Beef & Wild Oyster Stew with Oyster Ale.

In Dickensian London the humble oyster was a staple food, being abundant along the thames estuary along the Kent and Essex coasts.

As I noted in my latest article for http://awalkinthegarden.co.uk/ February, with it's 2 "r's" in the month, must surely empirically offer itself as the perfect time for a spot of sea shore foraging.

If you take yourself out on the coast between Minnis Bay and around east past Margate, with a sturdy pair of boots, an ebbing tide, and a bucket, you too can find yourself a free bounty of wild pacific oysters.

They're actually a foreign import - which have escaped from the Whitstable oyteries - and by that fact - means they are fair game to the forager. but for safety's sake - don't eat them raw, better still, give them a good old braise in a beef stew.

a dozen will do just fine for this recipe.

A slab of stewing Beef
shucked oysters and the juice from them
A bottle of Marston's Oyster Stout
carrots, onions, mushrooms
bit of flour to thicken
splosh of worcestershire sauce

roll the cut beef in the flour
fry the beef till browned
add the onions and carrots
add the mushrooms
add the stout and raise to the boil
pop in the worcestershire sauce and oyster juice
give the beef an hour and a half of slow simmering (on hob or in oven at gas mark 4)
then add the oysters for the last half hour
season to taste

as you're out on the beach, also worth grabbing a bowl full of sea-kale/sea beet to go with it as a wilted green

serve with some lovely mash, or herby crushed new potatoes, or just a good old fashioned slab of fresh crusty bread, and another bottle of the stout!

Enjoy

Tj@TheForagersNook

...more cider...this time with instructions.

The last of Sue's apple harvest (best part of 150lb's over the season) freshly juiced and made into Cider.

Someone on twitter asked about how many apples for how much juice for how much cider.

I get about 1 x 4.5Litre demi-john out of about 20-25lb of apples.  you need to only fill the demi-john's 4/5ths full for the initial ferment (otherwise the rising cloud of yeasty bubbles will breach the airlock and cover your carpet with sticky stinky cider and yeast! - so for each 20-25lb batch, store the final litre of juice in a plastic bottle for a week until the initial ferment has settled, then add this, skimming off any of the scum that rises out of the demi-john when you top it up with the held-back juice.

Full recipe and instructions:-

1)Juice! - we use a Dualit juicer which takes about 20 minutes to juice 20lb of apples.  having to stop every 5lb or so to clear the hood of debris and empty the bucket.

we don't use the silly little jug that comes with it that takes the juice of 3 apples...we direct the spout out into a 3litre steel pan to can carry on juicing longer.

the juice is then strained through a fine sieve into a big 25litre pan to clear the bulk of the sediment, etc.

2)"sterilise" to kill off natural yeasts.

There are 3 chains of thought....I've tried all three, and get the most consistent results this way.

Chain A) don't do anything with it...just demi-john it, lob in some extra yeast, and "see what happens".  you will definitely get cider...you just might get a bit hit or miss as to the quality of the natural yeasts you encounter, and increases the likelyhood of a bacteria incidence in the brew too which will acetify it and make it turn to vinegar whilst it's maturing.

Chain B) use a chemical "campden tablet" - which is essentially sulphur dioxide - to kill bacteria and the natural yeats.  before then adding your own yeast.  I don't really like this, I think it alters the taste.

Chain C) (the one we use) - I quickly bring the apple juice up to 70 degrees to kill off all the natural yeast, and any bacteria, then quickly cool the pan in a sink of cold water, back down to 37 degrees.

This way, you have a sterile juice, you can control the brewing of, and it's also now at the perfect temp to begin fermenting.

3)demi-john and ferment
once sterile and ready to demi-john.  we add yeast nutrient and pectolase (to dissolve out the pectin which can cause cloudy cider), then add some juice, then add the sachet of wine yeast, then top up with juice.  top up to 4/5th's and add an airlock.

keep in a steady temp place (spare room, etc) and leave to ferment.

should take about 1 week before the initial brew finishes and settles.  you can then top it up to 7/8th's (leave a little breathing room) and re-seal.  leave it for another couple of weeks to re-ferment and settle.

at this point you have two choices...you can leave it in the demi-john to mature, or bottle it and leave it to mature in the bottles.  we use the latter method.

