Foraging ingredients

[Tau]

Trying to prepare for collection of ingredients for wines in late spring, summer and autumn. Besides elderflower, oak leaves, blackberrys and sloes, some I get from garden like strawberries, gooseberrys and blackcurrents. Been looking for a good source for a wine I'd like to try and that is Juneberries, I planted a tree/shrub but not enough yet for a gallon or jam. Anyone found a good source in uk?

Windberries are too backbreaking to pick I've found good locations but to painful, bet it tastes great, might have to blackmail son to pick for me lol.

Anyone made wine from out of the ordinary foraged ingredients?

 

[ptsupermix]

Hi tau, I've made wine with ornamental quinces before :)

 

[Dutto]

I made wine out of a bottle of +/-3 year old Rose Hip Syrup last August (it has made a dry rosé wine that will be served chilled as a Kir when the weather warms up a bit) and I've just posted a proposed recipe made from apple and plum jam that was foraged from the hedgerows, again about three years ago.

I've always fancied this recipe ...

http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2013/05/bunch-of-fives-spruce-tips/

... at this time of the year.

I've yet to make it (so many beers and wines and so little time!!) and just in case you aren't sure of the difference between fir, pine and spruce here's a neat explanation ...

http://www.finegardening.com/fir-vs-spruce-vs-pine-how-tell-them-apart

Enjoy! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Tau]

That spruce looks a good idea, I know for some spruce, any idea on when they tend to start producing spring growth?

I thought of something, there's these berries that grow near coastal areas they're orange in colour can't remember name, but rich in vitamin c, used to be staple for ancient brits some 7,000 yrs ago lol. Anybody know name?

 

[brumbrew]

Foraged sloes, damsons, plums, beech sap, apples, dandelions, blackberries, nettles, quinces.

I quite often raid the reduced bins at the supermarket for carrots, Swede (turnip), parsnips etc.

My friend has some obscure berries in his garden. I'm sure they're Logan berries. Might ask if I can a pinch some this year.

I forrage as much as I can, have done since my grandfather and father taught me how to make wine, and what's safe to eat, when I was about 8-9 ;-)

 

[ptsupermix]

Sea buckthorn

 

[Dutto]

That spruce looks a good idea, I know for some spruce, any idea on when they tend to start producing spring growth?

I thought of something, there's these berries that grow near coastal areas they're orange in colour can't remember name, but rich in vitamin c, used to be staple for ancient brits some 7,000 yrs ago lol. Anybody know name?

Any time soon for Spring growth on Spruce. Also very obvious because of different (light green) colour.

With regard to berries I would treat them with caution unless you know exactly what they are. I suggest that you identify them from somewhere like here ...

https://www.bto.org/sites/default/f...sociated_files/berry-identification-sheet.pdf

... and then go to another site for further information, like here ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privet

Enjoy! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

Anyone tried nettles?

 

[brumbrew]

Anyone tried nettles?

Several times. Need to pick the young shoots so April to June

 

[cheapbrew]

A friend is into nettles for everything and told me to get them with the white flowers on and only use flowers and fresh tips, no stalk or leaves.

 

[Dutto]

SWMBO and I do load of cycling and keep an eye out for all kinds of stuff available from the grass-verges and hedgerows.

Near Skegness the highlights are a crab-apple tree that produces tiny (no bigger than my thumb) apples that can be eaten whole, a wild plum tree that produces some really sweet fruit and a back-lane that has blackthorn bushes all down one side that are festooned with sloes!

Free and tastier than anything found in a supermarket!

But BEWARE! The only time I made a mistake was picking a Yellow Stainer mushroom in amongst some ordinary mushrooms.

http://www.mushroomdiary.co.uk/2010/08/horse-and-field-mushroom-imposter-the-yellow-stainer/

I fried them up for my tea before catching the Aberdeen to London sleeper train. I was glad to not be sharing a cabin because the two hours of projectile vomiting would definitely have put any fellow passenger off their breakfast!

Foraging is great but make doubly sure that you know what you are picking! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

So next question is what does the nettle bear taste like? I did hear that they can be used instead of spinach. No shortage of them for sure. Had my first Fraoc last week which wasn't unpleasant but wouldn't wanna drink much of it.

 

[ptsupermix]

The river cottage book called " booze" has loads of great foraging recipes in, nettles, sea buckthorn etc.
even beer made out of sugar puffs :)

 

[brumbrew]

Nettles can be added to the boil like a hop would be. I tried some of the nettle beer that high house farm brewery make. Certainly wasn't unpleasant.

As for foraging mushrooms. I haven't got the know how or the guts to eat them. Since so many are deadly poisonous.

 

[Dutto]

Nettles can be added to the boil like a hop would be. I tried some of the nettle beer that high house farm brewery make. Certainly wasn't unpleasant.

As for foraging mushrooms. I haven't got the know how or the guts to eat them. Since so many are deadly poisonous.

Actually, there are only four or five deadly mushrooms commonly found in the UK and with names like "The Death Cap", "Destroying Angel", "Deadly Webcap" etc their toxicity has been recognised for centuries. Another five or six will more than likely make you sick rather than kill you outright.

Check out ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardenin...sonous-mushrooms-to-watch-out-for-in-britain/

If you are in France all local pharmacists provide a consultancy service whereby you can take whatever you have picked in the fields and forests to the local pharmacy where they will tell you whether or not they are edible.

The taste of a few fresh chanterelles gently fried in butter and served with toast for breakfast is almost "to die for" anyway if you did get it wrong! :grin: :grin:

 

[brumbrew]

Really, that's cool. No such luck here in the UK they wouldn't want you picking your own food lol.

I know of a tree in the fields by my house that has a huge beef steak fungus growing on it.

Oh and I know of a row of green and yellow Gage trees. Sort of small sweet plums

 

[Dutto]

Really, that's cool. No such luck here in the UK they wouldn't want you picking your own food lol.

I know of a tree in the fields by my house that has a huge beef steak fungus growing on it.

Oh and I know of a row of green and yellow Gage trees. Sort of small sweet plums

The beefsteak fungus is edible but has an "acquired taste" and may need a lot of cooking. In France it's occasionally seen on market stalls!

Wild greengages may often be more "stone" than "plum" so what I do is cook them whole and then push the pulp through a sieve and lift out the stones as I go.

It can be a long and tedious job but leaving the stones in (as per my Mum's method for making greengage jam!) leaves a product that is a dentists dream for broken teeth! :whistle:

Enjoy! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[cheapbrew]

Greengage wine was one of the best I've ever made, I did two side by side, damson (or buck's prune as they are called locally) and a greengage, just about everyone preferred the greengage, even though they said the damson was bloody lovely too, the only thing the damson got better marks for was the lovely rich red colour.

I push them through a sieve like Dutto.

 

[clibit]

Sorry, I started a beer foraging thread cos I assumed this was just a wine and cider thread.

 

[tonyhibbett]

Birch sap is surprisingly good, although you need sultanas as well.