Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

Where: Waste ground and cultivated land. More common in south, rarer in north.   

What: Leaves, seeds, young shoots/bulbs.

When: Shoots/bulbs – Spring; Leaves – Spring/Summer; Seeds – late Summer/Autumn.

The Wild Fennel is the same plant that is grown commercially, and can be used in all the same situations, only the wild version is much cheaper! It grows in distinct localised patches to a height of 2.5m in some cases, though half that is more normally encountered. It is a very distinctive plant, easily recognised from a distance.

A hard, but hollow, central stem grows a riot of fine, almost hair-like, leaves. The leaves can grow to a length of 40cm and 0.5cm wide, an comprised of very fine thread-like leaflets branching off a stem in opposite pairs, and each leaf is in turn similarly branched giving a rather chaotic and hairy impression to the plant. The leaves themselves are a bright green or greyish green in colour, and when crushed in the hand release an intense aniseed smell; it is this smell, coupled with the characteristic leaves, that means that fennel is almost impossible to mistake for anything else. Harvest large amounts of leaves and dry them to ensure a supply throughout the off-season.

In early spring, just as the plant begins to show itself, the young shoots and the bulb may be harvested and eaten in the manner of the regular Florence Fennel, though the wild version is much smaller, but still good and nutty in flavour. Removing the bulb, of course, robs you of the plant, but there are usually many more around.

The flowers arrive in summer (June onwards) and last until October time; they are tiny (0.3cm) and yellow in colour, forming groups of 30 –50 flowers in dense umbels measuring over 5cm across. 

From August onwards the seed appear below the dead flowers, each measuring 0.7cm long and about 0.2cm wide, dark and light grey coloured with a grooved exterior. These can be collected and stored to add flavouring to dishes.

The aniseed flavour of fennel leaves and seeds can be very strong, and are not to everyone’s liking (I myself am not a big fan), but they make great sauces for fish, and the seeds added to meatballs impart a flavour even I enjoy. 

Elder (Sambucus nigra)

Where: Hedgerow & roadside, especially disturbed ground. Common throughout UK.

What: Flowers & berries

When: Flowers: May – July; Berries: August – September

The Elder is a very versatile plant, having 2 distinct crops each year – the flowers and the berries. I shall go into more detail abut the berries in the autumn when they appear, and this post shall be concentrate on the flower only.

The Elder occurs as a small tree, up to 6m high, but more commonly as a rather untidy shrub measuring up to 3m in height, and occupying, almost exclusively, hedgerows and roadsides. It thrives on disturbed, nitrogen rich, soils, so agricultural land is especially favoured. It is fairly easy to recognise, especially in the early summer when it is full of the characteristic flowers. 

The leaves are formed from 2 or 3 pairs of opposite leaflets with a single terminal leaflet. Spear-shaped or broadly elliptical, they are a deep green colour, paler underneath, clearly veined and shiny with a serrated edge, and measuring up to 10cm long and 5cm wide. The tree has grey-brown bark, with deep vertical cracks, and is fairly soft to the touch.

The pale yellow flowers that are so visible from late May to mid-July are umbrella-shaped, face upwards, and measure up to 20cm across. These umbels are, in fact, made up of 100s of tiny individual flowers, each measuring less than 0.5cm across, and comprised of 5 yellowish-white petals with tiny yellow stamens in the centre. They have what is described as a ‘heady’ fragrance – vaguely fruity, the smell can be quite sharp with a hint of must and floral notes… or something. Other people say it smells like death and cat wee! The smell is particularly strong after a few hours in the sun, so pick according to how much you like it – I personally am not totally convinced about the taste/smell, I keep trying it, but… Kate, however, loves it!

It is these flowers that you will need to pick if you want to make your champagne or cordial, so get picking. Pick only the bright yellow-white coloured umbels; they go a darker colour to brown as they age, and develop an insipid stale flavour that is not pleasant, and use them immediately as they do not keep. Alternatively, place them in a warm dry place to dry them, and then store in jars, etc. ensuring a steady supply of Elderflowers long past the season. For those of you, like myself, who are not sure whether or not you like the flavour, try mixing different fruit into to recipe for cordial – we tried orange, which can be recommended. If anyone has any other suggestions, let us know via the ForagersGuide email, and we can publish the recipe. 

