The Round-Up

Spring is makes the beginning of our foraging and each year it gets busier and busier! As the days get longer and the countryside bursts back into life, we head out to gather the wild ingredients that go into many of our spring and summer best sellers.

From dandelions and wild garlic to elderflower and Douglas fir, the last few months have been packed! Here’s a little look at what we’ve been up to this season.

Dandelion Picking

We always kick off the first sunny days of spring by picking dandelion flowers, and this year was no different - except this time we were doing it at a much bigger scale than usual.

We had a special order to fulfil for our dandelion flower syrup, which meant getting an extra-large team together for the job. Over a few busy days we picked more dandelions than ever before, a whopping 240 kilos- thats about 240,000 individual flowers.

The views were so spectacular that we had to get Tom out to capture some footage while we worked. It’s hard work picking that many flowers, but there’s something pretty special about spending a sunny spring day surrounded by bright yellow fields. (Click the image below for more of our spectacular Dandelion pick footage).

Something New Coming Soon…

Alongside all our usual spring favourites, we’ve also been quietly working on something brand new for this year.

Part of the process has involved foraging Douglas fir, which brings a fresh, citrusy, pine flavour that works beautifully in sweet preserves and syrups. The first step is carefully infusing the Douglas fir into a syrup before blending it into a delicious new preserve that we’re very excited to share with you soon.

We won’t give too much away just yet — but keep an eye on our website and social media over the coming weeks for more updates.

Ground Elder and Wild Garlic

It’s been a fantastic year for ground elder, one of the wild herbs we use in our Piri Piri. Although many gardeners know it as a stubborn weed, it actually has a long history of being used as a food plant in Britain thanks to its fresh, herbal flavour.

Bert recently took a deeper look into the history of ground elder in Britain, exploring how it became both a useful food source (click the image below to read more).

Wild garlic season has also kept us busy over the last few weeks. It’s one of the most approachable and recognisable wild ingredients to forage, carpeting woodlands with its unmistakable smell during spring. Although the season is short, it grows in abundance, allowing us to gather enough to make our sauces and chilli jams packed full of fresh wild garlic flavour.

Elderflowers in a Heatwave

Last but by no means least, this week saw us heading out in record May temperatures to pick elderflower for our cordial.

When it comes to elderflower, sunshine really matters. Hot weather creates an especially high pollen count on the flowers, which helps produce the rich floral flavour that makes a great elderflower cordial.

We always try to pick on warm, sunny days for the very best flavour, but this year’s harvest really took the biscuit. It may have been a tough day out in the heat, but the incredible scent of the elderflower and the promise of this year’s cordial made it well worth it.                           

Spring foraging season is far from over, and there’s still plenty more to come over the next few months. We’ll be sharing more photos, videos, and behind-the-scenes glimpses from our foraging trips throughout the summer and into the harvest season!