Seasonal Stinging Nettle Beer

The whole world has changed significantly since my last post. I hope you and your families are all staying safe, well and ideally in your homes.

My allotment gets a wealth of Stinging Nettles around this time of year, which are used in many traditional recipes, they can even be made into twine or woven into fabric. However, I wanted to make something seasonal that would take a couple of weeks to mature, but also be something that we could enjoy, even if we had to stay home a lot.

I have always fancied making Stinging Nettle Beer; it is a very simple recipe and anyone with the basic equipment can try it. You can safely tinker with both the amounts and method, according to your equipment and requirments. I found making this very satisfying and enjoyed the process so much that I did it all twice, and may do it again soon.

Equipment

• Gloves!
• Large carrier bag or similar
• Bucket
• Demijon, barrel or brewing bucket
• Suitable pressure safe bottles
  

Ingredients

• 1kg Stinging Nettles - approximately one large carrier bag stuffed to bursting.
• 400g - 1kg Sugar - the strength of the beer will depend on the amount you use, you could mke it weaker still, like ginger beer for kids
• 1 x Lemon juiced
• 1 x gallon of water (I used a demijon)
• 25 g Cream of Tartar
• Yeast
  

Method

1. Pick the stinging nettles (using gloves), collect only the tips, or top 6" of the plants and stuff them into your big carrier bag. Pack them down well, it takes about 30 minutes.
2. Boil the water and gradually add the nettles, they will eventually boil down and should all fit in. I used a large preserving pan, but you can adapt the amounts according to your needs and available equipment.
3. Let the nettles simmer for 15 minutes, then strain the liquid off. I used a collander over a bucket to achieve this and it worked very well.
4. Add the sugar, Lemon juice and Cream of Tartar to the liquid and stir untill all disolved.
5. Leave the liquid to cool to body temperature and sprinkle the yeast on top.
6. At this point I added the liquid to my demijon but you could also leave it in a bucket covered with a muslin cloth / tea towel.
7. Leave to ferment for a week
8. Siphon into bottles and leave for a further week.
9. Drink!
   

   

   My Improvised Standing Work From Home Station

Stay Safe and Keep Healthy

Ruby Red Rosehips

Some people decry foraging as dangerous but we have a simple rule that prevents any risk: Only pick or eat things that you recognise and know to be safe. Obvious really and astonishing that any doubters cannot think of that too. However, even taking fundamental precautions cannot save you from getting stung by Nettles, stabbed by thorns or twisting your ankle by stepping down an unseen rabbit hole.

My seasonal collaboration with the Unity brewing Co, helping to create a range of Saison Ales, seems to have led me into dangerous territory, right from the start.

• For the Spring beer - Primtemps we needed to pick Stinging Nettles!
• Next we gathered Elderflowers for the Summer brew - Ete (no fear there).
• For the Autumn we chose Juniper Berries for the Automne Ale and these are always painfully prickly to pick.
• Finally, to complete our first year together, I am fighting my way with frost bitten fingers, through scythe-like thorns, as I harvest Rosehips or Haws for the Winter beer - Hiver.

At this time of year, Rosehips are the jewels of the hedgerows. They are know for being packed with Vitamin C - ideal for fighting off infection and boosting the immune system, which is just as well because my hands been punctured so many times collecting them that I might soon need a transfusion myself.

Rosehips can also be used for creating syrups, cordials, jellies and even tea. In fact the Dog Rose was apparently so named because people believed that its application could help you to recover from rabies, if bitten by a mad dog. Of course, all bad school children know that the inner contents of these ruby red haws, can also create some of the nastiest itching powder on the planet!

Tradition holds that you should gather Rosehips after the first frost, the same advice is often given for Sloes because the structure of the fruit is broken down by the freezing temperature. By coincidence, I started picking Haws during my lunch hour after the coldest night of the year, my fingers were frozen but they picked easily and smelled fruity, so the Hiver Ale should be super tasty.

