Foraging - Natures Food

ELIZA_D

After spending weeks trying out recipies for plums with the amount we foraged from my local park (still leaving masses of fruit for others) i am hooked !
Bought the bible "food for free" and take it everywhere.
Went to a country park with the boys yeasterday and got a small amount of blackberries to make some jam and nettles which i am about to make nettle soup with...........love it !

Laura_D_3

tiff wrote: »

If the blue ones have a stone in them then they are sloes. Not really edible as they are but used to make sloe gin and can be combined with other hedgerow fruit/berries to make hedgerow jam.

They do indeed have stones - however for some reason I thought Sloes were bigger, having looked at the piccy on wikipedia it would tally though

Thanks :T

ceridwen

Thinking today about the concept of "cost per wear" as applied to clothing - ie the one that goes "a dress that costs £100 that one wears absolutely loads of times" is much better value for money than one costing £20 that is worn twice. You know the one - ie that £20 dress cost £10 per wear - whereas the £100 dress worn 100 times cost £1 per wear - and therefore turned out to be cheaper basically.....

Anyways...I think this concept can be extrapolated to food - as in "food value per £". One could spend £10 for instance and get a load of junk food that provided neither nourishment (vitamins, minerals, etc) nor filled up the hungry gap in one's stomach. On the other hand one could spend that same £10 and get some food that was filling/healthy/etc and represented good value for money. I certainly think that the less money one has - then the more one has to make every £ count towards filling ones stomach AND providing the goodness one needs from food (the vitamins/minerals/etc).

This has been running through my mind after another spell of foraging - one of the things I've been out getting is (I think) guelder rose. I've not come across that before - and I'm only 90% certain that it IS actually guelder rose berries I have been picking.

So my queries are:

1. How can I be sure I am correct in thinking that these red berries are definitely guelder rose - to describe them: they hang in clusters just like elderberries and I would think they were elderberries if they were black and the quantity of berries was greater per cluster - ie they are the same size/softness/etc. Does that sound like they ARE guelder rose? have I got that correct?

2. Assuming I am correct here in thinking that - I have been looking up what I can do with them and the idea came straight up of making them into jam. Well - I havent got very many of them - AND I do have distinct reservations about putting any sugar in my food and boiling it for some time - as I well know that sugar is just plain unhealthy and that the less one cooks ones food the better from the POV of retaining the goodness in it. So - I could do with other ideas of how to best use them - ie with no sugar and with minimal cooking. All suggestions welcome purlease:D

I admit - quite beyond the question of whether this is guelder rose berries I have just picked and what I can best do with them - I do have a major concern as to how one can best get adequate "nourishment" on a minimalist food budget. Its certainly one of my personal concerns - so all thoughts welcome....

PasturesNew

ceridwen wrote: »

guelder rose.

I havent got very many of them - AND I do have distinct reservations about putting any sugar in my food and boiling it for some time

"Although the berries are edible they MUST be cooked, and are a very good source of vitamin C. That said, they have a peculiar after-taste which needs masking with lots of sugar and/or honey (as one Russian recipe used), while the ripe berries smell rather foul."

http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/wfs/wfsberries.htm

PasturesNew

ceridwen wrote: »

I do have a major concern as to how one can best get adequate "nourishment" on a minimalist food budget.

Or you could get a part-time job at the local chinese and get paid minimum wage and all the chinese food you can eat.

I know somebody who used to deliver them - and for each shift he got a full meal for 2, which would have done a single person for 4 meals at least.

oliveoyl

Can you post a picture of them... and a leaf as well if you have one? My recollection of guelder rose berries is that they are bigger than elderberries.

Don't eat until 100% sure... but you know that already.

Barneysmom

I wondr about a mixture of elder and guelder rose berries, it might be quite tasty?

tandraig

if you are not sure about whether they are guelder rose berries or hips - can i suggest you post enquiry on 'green fingered money saving' bet someone there would know!!! and suggest recipes!!!!!!!!!!!

tandraig

as to the concept value per pound - i try to squeeze out as much as I can!! the butternut squash at 68 P well - a quarter of it went into my garlic roast veg - along with some remnants in fridge. half of it was baked - covered in black pepper and a little olive oil to accompany chops - the other quarter went in stew. not sure what i could have done with skins - but they went into composter!!!!

ceridwen

oliveoyl wrote: »

Can you post a picture of them... and a leaf as well if you have one? My recollection of guelder rose berries is that they are bigger than elderberries.

Don't eat until 100% sure... but you know that already.

...well I dont have a camera to my name....either proper camera or cameraphone (as my mobile is very basic).....so 'fraid not...