I was offered the opportunity to go back to my roots – literally digging around in the mud to find things that might be edible. Luckily, it was a beautifully sunny day and perfect weather for ambling around a forest when I took the half hour train journey from Waterloo East out to Abbey Wood in the London Borough of Bexley.
I met with our forging leader – Monica Wilde - at the Caravan Club site on the edge of Abbey Woods. Who knew that there were Caravan clubs so close to Central London? (Apparently, there’s another one near Crystal Palace). Monica can be considered a bit of a plant expert as she also happens to be a director at Napiers – a herbal and plant remedy business in Scotland.
After a reviving cup of coffee we started looking at the plants around us. We were given tips on adding the humble daisy to soups before getting to grips with nettles. Apparently, they are like spinach (if you use the top leaves) and can be helpful for reducing hay fever sensitivity and maintaining a healthy prostrate. Toasted nettle seeds – yes, she had bought a jar of them along – tasted a bit like toasted poppy seeds.
Then we learned about bittercress – growing happily at the roadside – and how to identify and use clove root to soothe toothache. Chickweed – as well as being used in salads – has cooling properties for use on rashes. Monica confidently pulled out figwort, wild cabbage and wild violets before talking about the diuretic properties of dandelions. We all had a go playing with goose grass or sticky weed – apparently you use this one like wheat grass and it has slimming properties. And all this before we had actually left the car park!
So we walked up the road and entered Abbey Woods – passing the lone gravestone of William Morris. As Monica talked about dock leaves I realised that I had been using them wrong when assisting my kids with nettle stings when they were little – you’re supposed to get the sticky sap from the base of the leaves, not use the leaves themselves. Doh.
Whilst I was intrigued to hear about how cow parsley was part of the carrot family and edible I was concerned that it was easily confused with hemlock which is, of course, highly poisonous. Lovely Lord and Lady (arum lilies) were mentioned too in the “don’t eat unless the root is dried” category. The key is to avoid anything with purple spots. Not sure I’m confident enough to do proper identification.
Apparently, the fried shoots of the common hogweed are delicious and have a similar taste to a popular Iranian herb which blends coriander and orange. Yet we were warned of the dangers of the giant hogweed which can lead to photosensitivity for years. Eeek.
A little bit of history followed when we learned of the contraceptive value of wild carrot seed. Then I was tasting bits of bramble, which after a rather dry sensation (that’s the tannin apparently) was a bit like coconut. It was beginning to feel a bit like when you taste jelly beans. Monica talked about comfry leaf tempura (but don’t confuse it with Foxgloves). And we sampled the almondy flavour of hawthorn which also makes a mean gin. I even tasted cherry blossom flowers.
Monica was then delighted when she discovered the “huge delicacy” of Alexanders which only grows in the south. The remainder of our three hour tour took in a variety of fungi, insights into the value of foraging at the coast for iodine-rich seaweed and much more information about natural remedies. It was a vegan’s dream. But by this time my legs were aching and my tummy was rumbling so I slipped away to seek solace in some sustenance of the animal protein variety – yep, I’m ashamed to say that I just had to have a burger.
And whilst I think you’d have to invest a fair amount of time both to confidently identify the various plants that grow around us – and even more time to gather and prepare sufficient quantities to make a l meal I couldn’t help thinking that it would be a brilliant way to entertain the kids. And might even prompt them to take a little more interest in the pre-packed stuff you get in supermarkets. And who knows, they might even leave their iPads for a while and be tempted to have a go at grow your own.
See more...
www.napiers.net
www.caravanclub.co.uk...
www.bexley.gov.uk...