4)Bottle it
make sure you heat sterilise the syphon and bottles well before use, syphon the cider out into the bottles.

if you want "flat" cider, any bottles will do.  if you want naturally sparkling cider, then use "grolsch" type bottles (i.e. sprung loaded, pressurisable ones) and before you add the cider, add either a good table spoon of sugar (to reactivate the yeast and create sealed CO2 which dissolves in th cider creating sparkling cider), or even add a shot of your favourite fruit cordial...we use blackberry cordial - to make perfect pre-mixed sparkling fruit flavoured ciders.

seal these and leave to re-ferment in a cool place - I reckon given them at least another month to mature. chill well, open carefully!

depending on the yeast you used, you should get between 8% and 14% ABV  - we get about 12% so if it's left to mature and clear for a few months it taste more like champagne than it does cider!

Blackberry Jam....

Now.....not sure if this is a soft set...or a hard set....I guess you'll have to re-visit this in a few hours to see how it turned out.

___________________________________________

Today's recipe - Blackberry Jam (seeds left in...perfer a bit of texture, rather than a smooth jelly)

• 1 Kg of blackberries (picked last week, and frozen - so i just defrosted them on the hob and cooekd them to a pulp)
• 1Kg of Jam Sugar (the silverspoon stuff with added pectin)
• Lemon Juice

Cook the blackberries down until they are fully broken down and liquid.

(at this point, if you want to make a smooth seedless jelly rather than a jam - then you can rub through a fine sieve or leave to drip through muslin overnight, to get just the juice and use this instead....there are recipes (try Pam Corbin) for this)

without boiling, stir in the sugar and lemon juice, and make sure it all dissolves.

Do a taste test at this point too.  there are 2000 different varieties of blackberries and they all taste slightly differently.

This batch was made from the first flush of big juicy ones from a south facing hedge of brambles, so didn't need any more sweetening and they were even sweet to eat raw.

If you like it a bit more tart, adjust the sugar accordingly, but you may need to add some more pectin (throw in a chopped cooking apple, or powdered pectin as required)

If you like it sweeter, add more normal sugar, the pectin sugar will do it's bit, don't need to add more.

once you're happy with it, then turn the heat up, put a long sleeve top and gloves on to stop boiling jam from spitting all over your skin, stir continuously to stop it sticking and burning.

once it's on a full boil, then it should take about 4 minutes of boiling to reach the setting point.

if you want to stick a thermometer in to test it feel free, 104 degrees C is what you need to aim for, or just go by the feel of it, you notice it thickening once the setting point is reached, and have a chilled plate at the ready to test a blob of it on for setting.

remember it continues to set further as it cools...so it will always feel a little looser at jaring stage then it will actually turn out.

as soon as your happy with it, funnel it into pre-heated/sterilised jars, lid, and seal.

essentially...as long as you have enough pectin, and as long as you boil for 4 minutes, it will set to something between a soft set jelly, and a fully set jam - as the berries will always be slightly different each time, you'll rarely get the same result twice....but that's surely the fun of foraged produce.

Tj@TheForagersNook

plums...by the bowlfull.

What better way to gather plums on a perfect, balmy August morning....than at the end of a 6 mile stroll across the Kent Downs.

Sit under a plum tree, and enjoy a handful of ripe fruits, pick a couple of bagfuls, then stroll back.

But be quick...

They appear to be ripening well in the sunshine, and won't be long before they start to fall.












perfectly ripe little red cherry plums will be the perfect addition to some greengages and blackberries for a hedgrow jam.

and the larger gage like yellow plums will be split and destoned, and combined with blackberries for a delicious baking dish full of hedgerow crumble :>)

 Fill your bags, fill your pie trays, and fill your jam jars to enjoy this little piece of late summer all year round.

Tj@TheForgersNook

plums et al.

July marks the start of the plum season....so keep an eye out in the hedgerows for them in this usual order from July through to October.

1)from mid July - greengages - juicy and tart - great for chutneys and jams
2)July into Aug - cherry plums - small and juicy
3)from Late Aug - victorias (usually escapee trees self seeded from gardens) - delicious torn open with your thumbs when fully ripe
4)from Sep - damsons - perfect jam
5)Sep onwards - sloes/blackthorns - perfect from pricking and steeping in alcohol

And as it's July...here's the low hanging fruit off one of our favourite wild greengage trees.

These will be made into a couple of jar's of jam, and also - they curiously the jam we made last year with them tastes a bit like Mango Chutney, so we're going to spice up a batch of the jam and throw in a token mango to make some hedgerow curry chutney.

