How seasonal foods can inspire us will always excite me. I will always remember the afternoon I popped around to my mum’s house. “Oh can I have some raspberries to make something?” I asked. A few handfuls later I started to throw together a tart and a half!
How Seasonal Fruits Can Inspire creativity in your Kitchen. Let nature lead the way.
At my childhood home we originally had a raised vegetable bed. Picking the vegetables and eating peas out of the pod are some of my favourite chef memories.
Over the years the veg bed evolved into a bee friendly flower bed with a few raspberry canes at the back. After favourable weather conditions, and a hefty helping of manure in spring, the canes grow to over 7 feet high and were laden with fruit of various sizes.
Blackberries are abundant on hedgerows that have been left to grow. Sadly hedgecutting on farms can start again after the 1st September each year. This often means you have to be quick to pick!
Raspberries come in many varieties and can be small or large. The darker maroon colour shows they are ready to pick. Different varieties fruit at different times of the summer. I personally love to freeze some of the crop to add some sunshine to meals in winter.
Grandad Brings Home The Mushrooms In His Flat Cap
Field mushrooms start to grow when the environmental conditions are just right, This used to be a very common mushroom but is becoming harder to find due to loss of habitat and chemical sprays. Organic fields often have them May to September. I have done a foraging course, be aware not all mushrooms are the same. Check them out here.
Useful Fact: When picking a blackberry fruit, the fruit’s central stem (torus) stays with the fruit. With a raspberry, the torus remains on the plant, leaving a hollow core in the raspberry fruit
James PS
How Seasonal Foods Can Inspire