful crunch and texture, in baked goods and other dishes.

Blueberries

Has it ever occurred to you that Brambles, the scourge of gardeners, allotmenteers, walkers and just about anyone who goes outside, are universally hated until late July / August, whereupon they magically become completely loved?

Strawberries

For many people, Blackberries are the beginning and end of a fleeting dalliance with foraging. Young children are trusted to go hunting for a fruity food not normally bought in a supermarket. People get scratched, stabbed and entangled, blood is quite normal, but everybody just shrugs it off, along with stained T-Shirts, as they scramble to collect the fattest, juiciest, box of Tupperware filled with dark murderous Blackberries.

Unripe Blackberries

The short-lived, blood-stained bounty is eaten greedily en-route, smeared over faces and fingers, then taken home to turn into; jam, pies, juice, wine, crumbles, tarts, muesli supplements, compote, and any number of other puddings. Blackberries freeze well too (spread them on a baking tray to freeze, then bag them loose), so you can savour the delight later in the Winter, if you can make them last that long.

 

Blackberry Wine 

 

Down the lane Blackberries run.

The bittersweet pang, of your blood on my tongue.

Favourite flavours, temptation - too good

Staring down from the hedge by the wood.

A promise that you would not hurt me this time,

The sting in my digits remains in the wine.

Always something about which to warn;

The hotter the sun, the deeper the thorn.

A worthy opponent, with briars to joust;

I want to crush you - to juice in my mouth.

The green of the field, the glare that can stun;

I long to pluck you - outside in the sun.

Your barb in my fingers, the pain in my palm,

That stain, it still lingers, your extract a balm.

Eden emergent, the edge of a stream,

Verdant the verge in the dark of the dream.

Poetic Licence – by the Urbane Forager (2011)

Cherries

Oh! 

Did I mention Cherries in my last post? 

Our Cherries are Guarded by Ghosts

They ripened. 

We picked them. 

We ate them. 

Yum!

They were delicious, if fleeting...

Pandemic ll the 3rd Wave

 We Live in Interesting Times, Still!

We still take lots of lovely walks; the Devil's jumps' are a series of Bronze Age burial mounds, on the South Downs. They align with the setting sun at Midsummer (if it's not too cloudy). So, this was my Father's day walk/picnic.

However, simple fruity foraging trips are just as bountiful and popular as ever.

In the normal order of things we began collecting Elderflowers as soon as they arrived, the season tends to be short-lived, so we got out of the traps early, when the weather was suitable. I have made extra Elderflower Champagne this year (4 gallons), because we always run out. Two of these gallons are an experimental batch with an added tint of raspberries, which I think sounds very tasty. Only time will tell.

My friend Matthew also joined us picking Elderflowers too. Matt makes really good beer, and following my attempts last February, we collected a good crop of nettles and he produced a lovely strong & smoky ale. Next he wanted to try an Elderflower Ale.

It was a good year for cherries, and I gathered a good crop from my front garden tree. Small sparrows seem to have been pecking away under the nets, so I will need to adapt my protection next year.

At the allotment the summer raspberries have had an exceptional harvest, which made up for a poor show from my Loganberry and Tayberry bushes. The thornless Blackberry is going to be so impressive that I will soon need a bigger freezer.

I am looking forward to doing some work with the Scouts and other groups and  hoping to organise some public foraging trips, to promote the Southampton parks, in the late Summer or early Autumn. Who knows?, we may even be able to run our traditional Apple Day in October.

Ruby Red Race

At the allotment, everything is growing like crazy, including the weeds. I have been focusing on gathering our growing hoards of soft fruits. The Strawberries have provided us with a great crop. the Red Currants have also had a good year and I have deployed nets to thwart the birds.

Our Summer Raspberries are going great guns; the superbly tangy Loganberries (a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry), which I planted last year are ripe right now. The juicy, sweet Tayberries, a slightly different cross between a blackberry and a raspberry are just ripening too.

It's like a delicious red race and there is so much bounty and so little time that I tend to simply pick as much as I can of everything and lob it all in the same box (or my mouth). Those that make it home are made into family favourites Clafoutis or Summer Pudding!

