Knowledge
Foraging
Photography by Rob Gould
Rob Gould is a forager with 20 years experience. In this series he will introduce 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
Blackberries may be common and easily taken for granted, but are part of Autumn’s bounty that should not be ignored!
The Humble Blackberry Autumnal foraging for the family
I’ve been extolling the virtues of Autumn since I started writing for Polo Times, and how great a season it is to be harvesting nature’s bounty, what with all the fruits, nuts and mushrooms. But then as I sat down to write this column, it struck me – it’s a wonderful time for harvesting when you’re out in the wild woods and hedgerows, but skimming around the edge of paddocks and polo fields is a different matter entirely... So, this month we’re going to go about things a bit differently. Firstly, I thought we would look at the humble Blackberry: a bit of the folklore surrounding it, plus a few different ways of making use of it once harvested. Secondly, we’ll look at how you can ‘cheat’ at foraging, by setting yourself – and the wildlife that you share your land with – up for more 74
Polo Times, September 2020
bountiful harvests in the future. Blackberries, I imagine, are probably amongst many people’s earliest childhood memories of spending time outdoors, of harvesting something from the wild, and therefore their first act of foraging. Although you honestly wouldn’t believe the amount of people I meet who, when asked if they’ve been foraging before, say no, but when pushed a bit say something like “well we do pick blackberries in the autumn, and wild garlic in the spring, plus we make elderflower cordial sometimes, but that’s not really foraging is it?” I guess they’ve become/remained such commonplace experiences that many no longer recognise the activity for what it truly is. As such, there’s already an incredible amount of public knowledge of what to do
with them, from the incredibly simple ‘just eat them straight off the bush’ to compotes, jams puddings and so on. Although there’s far more than that – but let’s get back to basics first. How exactly do you find and pick the best blackberries, and when is the best time to get them? The first part is easy – take kids with you! Or it least pick them like a child. You see, as with many wild plants, the flavour of the fruits can vary hugely from one plant to the next. Therefore, if you’re walking along a long stretch of bramble hedging (incidentally ‘bramble’ is just another common name for the wild, uncultivated blackberry), you want to be sampling them as you go to get an idea of the flavour. Which is basically what kids do anyway... And when they/you find a patch with a good flavour that you like, pick as many ripe ones from there as you can. Then just rinse and repeat. Don’t bother with the ones that taste watery or too sour for your taste – that’s not going to have changed by the time you get to using them. And look out for what’s known as the King Blackberry. It’s the one at the very tip of the fruiting cluster, and is generally the biggest, the sweetest, the first to ripen – and also the most easy one to get to. It’s also the one I like to think of as the harvester’s treat – instant gratification when you’re doing the picking. Also, check for how ripe they are when harvesting. They need to be that deep rich www.polotimes.co.uk
