Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Frugal Living => Topic started by: TheEnglishman on August 16, 2010, 15:41
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I got a carrier bag full of blackberries at the weekend :D All either from my father's garden or at the local seaside in the dunes (Formby, if you must know)
But could I get people interested in trying one at a BBQ later that evening? I made a blackberry and apple crumble (Dad's got an old cooking apple tree that's older than me) and when I told people where the fruit was from no-one would touch it.
Do people really think food *has* to come from Sainsbury's to be edible???
Anyway, more for me - it was delicious!
Anyway, I've only ever really harvested blackberries and sloes 'in the wild' - mainly 'cos I'm a town boy and have no idea what I'm looking for.
So what's out there that you get that's worth it and easy?
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This is the best time of the year for free food.
Blackberries - Elderberies - Rosehips - Hawthorn berries - Rowan berries - Sloes to name a few
I have started picking the blackberries that grow in our lane. The elderberries will be a while yet but they make beautiful pies and excelent jam. Rosehips are a good source of vitamins if made into syrup. The hawthorn and rowan berries I boil up and strain the juice and then mix this to blackberries to make hedgrow jam or you can mix the juice with crab apples and make a lovely jelly that is great with cold meats etc.
If you search on the forum or the net there are loads of sites about foraging for free food.
Enjoy
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Made blackbery and apple jam last friday from blackberrys picked on the way to work, and plum jam, from, well believe it or not plums :wacko: picked from a wild plum tree at work. Plenty of sloes around not sure what I can do with them, I don't drink, I am also looking for hazel trees as well.
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Sloes can be used for Sloe Jelly or if you boil with a small amount of water and strain the juice you can then add other fruit to the juice to make jams.
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I just discovered 2 ripe pear trees on the lot below ours, and pears dropping everywhere. Am watching for the owner so I can ask permission to gather them.
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Just made a crumble using forgaed blackberries and apples :)
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Last week made wild yellow plum jam, from plums collected from the hedgrows, some frozen for later use and at the weekend made Plum Crumble from the wild red ones.
My local blackberrys wil be ready this week, yummm...
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Don't forget the joys of sloe gin!!!
There are plenty of things you can make from rowan berry jelly to rose hip syrup.
The new river cottage book has just been released which is all about hedgerow produce
http://www.rivercottage.net/ShopProduct637/HedgerowRiverCottageHandbookNo7.aspx
I always find their books very good reading and with some fantastic recipes. I ordered my copy the other day but as I'm working away at the moment I haven't seen it yet! I can't wait to get my hungry paws on it and head out to scavenge!
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Not got any fruit on my plot this year, but there are huge blackberry brambles all around the perimeter fence. Made jam last week & just had some fresh ones with ice cream tonight! Going to make a pie next week, can't wait...
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at the end of my road there is a graveyard and all along the hedges it is rammed with blackberry's and rasberry's , guess where im going the weekend :)
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Just polished orf a plum and Bberry crumble that tracy made yesterday.we also picked loads more plums some pears and apples.
i think there are also yellow plums or apricots on the site as well. the committe planted loads of various fruit trees duling the lull in allotment usage a few years ago, most look between 5-10 years old but there are some a lot older.
damsons should be ready soon as well.
going tuesday as well if weather holds.
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at the end of my road there is a graveyard and all along the hedges it is rammed with blackberry's and rasberry's , guess where im going the weekend :)
I hope it's just for the fruit picking :blink: :D
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My friend and I went sort of scrumping last week.
A neighbours plum tree overhangs our garden and the plums were dropping, I was afraid they would damage my outbuildings so decided to remove as many plums as possible.
I know, officially, I should have offered them back to the neighbour, but there is an 8ft Leylandii hedge between us and from my house to his is a 20 minute round trip (just the way the roads are built).
So I decided he wouldn't object to me "liberating" the plums.
We collected 5 carrier bags, one for the helper, one for a jam-making friend and 3 for me, which converted into 10 kilos of stoned, halved plums.
Mind you, I got neck ache, back ache, and cramp in my hands from preparing them all.
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Mushrooms! I so wish I was brave enough to try harvesting some of these beauties. :)
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Mushrooms! I so wish I was brave enough to try harvesting some of these beauties. :)
I'm with on this but would not be sure enough what was what to know I wouldn't poison the family!!
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Mushrooms! I so wish I was brave enough to try harvesting some of these beauties. :)
I'm with on this but would not be sure enough what was what to know I wouldn't poison the family!!
Where we used to live, our very good friend does mushrooming very successfully - OH saw it done a few times, but I never have. :( I've even got more than one book on the subject, but there are certain things learned better by practical demonstration and this is certainly one of them. Where we are now, there are no such thing as courses on such subjects. :(
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So annoyed - John saw some puffballs yesterday up the lane so we went to have a look this morning as we read some lovely recipes last night. Some one had kicked them all to pieces. What a waste. :(
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Obviously someone who doesn't appreciate good food. :(
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picked 6lb of blackberries over the weekend from the brambles around the perimeter of my plot, now converted into 2 gallons of blackberry wine, should be ready for Christmas :)
I could also pick bags full of hawthorn berries but not sure what to do with them?
