Knowledge
Foraging
Rob Gould is a forager with 20 years experience. In this series Rob introduces readers to nature’s bounty that can be found and foraged easily. His passion is helping people to think about and develop a love for the wild food all around them and helping them grow a greater appreciation and understanding of the natural world as a whole
So here we are, heading into what I would consider autumn in its truest sense. The time when the changing tree leaves tend to be at their most flamboyant, and the nights draw back in again after the brief reprise following the changing of the clocks at the turn of October. By now the sloes will almost certainly be bereft of foliage, and the other hedgerow fruits, if they are still around, will start to be at their most obvious, as the bushes carrying them slowly drop their leaves as well, in preparation for their winter dormancy. But even in these field boundaries, this is a time for a celebration of the season’s beauty, with rosehips and even the almost festive looking garlands of black briony berries shining out bright red, both slowly fading to more translucent, almost wine-like colours as they are slowly damaged by the ever hardening frosts. And the colours of the remaining hedgerow leaves also attempt to outcompete the normally showier trees – hawthorn and beech with shades from mustard through to deep scarlet, the vibrant sunset pinks and yellows of the Guelder Rose, the white pompom like puffs of the
wild clematis. In fact, it is now, in some hedgerows, that I feel you can almost see where the inspiration to dress a tree at Christmas came from… But what to forage at this time of year? In many areas it will still not be too late for sloes, providing the birds, or more likely gin-infusers, have not already taken them – for my own recipe, developed over 20 plus years, check last month’s column, or my website. The previously mentioned rosehips will also be at the perfect stage of (over) ripeness for preserves, full of sweetness and floral notes, with the thin flesh already turning to an apricot-like jammy consistency. And despite the fact that nowadays we no longer ‘need’ to make use of rosehip syrup for its vitamin-C boosting abilities, it is still a delicious concoction for drizzling over porridge, cakes and a huge multitude of creamy puddings, or even drunk as a simple cordial. Potentially, if you’re exceptionally lucky, there may still be nuts around, although more likely than not the next you’ll see of them will be as the saplings start popping up in your flowerbeds, pots and the other seemingly
This is a time for a celebration of the season’s beauty
ridiculous places that the squirrels choose to hide them – a few days ago my parents told me they had found a pair of welly boots, full of acorns, in the rear ‘garage area’ of their old motorhome. Although that does remind
Autumn Foraging Focus Photography by Cotswold Forager
Rosehip, acorns & mushrooms
Enjoy the early autumnal sunsets
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Polo Times, November 2020
www.polotimes.co.uk
