*I do usually object to ‘ugly’ weather – wind and rain is hardly pleasurable, but togged up in our nice warm feather-filled coats, if you’re in the mood for it, being huddled together under a brolly can be quite cosy!
It’s such a nice way to spend time together. You will see a few weeks ago now we started the yearly blackberry hunt – and very successful it has been so far! We’ve collected a good pound of berries each weekend since, enough to keep us going a couple of days and to tuck a few away in the freezer ready for those yummy autumnal crumbles and pies.
Although we can name different plants, when you start looking for food in the wild, we were surprisingly ignorant about the ones you can eat. Turns out a lot of them are edible! Even Hawthorn, which I had always thought you couldn’t eat! I think this stems from childhood – we had a huge hawthorn hedge and were always told not to pick the berries. We did have a HUGE vegetable garden, an apple tree, and a strawberry patch, plus plenty of blackcurrants and gooseberries dotted in the borders, so why would we need to pick anything else?! Credit to my Mum and Dad for maintaining it all – you just don’t appreciate the effort when you’re little!
Anyway, back to foraging. We have this tattered old book ‘Food for Free’ by Richard Mabey on the bookcase, and I’d never really taken much notice of it. But curiosity had set in then, I NEEDED to find out about all these plants and berries that I wasn’t 100% sure of! So far we had collected only blackberries, apples, and a sprinkling of raspberries.
We have also found plenty of elderberries and redcurrants on our travels – I had to look these up to be sure as there are a few nasties out there that can upset your tummy. We also managed to find hazelnuts this week:
Next on the list are damsons and bilberries; two of my childhood favourites, but it has been years and years since I’ve picked any from the countryside. I have seen some potentials, but I’ll consult my book and keep you posted!