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Just printed off some recipes for hawthorn berries from the net.
Good one seems to be Haw-Sin Sauce from River Cottage.
500g Hawes, 250ml cider vinegar, 250 ml water, 250g sugar, salt and pepper.
Clean and de stalk berries and wash. Place in oan with water and vinegar and boil. Simmer for 30mins or until skins split. Rub through a sieve to remove skins and stones. Put to sieved juice in a pan with sugar and heat gently until sugar dissolves. Boil and cook until it becomes syrupy. season to your taste and bottle.
They say to use as an addition to meat or to add to casseroles as flavouring.
Other than that you can add to crab apples and boil and strain to get a juice and make jelly in the usual way 1lb of sugar to 1 pint of juice.
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Just printed off some recipes for hawthorn berries from the net.
Good one seems to be Haw-Sin Sauce from River Cottage.
500g Hawes, 250ml cider vinegar, 250 ml water, 250g sugar, salt and pepper.
Clean and de stalk berries and wash. Place in oan with water and vinegar and boil. Simmer for 30mins or until skins split. Rub through a sieve to remove skins and stones. Put to sieved juice in a pan with sugar and heat gently until sugar dissolves. Boil and cook until it becomes syrupy. season to your taste and bottle.
They say to use as an addition to meat or to add to casseroles as flavouring.
Other than that you can add to crab apples and boil and strain to get a juice and make jelly in the usual way 1lb of sugar to 1 pint of juice.
Thanks Mosslane, I've copied the recipe to my notebook - may have a go when back from my hols :)
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Just filled my coat pockets with 4.5lb of wild yellow plums from my secret tree at lunchtime. The 'secret' red one right next to it has been stripped bare over the weekend by the lady who keeps bees. You have to be quick in Rawtenstall! :lol:
When they saw what I had, the people at work started pestering me for my 'Forager's Jam'!!!
So, I need a few lbs of crab apples and a hefty wedge of blackberries now! ::)
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Hey, but do they ever help you forage Scabs? ::)
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can you tell me where you forage for sugar? Like the fruits, it is very expensive in the shops this year :nowink:
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Hey, but do they ever help you forage Scabs? ::)
I have enough of them at work, I don't want to spend my time with them at lunchtime too!
can you tell me where you forage for sugar? Like the fruits, it is very expensive in the shops this year :nowink:
Barbados! :)
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One of the pound shops in our town sells one kilo bags of sugar for guess what?
Yup £1:00.
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£1.98 for 2 kg in Tescoes :blink:
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Ocado/waitrose £1.35 for 2kg. Says it is price matched with Tesco so Tesco should be same price.
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just checked the bill and it was £1.92 so somethings not right..
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Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Granulated Sugar 2kg
Be the first to rate this product Price per kg: 67.5p
Tesco Price Match
£1.35
Qty.
Copied from Ocado site I notice though that Tesco do silverspoon not Tate and Lyle so don't know where they get Tesco price match from
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oooer, shame I can't get to a waitrose then :( cos I still got loads to do :lol:
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But could I get people interested in trying one at a BBQ later that evening? I made a blackberry and apple crumble (Dad's got an old cooking apple tree that's older than me) and when I told people where the fruit was from no-one would touch it.
Make friends with people who appreciate good food and leave the others in blissful ignorance of what they're missing. :tongue2:
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So annoyed - John saw some puffballs yesterday up the lane so we went to have a look this morning as we read some lovely recipes last night. Some one had kicked them all to pieces. What a waste. :(
To be honest puffballs are a non-event eating wise, i like to let them grow nowdays.
A tea-towel will taste nice with the right sauce. :)
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puffballs are great added to omelets. I cut a slice of puffball so that it is the size of a plate and about 1cm thick. Make the omelet in the pan and place the puffball slice on top whilst the omelet is still wet then spread some butter over it. Flip when the omelet is nearly cooked and turn the heat right up for 2 minutes.
Lovely :)
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On the subject of hedgerow food, I came across these today, could anyone ID them for me? There are plenty, right next to some of the tastiest blackberries I've had, on my regular cycle route around Manchester (Abbey Hey end of the Fallowfield loop if anyone is local)
Thanks.
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Does anybody else think that they look like dark coloured rose hips :unsure:
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There were also some orangey coloured ones, a bit more elongated, on a different bush.
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Yes, rose hips.
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Brilliant recipe for stuffed puffball on river cottage website, that is what I was looking to try so thats why I was disappointed :(
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Yes, rose hips.
Thank you, and mumofstig too. Just spilt one open and there are alot of seeds, bit like a dry pomegranate. All recipes call for removal of seeds so I'll wait a few weeks then grab the plumpest ones!
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Yes, rose hips.
Thank you, and mumofstig too. Just spilt one open and there are alot of seeds, bit like a dry pomegranate. All recipes call for removal of seeds so I'll wait a few weeks then grab the plumpest ones!
