Samphire?

fwor

As reported above, samphire has been turning up in supermarkets recently, but check the country of origin.

We had some from Waitrose a few days ago and it was woody and far more salty than the home grown stuff. Almost inedible - we threw more than half away. Country of origin was Israel (not, I should add, that I have anything whatsoever against Israel as a country!).

katkins78

I would also suggest Pegwell bay as being the most likely place to find it. Goodluck!

Quick google of Pegwell Bay and samphire and it looks promising according to this site.
http://ageandsons.co.uk/our-people

JodyBPM

Thanks everyone. Think Pegwell Bay will be our first port of call in June, and hopefully we'll find some:)

meritaten

samphire doesnt only grow on/in? marshes. I have seen it growing on cliff walls in Cornwall (I hadnt a clue what two ladies were picking off the cliff, so I asked them and the kind souls explained they were picking it for supper and to sell to some restaurants. they also gave me some to try! I loved it and OH hated it - said it tasted like yacht varnish!

calicocat

nuatha wrote: »

I've seen Samphire in Asda Blyth.
I've picked samphire at Budle Bay, Alnmouth (those sands are dangerous) Dunstanburgh and so far failed to find it in the Newbiggin/Blyth end of the coast - which is probably more about lack of dedicated hunting than it not being there.

Thanks for the info , I have friends that live there......may invite myself up for a day and rope them into helping

Happy hunting everyone!

JodyBPM

Just to report back - we were at the caravan this weekend, so we took a wander around Pegwell Bay, where we saw some young shoots just emerging from the marshland. Needs a month or two before it can be harvested, but its definitely there!

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction:)

JodyBPM

meritaten wrote: »

samphire doesnt only grow on/in? marshes. I have seen it growing on cliff walls in Cornwall (I hadnt a clue what two ladies were picking off the cliff, so I asked them and the kind souls explained they were picking it for supper and to sell to some restaurants. they also gave me some to try! I loved it and OH hated it - said it tasted like yacht varnish!

There are two completely different plants, marsh samphire, which is what I remember picking as a child which only grows on marshland, and rock samphire, which I've never had (and wouldn't necessarily be able to identify tbh). I believe that the rock samphire is quite a sharp radishy/peppery taste (although I've never tried it), where as the marsh is succulent and salty.