Foraging around Marple

[My login is Henrietta]

I forgot to mention the three or four cherry trees at the junction of Stockport rd & Station rd. I've seen people picking the fruit. I've tried them myself but they seemed pretty sour to me. Maybe, given enough sugar they might become edible.

Once again, I'm a bit out of date with this thread.

Sour varieties of cherries are very good for making liqueur. Dead easy. The best recipe for this is in Jane Grigson's "Good Food" (Still in print, I think, but I got my replacement for my original copy, which fell apart, from that site named after a big river).

The book also has a delicious recipe for cassis, using blackcurrants and brandy - Kir Royale, anyone?

I'm experimenting with the recipe for Eau de Vie de Poire at the moment. Just laid it down for Christmas.

Perhaps we could set up a sort of non-allotment society for foragers and users-up of excess fruit and veg?

[Genie]

Garlic mustard seeds are ready to be collected. I went around Brabyns park collecting them yesterday. I know that there's some along Middlewood way if anybody is interested.

I will be making a garlic mustard dressing with mine. 

[Genie]

I love the smell and taste of wild garlic and the way it looks too but I have used it quite a bit and love to find new things.

[marplerambler]

The wild garlic by the canal at Andrew Lane looked very impressive today. The scent was delicious!

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[Genie]

Yeah I hated them when I was younger. I think I will try them again though.
Are there any other wild edibles you like or have tried Keiron?

[Keiron]

https://abundancemanchester.wordpress.com/
That was the link i was supposed to post Keiron.
Thanks for the elderflower recipe, i will give that one a try.
We had loads of nasturtium in the garden when i was younger, i hated the leaves but i have never tried the flowers, do they have a peppery taste to them too?

I took a look at the website and it seems that they only collect around the Manchester area but I'll email them just in case. Thanks for the link anyway.

I ultimately filter the elderflower cordial through a coffee filter to remove as much of the natural yeast as possible to prevent it fermenting. It take forever to filter but the cordial is crystal clear and keeps much longer, (I still have some from last year). I put some in the freezer for later.

If you didn't like the nasturtium leaves, you probably won't like the flowers or seed pods as I think they all have the same peppery taste. The pods are crunchy and the flowers at colour to a salad, (flowers taste peppery but have no substance to them.

[Genie]

https://abundancemanchester.wordpress.com/
That was the link i was supposed to post Keiron.
Thanks for the elderflower recipe, i will give that one a try.
We had loads of nasturtium in the garden when i was younger, i hated the leaves but i have never tried the flowers, do they have a peppery taste to them too?

[Genie]

Like the Moss Side project, Wakefield is an awful long way to collect apples. Do you think they would collect in Marple?

 

I think I posted the wrong link, I will have another look for it later.

[Keiron]

Again, not exactly foraging but nasturtiums are really, really, good in salads. They have a peppery taste and the flowers add colour. All parts are edible. If you've never tried them, you are missing out! Thanks go to my dad for this one.

[Keiron]

http://www.incredible-edible-wakefield.co.uk/index.cgi?page=27%C3%B7=24

keiron, these people collect surplus food and veg too.

Like the Moss Side project, Wakefield is an awful long way to collect apples. Do you think they would collect in Marple?

[Keiron]

I have made elderflower cordial for the last 4 years and it has never turned out right. If you could share your recipe I would be very greatful. ?

Thank you for the tips on where to find rose hips, cherries and beech nuts.

The receipe I use I found online at http://www.gastronomydomine.com/?p=390 altough I have also looked on YouTube for further inspiration.

Like you I wish I could capture more of the essence of the elderflowers so this year I plan to add a small amount of Polish white spirit, (95% alcohol), during the steeping process. I hope this will extract more of the aromatics. When I made champagne, I noticed the aromatics were much more flavourful and assumed this was due to the alcohol. We shall see. I'm not worried about adding alcohol as by the time it's diluted, it should not contain hardly any.

[Genie]

http://www.incredible-edible-wakefield.co.uk/index.cgi?page=27%C3%B7=24

keiron, these people collect surplus food and veg too.

[Genie]

I collect a shopping bag full of elderflowers from Brabyns park every year to make cordial & sometimes champagne.

The woodlands around the site of Marple Hall ruins near Marina Drive & Marple Hall Drive are good for wild garlic - just follow your nose!

Behind the substation on Union road has loads of what I think are wild musk roses that yield masses of rose hips. I think these can be used to make tea & jam with.

The footpath from Manor rd known as 'Seven Stiles' used to have loads small of beech trees which of course give beech nuts. Think these need some form of soaking or cooking to make them safe to eat.

It's not exactly foraging but I have a big, old, apple tree in my garden. I get maybe 100kg+ of apples that end up spoiled, (there's only so much I can use!). If you or anyone else could use them, I'd be happy to see them being used.

I have made elderflower cordial for the last 4 years and it has never turned out right. If you could share your recipe I would be very greatful. ?

Thank you for the tips on where to find rose hips, cherries and beech nuts.

[corium]

Keiron

Greengage jam - a great alternative to marmalade. One of the speciality marmalade/ conserve people still make it though it's not east to track it down usually

[marplerambler]

Next time you use Rose Hill station have a look at the notice on the land to the rear of the car park giving details of the apple trees recently planted by Friends of Rose Hill Station. Many thanks to FoRHS for their work at the station.