Tj@TheForagersNook

Cheriton Hill to Etchinghill via Summerhouse Hill

A day of hills along the North Downs Way, back down to Eltham Valley Way, round Summerhouse Hill, and back up the steep sided Downs above the channel tunnel terminal.

on today's list, the wet spell has kept the fungi season going.

Jews Ear Fungus

And the wild apples along the Eltham Valley link road behind the Channel Tunnel are swelling nicely with all this rain.














And for the perfect addition to home made pasta and pizza sauces - wild marjoram - now more obvious now it is coming into flower - pick and rub it - it's aroma is unmistakably mediterranean

The North Downs and Pilgrims Way are covered in it, a wonderful reminder of the paths taken by our invading latin ancestors.

PS - my next article in AWalkingInTheGarden is due out next month  - subscribe now.

Tj@TheForagersNook

Preview of a forage with "The Minnis" Chefs

A couple of months back, via twitter, the Chef's at The Minnis - Birchington asked if I would take them out for a sea shore forage, to see what there might be on offer to tempt their taste buds.

As a combination of weather, other plans, and tide times have scuppered efforts so far, I managed to sneak past one evening and did a little "test forage".

So, in advance of our foraging wander, here's the sort of things we might find this summer - there were plenty more - but only passed by on a cycle, so snapped the more obvious ones.


Above the tide line

Behind the beach huts are big patches of Purslane.















Sea Purslane - wonderful succulent leaves - eat raw in a crunchy well dressed salad, or like Samphire, briefly blanch and serve in a warm salad with a simple vinaigrette.


Down the steep banks from the foot patch to the sea look out for mallow

it's gelatinous leaves can be deep fried to make green crips - perfect bar snacks
or used in soups as thickeners, as when boiled exude their gelatinous protein rich mucilage (often used in middle east/north african soups and stews)
it's pretty pink flowers used in salads, and even the seed heads later which resemble small round cheeses before they ripen.

Along the footpath by the cabins are also some herbs - patch of spear mint growing happily

Bladder campion - worth coming back to next spring for the sweet young shoots and leaves

All along this grassy bank are ox eye daisies (young leaves, unopened flower heads chopped in salads, or flowers, petals added later) most of the common "greens/wild leaves" & thistles.

Below the tide line

Sea Weeds

bright green Sea-lettuce is abundant in the rock pools of the chalk reef, as are dulse, bladder wracks, and the odd frond of kelp in the deep water.  salads to sushi via stir-fries - take your pick.

Shell fish - (although the water's a little warm to guarantee quality during summer months in Kent, and they should be left to breed in peace)

native oysters - though observe minimum sizes (these are all too small)
and also winkles by the bucket load - For the patient ones amongst us - boil up a bucket of winkles, then pick them out with a pin for a mini snail feast

Pacific Rock Oysters (foreign imports - invasive - so no minimum size - fill your buckets!)
best used shucked, and cooked - wrapped and grilled (http://foragersnook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/wild-oysters-marsh-samphire.html) - or added to paella's, or even Beef and Oyster stew or pies - for a taste of old London town.

in deeper waters there are also mussels - perfect for a winter paella.

and don't forget to turn the rocks carefully - a bucket of big shorecrabs makes a scrimpers version of lobster bisque - pick out the larger claw meat once boiled, blitz the rest, strain, and follow any good receipe for a lobster bisque.

The rock pools are also teaming with little shrimps - with a net, worth a bit of fun catching the bigger ones, boil and pick from the shells for sweet tasty morsels.


Tj@TheForagersNook

5 litres of Kentish cockles a day - it's official.

Not sure if you knew - but unless you have a permit you shouldn't collect cockles between Southend in Essex, all the way round the Thames Estuary, along the Kent coast, down as far as the old lighthouse at Dungeness.

http://www.kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk/images/stories/KEpicts/repos/Area_A_KESFC_Byelaws.pdf


This reads a little draconian, so I wrote to the Kent Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, to ask for clarification for the purpose of "foraging" for personal eating, as this document doesn't mention it.

and i got a nice email back...which confirms that you are allowed to forage for 5 litres of lovely Kentish Cockles on any given day.

So that's that cleared up.....

PS - they are delicious!....

______________________

Dear Mr Jesson

Thank you for your e-mail.

