What To Forage This Autumn
A new season brings with it new ingredients to enjoy, forage and make into delicious chowders, soups and jams. Foraging in autumn is celebrated as berry season, discover what you can expect to forage this autumn, along with some ideas on what to make!
What To Forage This Autumn
Sloe Berries
Where to find them
Whether you live in a city or in the countryside, sloe berries are always near at hand! You’ll be surprised, tucked away in the hedgerows of your local park, or along your public footpath you may just discover these sweet berries!
How to identify them
Sloe berries are the fruit of the blackthorn bush, which is a spiny tree or bush with dense prickly branches. They should be a rich dark purple and should squash easily between your fingertips. It's a good sign if they've already started to drop naturally to the ground.
Sloe gin recipe
You will need;
1 litre bottle of gin
450g sloes
225g caster sugar
1 large sterilised jar or 2 empty gin bottles
The method
Wash sloes and seal in an airtight bag. Freeze overnight or until you’re ready to make the gin.
Put frozen sloes into sterilised jar or empty gin bottles.
Add gin then the sugar directly onto frozen sloes. Their skins will split which means you can avoid the task of pricking each individual sloe berry.
Once the sloes have thawed, seal jar tightly and shake well.
Store jar in a cool, dark place and shake every other day for a week. After the first week you only need to shake it once a week for 2 months.
The liquid should now be dark red and ready for drinking, although you'll find it improves over time.
If you fancy, in our Marconi’s bar we have our very own Sloe Gin Bramble for you to try! Made with sloe gin, fresh lemon, sugar syrup and creme de cassis.
Brambles
Where to find them
You will most likely find a bramble bush in a woodland area, along the hedgerows similar to the sloes. So don’t forget your basket during your next walk!
How to identify them
On a thorny bush, they are black with a slight red hue, similar to a raspberry but darker (have a taste if you fancy, they are delicious raw!).
Bramble apple sorbet recipe
You will need;
250 g blackberries
2 dessert apples – chopped into 1cm cubes
125 g white sugar
300 ml water
3 sprigs thyme
The method
Wash the blackberries and peel the apples. Simmer together with the water, sugar and the sprigs of thyme until the apple is soft.
Press the mixture through a fine sieve and let it cool.
Place the mixture in a shallow pan and freeze. Once frozen, break into pieces and purée in a blender or food processor until creamy.
These seasonal brambles inspired one of our puddings on our new autumn menu at The Terrace! Bramble apple sorbet served with vanilla creme brûlée and a delicious poached pear…
Take a look at this foraging code before you go, as it is important to follow these rules to be safe and to care for our environment. Happy foraging!