What's Happening?

Spring has sprung, and summer is properly here. The absolutely amazing weather seems to have brought out the best in wild food, and this year looks set to be a bumper crop of all sorts of goodies.

After last year’s dismal effort, the huge quantity of flowers in the spring seems to indicate that this year will be a extraordinary one for Bilberries – the bushes were literally groaning under the weight of the purple flowers, and they are now showing the green immature fruits growing nicely. Here is a description of the Bilberry.

Raspberries are similarly available in a plentiful supply. My usual bushes are not yet ripe – a few more weeks should see them emerge in their delicate glory. Keep checking your hunting grounds as they may be ready now and you don’t want to miss that boat. Here is a description of the Raspberry

Gooseberries! Wow! My local bush was, as of 3 weeks ago, growing nicely and full of life. I checked yesterday, however, and the whole thing was overgrown and all the leaves had been eaten by caterpillars. I did manage to salvage 8 Goooseberries, so not all was lost, but still, I’m not impressed! Next year I will do some weeding… or does that count as gardening rather than foraging? See post below for the details on Gooseberries. 

And ladies and gentlemen, the whole house once again smells of cat pee which can mean only one thing, the Elderflowers are in season. Get them whilst the going’s good… or not! They really seem to be everywhere this year, and one can smell them in the most unlikely places. Kate is making champagne again, but also a cordial, and is attempting to make a wine. We have a freezer full of the flowers too, so that should keep us going for a while! Recipe and description are here and here.

In other interesting news, I discovered a Medlar tree on my travels yesterday. I had thought the tree looked familiar when I first came across it in the spring, but I couldn’t place it. So, during yesterday evening’s ramble, I explored further and lo, the large leaves and the small emerging apple-like fruit gave it away. Here is a description of the Medlar. 

Elderflowers in full bloom.  

What was left of my Goosberry bush after the caterpillars!

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus)

AKA: Wimberry, Blaeberry, Whortleberry, Huckleberry, Blueberry.

Where: Hilly areas, moorland, covering areas of heath - prefers acid soils. Particularly in North.

What: Berries only

When: July – September, occasionally later

The Bilberry. Ah, the Bilberry. What can we say about this shiny black berry. It is definitely my favourite fruit and I have great childhood memories of picking Bilberries in the hills above Macclesfield with my family. It is a relative of the larger North American Blueberry, but is superior in every way, especially flavour, and is criminally underused as a fruit, being relatively unheard of despite being relatively common – I still have people, smart worldly people, pull a blank face when I mention the Bilberry.

The Bilberry prefers acid soil and the hillsides and peaks of sandstone areas, and are much more common in the north and midlands, and especially in the Peak District and Cheshire Pennines where the environment is perfect. The bush is low, measuring up to a maximum of 70cm, and whilst can occur in isolated patches, is usually to be found in vast swathes. 

The leaf is small, measuring up to 1cm, pointed oval in shape with a slightly toothed edge, and is a mid green with occasional brown or black dots, quite thick, and has a prominent mid-rib. Taken as a whole, the plant is quite straggly looking and somewhat sparse, being tough and wiry like heather, with which it shares the same environment, and has thick brown stems, and green twiggy new growth with reddening tips.

The small (<1cm) delicate flowers arrive in spring (April/May) and are a pink, white, and purple mix, and, hanging down, they resemble lamps, drooping with a central dark stamen. These disappear by June, when the berries appear. Starting small and red, but gradually growing to 1cm and darkening to a shiny deep purple with a whitish bloom and a prominent calyx by late July/August, they resemble small blueberries of the kind you can buy in supermarkets. Although they are an autumn fruit, I have picked them in mid December before now, so keep checking your areas. Taste wise – oh man! Fruity, but with a depth, subtle and deep sweet, but also tart! Just pop a few into your mouth and taste for yourselves, but be warned their purple juice stains like nothing else… it’s like being tattooed! They are great in tarts and pies (a favourite of mine), as a jam, they make great sorbets and fantastic wines.

People often complain about the amount of work that goes into picking the Bilberry – a lot of effort for little gain. I say rubbish! You are not finding the good bushes! Keep looking, and you will find the ones that are literally dripping with fruit. That’s no to say that picking isn’t backbreaking at times. There are Bilberry pickers – like combs with a collecting box underneath – but you end up losing more than you collect, which seems incredibly wasteful. No, far better to grin and bear the back pain… it will make you appreciate the wondrous bounty all the more!