BL-24 - Flipbook - Page 100
FOOD & DRINK
Apparently, hawthorn is Britain’s unluckiest tree,
according to a poll taken in the 1930s, anyway. I can’t help
but think it must have been a fairly quiet week on the news
desk for this to have made the headlines.
Why it is unlucky is unclear, but it is reputed to smell
like the plague (I must say I’ve never noticed this). In the
Christian tradition, it’s held that Joseph of Arimathea,
having 昀椀nished his adventures with Jesus and the gang,
travelled to Glastonbury, where he thrust his staff into the
Tor, from which grew a sacred hawthorn. I’ve met people
to this day who claim to have trees grown from its cuttings,
but I remain sceptical.
Nicknamed ‘bread and cheese’ (presumably the leaves are
the bread, and the soft 昀氀esh of the berries are the cheese),
it’s not advisable to eat the leaves as they contain a betablocker, and the stones of the fruit contain cyanogenic
glycosides, so discard them as well.
So, these are three lesser-known wild edibles that I look
forward to both foraging and cooking with every year.
There are treasures to be found at all times of year in the
wonderful British countryside: arm yourself with a good
handbook, get out there and try something different.
But I beg you, always follow the golden rule...don’t eat
anything unless you know the difference between Death
and Dinner!
Wild haw berries
Haw Berries
Overshadowed by more celebrated fruit such as damsons,
rose hips and sloes, the humble haw berry is often
sidelined, a miscarriage of justice I will do my best to
correct.
2025 is what we call a “mast” year: stroll down any
country lane, and you’ll see trees and bushes weighed
down with fruit and nuts. Nature is straining to produce as
many fruiting seeds as possible.
Why this happens is not entirely clear. Everything, right
from the 昀椀rst snowdrops of January, has been turbocharged this year. Maybe it’s the cold winter, or a response
to last year’s washout. Either way, it has probably been
accelerated by one of the driest summers in living memory.
Hawthorn berries are everywhere, wonderful clouds of
crimson fruit bending the boughs of their hosts. Whilst
edible, the berries are not particularly interesting in their
raw form: the soft 昀氀esh has a texture not dissimilar to
avocado, and little taste. However, boiling the berries,
sieving the juice and reducing it with sugar produces a
wonderfully tangy tasty syrup. Packed with vitamin C, and
excellent on pancakes.
To learn more about Tom, book one of his
walks, buy gift vouchers or 昀椀nd recipes, visit
eatthecountry.com.
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BOISDALELIFE.COM
ISSUE 24