I have shown below the advice we give to those wishing to take a few cockles for their own consumption but NOT for resale.

The reason we are referred to as both Kent & Essex Sea Fisheries Committee and Kent & Essex IFCA is that on 1 April 2011 the Sea Fisheries Committees ceased to exist and were replaced by the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCA), however the Byelaws which are presently under review are still legal and binding and were signed by the Secretary of State and approved to the Kent and Essex SFC.

“KENT AND ESSEX INSHORE FISHERIES AND CONSERVATION AUTHORITY


Requirements are in place under the Thames Estuary Cockle Fishery Order and also the Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee Cockle Fishery Permits byelaw that persons taking cockles must be in possession of either a licence or permit dependent upon which area they are fishing.

The SFC/Authority is not opposed to persons without a licence or permit taking a small quantity of cockles for their own consumption. Officers have, therefore been instructed to take no action against persons removing less than 5 litres of whole cockles in the shell per 24 hour period.

Please note Environmental Health Departments of the various Councils within our District can, if there are health concerns, place a Prohibition Order on the collection of shellfish and the Order must be adhered to at all times and the local Environmental Health Department should be contacted to ascertain if such an Prohibition Order has been implemented.”

If you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards

Joan

Joan Taylor | Office Manager
Web: www.kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk


Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority
Paragon House, Albert Street, Ramsgate, Kent. CT11 9HD

Summer Outdoor Barbeque Flavours

The Kentish summer appears to have commenced at last, so what better time to keep an eye out for some wild summer bbq flavours, at these three Kentish summer outdoor BBQ spots.


Pegwell Bay
Pegwell Bay (park and relax on the open green park by the Viking ship), it's shoreline, and the old hovercraft port are full of Alexanders and wild fennel.

Use the fern fronds to stuff fish with before bbq'ing

cut the thicker fennel stems (they aren't as thick and 'bulb like' as their cultivated cousins) at the base, oil them, and grill them on the barbie, crisp but aromatic.









Joss Bay
Joss Bay (surf beach) - who needs to drive to Cornwall for surfing, beaches, and BBQ's.

The path down to the beach has banks full of "really wild" wild rocket - the smell is unmistakable when rubbed - for a free summer salad leaf to go with your beach side barbeque

Teston
Teston open park and car-park area along the Medway between Teston and Wateringbury - they have now gravel pathed the Medway all the way from Maidstone to Wateringbury, so enjoy an evening stroll - keep an eye out for the kingfishers.

By the old stone Teston bridge, lookout for patches of wild water mint - perfect for shredding into iced Mojitos, or yoghurty dips



Enjoy.
Tj@TheForagersNook

Wild Oysters & Marsh Samphire

So, if you consider the "R in the month" proverb about foraging for shell fish, then the end of April (...and first couple of weeks of May if it's been cold...well....rules are there to be broken) is the only time of the year where you can still eat the foraged oysters before the water gets too warm and they begin breeding, and when the samphire is fresh and succulent.






 
Down here in Kent, both are abundant....so enjoy this bounty that would cost you a packet at Noma.




 Tip 1:-  make sure you follow the tide out, and know when low Tide is.  the biggest Oysters are where they are always in the water - i.e. at or towards the low tide mark.

Tip 2: take a screwdriver or crow bar, as they attach themselves to the rocks with a vice like grip















Tip 3:- Marsh Samphire grows in the muddy area of the high tide line, keeping it's feet in the water, and getting a fresh drenching from the high tide twice daily.

take your wellies, and a pair of scissors - make sure you snip off the tender stems, but don't uproot the little stems, their roots are short and easily disturbed.










And here's the results.

 Tip 4:-  When shucking oysters, make sure your holding hand is in a thick towel, or paid of oven gloves.  using a shucking knife or screw-driver, carefully insert into the apex hinge of the shell to break the hinge, don't try and prize it open from the mouth end...it won't work, the shell will crack, and you'll probably stab yourself!

Recipe:-
Wrap the oysters in little strips of parma ham, sautee them in garlic butter, then grill briefly to crispen the ham

simmer the samphire in rolling boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then dress with pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice

serve with fresh crusty bread and the pan juices from the oysters....and nice glass of cider or white wine.  Tj@TheNook

Wild herbs on the Pilgrim's Way...