Something Brewing in the Heart of Southampton

As I trudge, begrudgingly up my garden path like some Antarctic explorer, the grass crunches under foot and the crisp cold seeps deep into my toes. The shed that contains my locked bike looms out of the pale moonlight.

Cycling to work, my face is frozen and my fingers are feeling like frostbite but the sky is now turning a thin grey-blue and distant vapour trails trace a pinkish web over the firmament. Shortly, the garish orange glow in the East becomes the sunrise over Segensworth. 

The frost still lies thick on the ground but above the cold car parks and grim and grimy buildings of the industrial estate, the morning sky now burns a brilliant azure; it’s going to be a cracking day.

The fragile beauty of Winter still holds the hope of Spring within its vice tight grip, singing in the wind, vibrating in the sharp shards of ice and even seeping through the weeping rain and snow. It’s all too easy to wish for shorts and the sizzle of a Mid-Summer sun but the wheel of the year turns steadily and we must first start our search for signs of change.

Speaking of seasons, I am delighted to announce an exciting new collaboration between the Urbane Forager and Southampton based beer behemoth Unity brewing Co. Head brewer Jimmy Hatherley wants to create a sophisticated new range of seasonal Wild beers and the Urbane Forager is a perfect fit as a partner for this project.

I popped down with some friends, to meet Jimmy in his taproom and supped some of his awesome ales. We also sampled some of my own 2016 Elder-flower Champagne and Cider; by the end of the evening I would have agreed to almost anything. However, seasonal foraging is my strongest suit. So, we shall soon see what fresh flavours we can bring to the Unity taproom table. 

In the meantime, I definitely recommend visiting Unity brewing if you are in the area, or buying their merchandise from a Southampton pub/off-licence.

Blossom Sequence Mnemonic Competition

Now, there's a post title I didn't imagine ever writing, but you will be pleased to hear that there is a good reason for it. When Spring arrives, we always use blossom in the trees to help us easily locate and identify fruit trees. We then check back later to look for signs of maturing fruit.

To help remember the sequence that fruit trees bloom in we designed an acronym PBCAP (Plum, Blackthorn, Cherry, Apple, and Pear) Plum normally flowers around March (I have seen Plum blossom in January this year), the others follow in quick succession. The fruit of the Blackthorn is the Sloe so the B could be replaced with an S.

We remember this by using a mnemonic Perceived Blossom Calculates Abundant Produce but this is unwieldy. If you can think of a better one, send it in or write your comments below, the composer of the best will be duly announced and the lucky winner will receive a free copy of our beautiful book, the Urbane Forager: Fruit and Nuts for Free.

As a footnote I will remind readers that a mnemonic does not need to have anything to do with the subject matter, it only needs to be memorable. Richard Of York Fought Battle In Vain is a popular example for recalling colours of the rainbow or Naughty Elephants Spray Water for children learning the compass. So we could have Panthers Black Creep And Pounce or whatever

We Made Our Own Fliping Nutella

My daughter is a fan of Nutella and spreads it on everything, including her face sometime. Seeing as we had collected a vast amount of Hazelnuts, it seemed an obvious idea to make our own.

We Made This... Ta Da!

I made "nutella" once before and destroyed the drive cog on our blender in the process. I'm sure it was on the way out anyway...

Nuts!

We found several different methods but in the end, we chose one that used ingredients that we either had in the cupboards or could easily obtain locally.

Don't Burn Your Fingers and Don't Eat Too Many Before Weighing

This time we used a recipe from Oh Nuts! and everyone agreed that it tasted even better than the real thing. Plus not a drop of palm oil was used, so no need to apologise to the environment... By the time you read this, I'm sure we will be well into the making of our next batch.

Whisk and Whisk...