Cherries in our garden are also ripening on the trees and it is always tempting to eat them early when they are red but it is better to wait until they turn black, as long as you can keep the avian hoards at bay.

This year, at the allotment, I decided to create a wild-flower garden patch by collecting seeds from poppies, cornflowers and other things that took my fancy last year. It has been a real success and is already looking absolutely lovely.

Juniper = Gin

The weather was sizzling on the August Bank Holiday and we wanted to go somewhere nice for a day out but any beach within easy reach would be clogged and the journey back in a hot car would clearly be a nightmare. We decided eventually to go for a walk and picnic at delightful Danebury Ring (an Iron Age hill-fort).

I bought a bucket to collect Elderberries and containers for Raspberries and Juniper berries, which I knew from previous experience existed here. As it turned out, there was not enough Elderberries available and the Raspberries were not ready either. I gave up on the original plan and continued my search for Juniper.

On my route around the embankments I heard a deep humming buzz, "Bees!" I thought... Sure enough, after tuning in my ears to the sound, I located a large beech tree with a bee's nest hidden behind a hole in the trunk. Hundreds of bees were busily buzzing in and out and all around the entrance. I crept up close, took a photo and then scurried off to continue my search.

Juniper berries are primary botanical in the manufacture of gin and they lend it the distinctive aroma and flavour. As I had recently struck up a relationship with award-winning local artisan distillery, Twisted Nose, I thought I would gather a few berries to take back for experimentation and comparative purposes.

The Juniper is a fascinating tree and Juniper groves always look slightly eerie; it is the only fir native to the UK and survives only on very specific soil types, which  happens to suit the ancient downs, in the South. I have seen it on several of the hill forts we frequent. The berries (which are actually miniature fir-cones) ripen in a three yearly sequence and you get ripe and unripe berries on the same tree. This, along with horribly spiky, needle-like leaves, makes collecting them in any quantity very difficult and painful.

Soon my fingers were throbbing painfully and I resorted to using my penknife to avoid further injury, there must be an easier way. However, the sun was still shining and the kids were off playing on a rope swing somewhere in the nearby trees, so I persevered. Eventually I collected enough berries to fill my small container and reported back to the picnic rug.

Foraging Book New Kindle Version

We picked a massive amount of delicious Raspberries, Redcurrants, Blackcurrants and Tayberries from our allotment. The rustic fruit-cage doing its level best to prevent the birds snaffling our soft fruit.

We made Raspberry milkshakes and I also predict a seasonal super fruit favourite, Summer Pudding.

Meanwhile, on the foraging front, Cherries are ripening on the trees and the early trees are already fit for picking. Plums are getting very close too and we will arrange a Plum Picknik very soon, so keep a keen eye on this blog.

We are also delighted to announce that our lovely book, the Urbane Forager: Fruit and Nuts for Free, is now also available on Kindle at the very favourable price of just £4.99.

The more traditional paperback version is no longer available.

I also have a couple of spiral bound and laminated field-guide versions, please contact me personally if you would prefer one of these.

This lovely book is packed full of beautiful photographs, seasonal information, recipes, identification sheets, and good advice on how to find, harvest and prepare fresh, free, fruit and nuts. Order your copy now and get ready for the first flush of fresh free fruit of the year!

Nine Stones, Wild Garlic & Ransoms

We took an Easter trip down to Devon . About half way, my son and I stopped to stretch our legs and explore the Nine Stones, a 4000 year old stone circle by the side of the main road. If you can ignore the rumble and roar of the traffic, it can be quite a magical spot.

There are obviously some happy hippies that visit this ancient site because we discovered many small good luck tokens wedged into the various crevices of the rocks, which was a nice surprise. I left the 10 cent coin that I received in my change for ghastly coffee in the nearby Happy Chef restaurant.

Behind the stone circle we discovered a whole hillside of Ransoms, the first edible on the Urbane Forager's seasonal calendar. When it is in flower, you often smell these plants before you can see them. We also noted Raspberry canes growing on the spot but it was way too early for any fruit yet.

Wild Garlic is presumably related to Ransoms in some way and this is popping up all over the countryside at this time of year too. Our children always like to pick a leaf of this abundant forage and chew on it to keep hunger at bay, or so they say. Perhaps we should feed them a bit more often...

