19/08/2024
Late Summer is one of my favourite times of the year. The hedgerows are absoluting bursting with colour and wild food. The blackberries and elderberries are at their best at the moment around us, much earlier than I was expecting them to be this year. Sloes are still slowly coming through, they wont be at their ripest for a while but I took a handful for jams as they are naturally high in pectin which helps preserves set. We are having our blackberries in crumbles, with yoghurt, and I have a kombucha ready to brew this week.
Two of the leads in our Autumn drop are inspired by the bounty found in the hedgerows during August - introducing Blackberry and Elderberry. The colours are so reminiscent of a basket full of foraged finds.
During this time of the year I always take the opportunity on quiet morning dog walks to see what food I can find lining the meadows. My youngest dog Ted, food obsessed and a natural opportunist, is the best foraging partner - he eats the berries straight from the bush, and we have to be careful when the rosehips are out as he will gorge himself on those! Foraging is great mental exercise for the dogs.
Autumn Foraging:
* Blackberries
* Wild Raspberries
* Elderberries
* Sloes (best put in the freezer overnight to mimic the first frost and to soften for processing)
* Crab Apples
* Hazlenuts (you can pick them green and ripen at home in a dark cupboard)
* Seabuckthorn (if you are lucky enough to live by the coast!)
Remember, only take what you need, respect the outdoors, and make sure what you are taking is dog safe if they are helping or sharing the finds.
