Tuesday 26 July 2011

The 2011 Foraging Season kicks off.


One advantage of the children getting a little older is that they can be put to work in the foraging season - here's Xanthe hard at it in the kitchen.

On Saturday we went out on our annual cherry plum harvest, I know everyone else seems to have been picking them for weeks already, but our usual spot is in the shady side of a very tall hedge and they seem to ripen later. For a change it was a gloriously sunny day (most previous trips to this location have involved wellies and pack a macs), the children decided to scamper off into the 'hedge' which is actually a narrow strip of woodland running along the back of the Diss Rugby club ground, but Adam summoned them back to pull their weight in the fruit harvest.

We've refined our technique after last year's marathon bullace harvest and went for a 'shake the tree' method rather than the 'selective use of the apple picker' method. Adam extended the apple picker to it's full length, wedged it onto a branch and shook like mad. The resulting monsoon of cherry plums and yellow bullace sent the girls into shrieking paroxms of delight - at least until Xanthe was hit squarely in the eye by a large cherry plum. After that we stood well back while the fruit bounced down on Adam's head.

Once the road was carpeted with fruit, the children were required to help, we all rushed around around frantically picking them up before any cars came along. It's a teeny tiny single track country road so cars aren't frequent, I think we only saw 3, but they do seem to come along just at the wrong moment and squash the maximum number of plums. We also had our annual "yes you can eat them" conversation with passing walkers who never seem quite convinced and refuse our offers to try one.

Yesterday I made our household favourite, Cherry Plum Cordial (made 4 bottles, one half used already) and today I'm going to try and amalgamate my Cherry Plum Chutney recipe with myPlum Ketchup recipe which should be an interesting experiment. I'm hoping it turns out a bit like HP sauce.

We picked 3 kilos of cherry plums and 4 of yellow bullace but I don't think it's enough! We're on holiday next week but I'm hoping to pick some more at the weekend and stash them in the freezer for processing when we get home.




11 comments:

  1. This sounds like so much fun. Recipes sound great too, but it's the whole business of taking the kids out to pick and play and then coming home to make things ... lovely :) Reminds me of picking sloes with my mum when I was younger.

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  2. not jealous much...due to one thing or another we have missed some of our local ones (south Norwich) still hoping to get some though. Your recipe choices sound lovely, we just made jam and wine last year, I was hoping for cordial this year. will have to see :D

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  3. MsG - it's mostly fun, although they do moan sometimes too and would rather stay in and play the wii rather than get out and pick fruit.

    Lightly - I would've thought you'll still got loads. They've only just started to fall around here, still lots ripening up on the tree.

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  4. No-one (except the birds) was picking the fruit from a cherry plum tree near Katie's school, and as I had to go there this morning I took a bag with me and now have 2.5 lbs (just over a kilo) of fruit for nowt :)

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  5. Did you shake or pick? The only trouble with cherry plums/yellow bullace is they grow so high, I saw a picture of the guy who does the River Cottage foraging standing on the roof of his car to pick cherry plums.

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  6. I picked a few (and picked up lots!), as it is actually in someone's front garden overhanging the road. I did feel a bit naughty picking the ones I did, although to be honest they NEVER pick any of the fruit growing along their hedge (cooking apples, pears and cherry plums)which is a real shame (unless you are a wild critter!)

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  7. Adam's picked them from someone's front hedge before, I don't have the nerve! Maybe you should ask them if you can pick some, give them a jar or two of jam for their trouble?

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  8. Cherry plums are the reason I started to read your blog - I was searching for a recipe for our newly-discovered fruit. I went on to make cherry plum cordial, which I boiled too hard so it started to set...made a wonderful syrup for ice cream in the end. Sadly, our first cherry plum tree (which grows up the side of a local bank - could foraging be classed as bank robbery?!) has been rather savagely pruned. Hubby has since discovered a new batch of trees and returned home today with three carrier bags full. Off to start the cordial now...

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  9. Oh, I've done that too! Made one batch which went really 'leathery' and wouldn't mix with the water when diluted.

    Glad you found a new tree.

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  10. Could I make victoria plum cordial?? Do you have the cordial recipe so I could give it a go...I have really had enough of jam and crumble...lol

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  11. It's certainly worth giving it a go, just use the same recipe but replace the cherry plums with Victorias. (You've been busy with your comments!)

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