This year, we may have had Daffodils in January and Plum blossom in February but the beautiful Bluebells are marking time with their normal April schedule. They are beginning to pop up throughout their habitat and soon the woodlands will be carpeted with their delicate ethereal glow.

Winter Warmers

Happy New Year Readers.

Lighting Over the Itchen River

The weather here has been relentless and unforgiving; we did manage to enjoy the storms in Devon after Xmas but beyond this we have been largely confined to quarters.

A Huge Beech Tree - Blown Down on Cheesefoot Head

After bottling up another batch of Elderberry Port, and with Sloe and Medlar wine currently on the go, I took the opportunity to test some of the adult drinks we had created this year.

Storm Waves in Hope Cove

Here then, is a quick round up of the fruity flavours that I have experimented with over the last year.

Elderberry Port, Medlar & Sloe Wine, Cider

•       Elderflower Champagne. It took two attempts and some exciting explosions but we had great results in the end. Lessons learned for next Spring/Summer. Plenty of Elderflower Cordial to keep the kids happy throughout the year.
•       Mulberry Gin. Definitely dangerously delicious! I had to fight the children for the Mulberries.
•       Blackberry Vodka. What’s not to like?
•       Raspberry Vodka. A nice contrasting compliment to the other fruit liquors .
•       Cherry Brandy. I think this still needs some tweaking or perhaps I just don’t like it very much.
•       Cider. 11 Gallons this Autumn and it tastes much nicer than last year. We will be made some Mulled Cider and mince pies for Christmas parties. Lots of Apple Juice for the children too; I think pasteurisation may be called for next time.
•       Medlar Wine.  Currently bubbling away nicely, last year’s batch is not bad at all.

  

  Medlar Wine 2012 Vintage

•       Elderberry Port. Recently bottled, very successful in previous years.
•       Sloe wine, still busy fermenting in the demi-jon.
•       Sloe Gin, a plummy favourite that makes a popular gift. Also a great nip for those cold winter nights.

Iron Age Elderberries

It was the last Bank Holiday in August and the sun was still beaming it’s joyful rays onto the parched earth. 

Get Busy With the Fizzy

We decided to go to Danebury Iron Age Hill-fort for a summer picnic. We packed our bag, sandwiches, snacks and a bottle of vigorous home - made Elderflower Champagne and set off along the Test Way.

A Big, Fat Fish in the Test River

Danebury is the perfect spot for a run about with the children, but first we sat down to feed our poor starving mites and treated ourselves to some sparkling English Fizz, with one of the best views available in Hampshire.

and Relax...

After we had eaten, I set off with my son to hunt for Elderberries, I wanted to make port again; I have done this successfully for the past 2 years. As it turned out, we filled our boots with a sufficient quantity from the first small tree we came across. You can also make Elderberry cordial, jam and many other hedgerow recipes from this eldritch provider.

Elderberries

Later, we  found plenty of Blackberries and a crop of Raspberries, which we simply scoffed, as quickly as we could pick them. We also found loads of Juniper bushes, which was something of a revelation.

Ruby Red Raspberries

Juniper berries have a three year cycle (flowers, green berries, dark-blue berries) and they can all be present on one bush at the same time. These prickly bushes are related to Pine trees and the berries are actually tiny pine-cones.  The blue berries are used as herbs or spices when dried. They have many herbal uses and are also a significant part of the flavouring used in Gin!

Juniper Bushes

Sadly, like the Ash, Juniper bushes are currently under siege by a fungus, which is threatening their existence all over the country. Let’s hope that the arboricultural experts can do something to save all these trees. I’d hate to go through Summer without a cold G&T.

Ripe Juniper Berries

At one point the peaceful background hum of the countryside was shaken by the thumping of a Merlin engine and the iconic shape of a Spitfire roared into view across the trees. When it appeared, I had been thinking about the role of hill forts during the Roman invasion; the mysterious legend of the Angels of Mons crept into my mind. The plane vanished into the distance, like a ghost from the past, leaving nothing but blue sky. Looking back, the moment was so dreamlike and anachronistic that if I hadn't photographed it, I might doubt my own memory.

A Spitfire Over Danbury?