INGREDIENTS:

• 2.5 oz roasted unsalted hazelnuts (also available from shops!)
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 3 oz (about 1/2 cup) plain chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp honey. We used some donated by friends of the Urbane Forager.
• a food processor

French Foragers Honey From Friends

DIRECTIONS:

1. The first step is to toast the hazelnuts.  Toasting nuts adds a depth of flavour that’s important to the finished product. It also makes it easier to remove any remaining skins. So place your nuts in a preheated 200 degree C oven, and toast them until they’re brown and fragrant, about 10-12 minutes. Be sure to stir them every 3-4 minutes to keep them from burning. Once they’re toasted, remove the skins then set them aside (the nuts, not the skins) until they’re no longer hot.
2. The food processor is going to do most of the work in this recipe. Start by adding the cooled, toasted hazelnuts to the processor bowl. Turn the food processor on, and after a minute or two you’ll be left with very finely ground hazelnuts. Wonderful for sprinkling on pastries, but that’s not what we’re going for, so keep processing. After another minute, the nuts will start to clump together around the blade, and you’ll find you have a smooth paste. Add a touch of salt, and you've create a tasty hazelnut butter! But we want nutella, so turn that processor back on…

3. 

   Nice...

   After about 5 minutes, your hazelnuts should be processed into a liquid. Scrape down the sides and the blade and process until there are no lumps remaining. Set the hazelnuts aside while you prepare the chocolate portion of the recipe.
4. The chocolate will need to be melted, so we used the double boiler method on the stove-top. Whichever method you choose, combine the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, and honey in a bowl.
5. If you’re using a double boiler, put the bowl on a pan of simmering water on the stove-top, and heat it, stirring frequently, until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. If you’re using the microwave, be sure to stir the mix after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating, and stop once everything is melted together.

6. 

   Messy Marbling

   Now you've barely done any work and the nutella’s almost finished. It’s magic! The final step is to add the warm chocolate mix to the bowl of the food processor that contains the liquefied hazelnuts.
7. Process the mix for 1-2 minutes more, until it smooths out, loses a little graininess, and gets shiny. The more you mix, the stiffer the nutella gets, so be sure to stop while it is still nice and spreadable.
8. We then added the mixture to clean, previously used (and we like to think), Up-cycled Nutella jars.
9. Ta Da!
   

   

   Into Jars (Before Eating)

   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

   Now also available for your Kindle

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

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Pear and Walnut Chutney

Not the "Supermoon" - Pear Tarte Tartin

We had a surfeit of foraged Walnuts and Pears clogging up my shed and the kitchen. I was aware the Walnuts would keep but knew that the Pears would need to be used up quite soon and, no matter how delicious it is, there's only so much Chocolate Pear Upside-Down Cake, Pear Tarte Tartin & Pear and Mulberry Crumble that can be consumed before bringing on fear of a heart attack! 

Chocolate Pear Upside-Down Cake

I made a winning Chunky Pear and Walnut Chutney back in 2011, but it was a bit too chunky for sandwiches. This time I chopped everything a bit finer and made twice the amount. It looks quite different and spreads nicely and importantly it actually does taste just as good my original attempt.

Peeled Apples, Pears and Onions

Ingredients.

• 1.2 Kg. Pears
• 225g Cooking Apples
• 400g Sugar
• 450ml Cider Vinegar
• 225g Onions
• 120g Walnuts, Chopped
• 1 Orange
• 275g Sultanas
• 1.5 tsp. Cinnamon (ground)

Walnuts

Method

1. Peel and core the pears and apples. Cut them and the onions into small chunks. Put the fruit and the vinegar together into a large preserving pan and stir. Slowly bring the mixture to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer gently for 30 - 40 mins, stirring it occasionally to prevent any sticking.
2. Meanwhile, thinly grate the zest off the outside of the orange and set this aside. Also, gently toast the walnuts in a non-stick pan over a low heat, until they become slightly paler. 
3. Place the sultanas in a bowl and the squeeze all the juice of the orange over the sultanas and leave to soak. 
4. After the fruit and vinegar has reduced, add the sugar, sultanas, orange juice, and zest into the preserving pan and heat gently while stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Finally, add the toasted walnuts and the cinnamon to the chutney.
5. Simmer gently for a further 30 - 40 mins stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
6. Spoon the chutney into pre-sterilised jars, seal and store in a cool dark place. 

Zesty!