Elderflower (Sambucus nigra)

Raspberry (Rubus Idaeus)

Where: Hedgerows, woodland margins and clearings. Common throughout UK. 

What: Berries.

When: Mid-June – August

By late June, if you are lucky enough, then you may be able to forage Raspberries. Related to the Blackberry, and superficially similar looking, the Raspberry plant is smaller that your standard bramble and is often overlooked lurking in hedgerows, or simply mistaken for a slightly odd version of it’s cousin. 

The plant can grow to a height of 1m, but is usually much lower to the ground, and has a thick, yellow-green, stem trailing throughout the hedgeback and climbing on other plants. This stem looks very thorny, almost hairy (especially compared with the Blackberry), but these reddish coloured thorns are soft, and so picking the fruit is not the trial it is with brambles. The leaves are a mid-dark green, occasionally shiny on the upper and pale below, and are slightly hairy on the upper, more hairy below. They are oval in shape, clearly veined and often taking on a wrinkled appearance, have a serrated edge, and occur in groups of 5 or 7 leaflets, with the longest, terminal, leaflet measuring up to 10cm long and 6 cm wide.  

  

The flowers, arriving in April/May, are white and are small (max. 1cm across) made up of 5 delicate petals with green triangular sepals separating them, and with a centre comprised of white stamens with reddish tips.  

By the start of June, you should be able to see the fruit growing – pale green and hard at first but slowly turning orange, and finally the classic warm translucent red. The berry itself is soft and juicy, perhaps a little sharp tasting, but still sweet with that wonderful flavour. The fruit is smaller than the shop bought variety, measuring just 1.5-2cm, but is in the classic shape, and looks just like an unripe red Blackberry. The berry hangs down underneath the leaves, usually in groups of up to three, so you have to go looking for it, literally turning plants upside down, and whilst not growing in the same quantities as the Blackberry (actually, depending on the plant, fairly sparsely), they are well worth the effort.

Use the berries in any way you see fit – pies, salads, breakfast, juice them, add them to chilled white wine for an evening drink… hell, just pop them in your mouth and chomp! They freeze well, but are a tad mushy when defrosted! In a wonderful display of irony (and with a sense of mischievous glee), my main Raspberry plant is in my local supermarket car park, and whilst they are currently having a sale on Raspberries (£1.99 for a punnet), I can get mine for free!

Elderflower Champagne

Ingredients:

The flowers from 6 elderflower heads

2 lemons, sliced

4.5 litres of water

750 grams of sugar 

2 tbsp of cider/white wine vinegar

Fizzy drinks bottles 

Make sure your bottles are sterile, once you have washed them you can either use a sterilising fluid or crush up a campden tablet in some warm water to dissolve it and then give them a good rinse with the solution. Make sure your hands are clean throughout the process!

I would advise against using glass bottles. Once the fermentation process starts in the bottle the high pressure can cause the bottle to explode and a hole to appear in your favourite partitioning wall/shed. 

1.Pour 4.5 litres of water in to a container which has a lid (or can be cling filmed)

2. Add the flowers of 6 elderflower heads (shake off any bugs first but don't wash the flowers as this will get rid of the natural yeast and you will have no fizz. Bear in mind that your hands will get covered in pollen so if you are a fellow hayfever sufferer DON'T rub your eyes!)

3. Add the 2 sliced lemons

4. Whilst in the mixture give the lemons a squeeze to let out some of the juice

5. Put the lid/cling film on and leave for 24-36 hours

6. Strain the liquid through a clean cloth/ muslin into a container

7. Add 2 tbsp of cider/white wine vinegar

8. Add 750g of sugar and stir until dissolved

9. Pour in to fizzy drinks bottle and put the lids back on (not too tight though)

10. The champagne will start to fizz over the next few days. Over the next week or so keep checking the bottles frequently to make sure that the pressure hasn't built up too high. If it does very gently unscrew the bottles slightly to release some of the pressure.

After 1-2 weeks the bubbles should slow down. When they do screw down the caps tightly and it is ready for you to drink.

The longer you leave it, the more alcoholic it will get as it will continue to ferment but keep in mind that by three months it will probably be too dry.