Can I suggest some caution here? Please take great care that you properly identify the plant before you eat anything from it! There are a lot of poisonous plants out there with dark coloured berries and hips. :ohmy:
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Can I suggest some caution here? Please take great care that you properly identify the plant before you eat anything from it! There are a lot of poisonous plants out there with dark coloured berries and hips. :ohmy:
Will do. I'll take a handful to the allotment to get a 2nd opinion. Not risked eating any yet, sticking to blackberries!
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can you tell me where you forage for sugar? Like the fruits, it is very expensive in the shops this year :nowink:
just checked the bill and it was £1.92 so somethings not right..
Ocado/waitrose £1.35 for 2kg. Says it is price matched with Tesco so Tesco should be same price.
Your Tesco might be like mine Mum and a smaller branch. Tesco don't run the same price scales across all branches! >:( Although our local Tesco is the biggest supermarket in town, it is in the Metro range of their stores and therefore much dearer than a huge out of town branch would be. :mad:
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:mad: is about right for most things to do with Tesco ::)
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Must admit we shop online with Ocado(waitrose). I know it seems lazy, but we are 13-14 miles from any supermarkets, I rarely drive, and they do our pooches cesar dog food 15p cheaper than anyone else which when buying 60 tins is a big saving. It also saves diesel and we don't impulse buy.
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We've been gathering mushrooms everyday for the last two weeks and they are wonderful this year. Some years they taste like disinfectant to me altho OH cant taste it and eats them anyway . ::) This year they are just scrummy. We dont put artificial fertiliser on the fields only the rotted muck from the cattle years so I have no qualms about eating them. We have them for breakfast with scrambled eggs.
Also made mushroom quiches, ratatouille and beef, mushroom and tomato casseroles for the freezer. All made with our own produce apart from the flour and butter in the quiche pastry . :)
Haven't found any puffballs this year. I like them raw, just cubed and mixed with salad. Think they go slimy when cooked but are bit like a bland cream cheese when eaten raw.
Loads of blackberries , wild plums, perry pears and all the hedgerow fruits to come :)
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Just made a batch of Rosehip syrup. Very nice, very syruppy. Only made 2 small bottles so think might have to do another batch when the rest of the hips are ripe :D
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And Down Under we are carefully propagating hawthorn, damsons, wild roses and trying to track down a sloe.. so we can plant our own 3 metre lengths of shelter belt and call them hedgerows! I think the romance of wild harvest and the British countryside is there, but the sheep/dairy country is divided by 5-wire fences not hedges!
Yes I did track down a sloe - from someone who was clearing 2 hectares of blackthorn (planted in the 1950's by someone wanting to make sloe gin commercially) in order to plant NZ native trees. They had had such a wicked (and not in a good way) time clearing the 4 metre high blackthorn thicket that they made me swear always to grow mine in a pot so it wouldnt sucker and create a huge problem somewhere else.
I love wild harvest - the flower vase currently holds a swoon-worth of fat golden gorse flowers. Roll on Aumn harvest!
Pip
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All of this was collected no more than 50 yards from our door. These have been stewed down with some crab apple and a lemon and sieved to give me 2lbs of pulp. This will be added to 2lb of blackberries tomorrow and made in to my version of hedgrerow jam.
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Back to mumofstig's question: "can you tell me where you forage for sugar? Like the fruits, it is very expensive in the shops this year"
You got me thinking it would be very cool to make hedgerow jam out of honey not sugar. It would keep the food local and if honey was your own or swapped/gifted then the jam would be 100% outside the usual commercial world.
And yes I have tried using honey. Managed to track down an old seville marmalade recipe which used honey (pre the sugar trade?). You have to use less water, as honey has a water content where sugar does not. Its a bit of guess how much less but my reasoning was honey is 20- 30% water so I needed 20-30 % less water. It set fine, mind you sevilles are high in pectin. But so are not quite ripe blackberries, hawthorns, crabapples...so it might just work. The lighter the honey, the less honey taste you would get in your jam. Our is bush honey so pretty tasty. Clover or whatever honey would work better.
If anyone want to give it a go, do let us know how you get on!
=Pip
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Picked and ate these Parasol Mushrooms a few days ago, they grow in the field I know, weather permitting for a couple of months late summer/ autumn. They are the only fungi I trust myself to identify and eat !!
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Encouraged by this thread, I've been out today and foraged blackberries, crab apples, rowan berries and haws, boiled them up with some hard plums I had and a couple of wrinkled apples from the fruit bowl. Will now sieve the bits out and add local honey and tomorrow will attempt to make leather thingies. :)
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Sounds good, let us know how it goes :) Never tried that method of preserving.
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When it comes to collecting wild fungus, even those with a little experience can fall foul of misidentification - as witness this report (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1308997/The-deadly-dish-poisoned-lives-How-The-Horse-Whisperers-Nicholas-Evans-killed-family-wild-mushrooms.html)
Lets be at least a little bit careful out there, folks, and if you can't get onto a proper course best to buy your fungi from Finefare!