This delicious chutney should be properly ready in about a month and should keep for a year. It will make a uniquely zesty, home-made, Xmas gift and will undoubtedly add a little spice to your food during the Winter months.

Favourite Fruits

We pick a lot of Apples every Autumn, this year I weighed them all and we have already gathered well over 200 Kgs. A lot of these are varieties that are either not especially good for eating or perhaps not good for keeping, but I always keep a special memo in my mind of my favourite trees. These beauties are the best tasting apples that also keep well in our Apple store and we will still be using them well into next year.

The newest gem I have discovered was rescued from a small hedgerow tree in Segensworth. They have a lovely pastel colour, a slightly waxy skin burst with tangy flavour when you eat them.  They are very juicy,  with a fresh aromatic taste. The flesh of these tasty Apples also has a pink tint. My greengrocer friend said it looks quite like a Discovery Apple. I think the tree is quite a discovery...

The Hedge End Red and Yellow is an iconic red and yellow fruit with some interesting shapes and frequently knobbly exterior. Despite the bumpy appearance, upon biting into these fruits one immediately realises that you are in the presence of something special. A soft and delicate skin and a beautifully textured, crisp, sweet, crunchy flesh. The perfect combination of sharp and sweet; truly scrumptious.

Another Hedge End fruit is the imaginatively named (by me) Red and Green. A firm, crunchy Apple with a distinctive red and green stripy skin. These mature slightly later than some and they keep very well through the Winter. Unfortunately the tree has grown very tall, and it is hard to reach the fruit, even with our pickers. The birds seem to enjoy pecking them too and this is no surprise when you bite into their firm flavoursome flesh. They are so treasured that I will even keep the ones with small pecks and cut the nibbles out prior to eating.

We have also been harvesting at our allotment, we collected enough sweet corn for a quick snack, enough squash to feed an army and my son has managed to grow enough grapes to make a few bottles of wine (he probably would prefer grape juice I guess). Our own little Apple trees is finally coming through with the goods too.

Nuts!

Earlier this year I found a couple of mature Walnut trees in a hedgerow fairly close to my workplace. I thought I should check out how they were doing, so I jogged on down in my lunch hour and was very surprised to see that some of the nuts were already falling.

I stuffed my pockets to bursting before setting off back to the grindstone. This little trip led me to think about Hazelnuts and the following day I was merrily filling a bag with these delicious, nutritious little gems. On the weekend I took the children with me and we made like squirrels, gathering them by the hundreds. When combined we had actually collected about 3.75 Kgs of nuts. 

If the Walnuts that I found seemed early, I think that Hazelnuts are later than normal this year. Seasonal shifts, as well as individual tree differences, make the ripening of fruit and nuts a naturally inexact science. The ordinary variability of ripening times is one reason why my system of walking around the local area every lunch hour has proved so effective. Not only do I get some respite from the repressive office environment and get some regular exercise, but because my routine is necessarily repetitive, I get to notice the subtle changes in the natural world over time.

Keen observation is the most important weapon in the foragers arsenal. Initially you have to be able to recognise the species of trees that are going to be of interest to you. You should be able to do this whatever the season, so Winter becomes just as important as Autumn. Then, as your targets come into flower or fruit you can check them on a regular basis to see how nature's bounty is maturing.

Generally, this year is shaping up to a great one for the various fruit and nuts that we collect. Apples are abundant, Hazelnuts are prolific and I'm pleased to report that we are collecting, cooking, preserving and storing prodigious quantities. Our Apple store is already crammed with my favourite local Apple varieties. I had to make space for a couple of gorgeous new kids on the block but I'm never going to complain about having too many Apples and nuts. There is an endless supply of tasty recipes to work from and, after all, many of them will keep until Spring or even longer.

N.B. Apple Day at Mansbridge Community Orchard 

This ever popular event will be held at 2:00pm on Sunday October 11th. If you have any spare apples, bring them along for crushing into juice. Octavia Road Open Space is basically a field and wilderness area, so wear suitably robust clothing, wellies etc. This is a free community event, run by volunteers and all are welcome but everyone one is responsible for their own (and their children's) health & safety.