All along the north downs way's sunny south facing route, keep your eye out for patches of wild herbs.

between the A229 and Boxley, where the north downs and the "pilgrims way" intermingle, you'll find patches of wild Marjoram - the wild cousin of cultivated Oregano - the smell when rubbed is unmistakeable as the warm heady smell of herby pizza sauce

perfect to go with the wild garlic also still in season for making homemade pizza and pasta sauces.

The first Kentish Samphire of summer

An inch or two high, but already bursting with juicy savoury flavours of the sea.
 
All along the Kent coast wherever the chalk cliffs give way to gentle marshy river mouths you'll find 'Glasswort' stood defiant as Canute along the high tide line.

Having just enjoyed (at a price) a crab and samphire salad in a london restaurant this weekend, this is one wild vegetable where the cost of buying vs the reward for wet feet and a muddy boots is significantly in favour of the forager.

probably leave it another week until it's 4-6 inches high, so can carefully snip off useful lengths without uprooting it, as it's shallow rooted in the mud, and all too easily comes away if you try and pull at it.

Looking forward to seafood salad, and also including them in little tarts/quiches to add colour and seasoning.

A perfect spot for the May "Dawn Chorus".

a 13 mile hack from Holly Hill, across the Ranscombe nature reserve, and up to the Medway bridge, and back.

Just like the previous post, this stretch of the North Downs way is littered with

Hedge Garlic
Wild Violets
Wild/Alpine Strawberries
Nettles
a whole host of wild greens
beech nuts
Cobnuts



and it appears that where you find violets you will also find strawb's, they both love the chalky footpaths of the downs, so look out for the blue violets in march/april, then come back in may/june for a juicy treat - they are just starting to flower now.

But more than this, and for foraging nothing more that the wow-factor and the scent, were the stunning swathes of bluebells in flower






And as a final bonus, the wonderful bird life (for listening to!...not for foraging), the woods along this stretch will be the perfect place to revisit in May for the "Dawn Chorus", we saw and heard tits, finches, green woodpeckers, blackbirds, thrushes, and a few more we've yet to figure out what they are.
check out this site for more details - International Dawn Chorus Day http://www.idcd.info


Tj @ The Nook

Rules - like 'em or not - should be observed.....

useful site for any sea food forager in Kent..

http://www.kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98&Itemid=184

it appears it's Game On for pacific rock oysters

and there are no by-laws on what we really want, razor clams, so the search continues.

Tj@TheNook



Tj @TheNook

Foraging for Spring and Summer baking decorations....

The North Downs Way from Hucking to Harrietsham runs through numerous copses of chalk downland and woodlands.

Along the way look out for a number of baking decoration ingredients for free.

Wild Strawberries - just coming into flower today - so another 2-3 weeks and you should have strawbs ready to pick.  They're delicious added to the top of cup cakes embedded in the icing

Wild Violets - both natural and white ones
pick a few flowers and dip in sugar solution and dry off. use as you would shop bought crystallised flower decorations

There are also numerous patches of wild yellow
primroses - which any one can spot - use these as above



It goes without saying - please DO NOT dig up any wild flowers if you suddenly get an urge to try and transplant a few of them to your own garden - they are easily disturbed, there are not a shortage of them if all you take is a handful of little flower heads, and their surrounding habitat contains numerous other life forms which would be upset if you dug them up too.

she sells sea-shells, on the sea-shore.

Well....forages anyway.....it's no longer commonly legal to sell that which was collected or foraged on publicly accessible land or at the waters edge...and besides, it's better to just forage what you fancy for tonight's pot, leaving plenty still there for next time, or indeed, the next forager to enjoy.

Irrespective of the old wives tales, the claims, and counter-claims (or should that be clams?)....there is an "r" in the month....and it's nice and cool.....and our favourite beach is a blue flag beach....so next weekend we'll be off to get some oysters, and maybe have a go at some razor-clams too.


and here's what we're going to do with them.....given you can't guarantee the safety of raw oysters, even commercial Oyster farms on the Kent coast put them through clean filter and UV filtering to kill bugs, it's always best to shell them and cook them.....but that in no way detracts from the wonderful fresh flavour of them.

two recipes to whet your appetite for a spot of coastal foraging the January.

Oysters Kilpatrick

and

Gridled Oysters with Parma Ham & Goats Cheese

Happy Foraging.

Tj@TheNook

The Best of 2011....

Whilst the roll call of 2011 included apples, pears, plums, damsons, greengages, cobnuts, sloe's, field mushrooms, wild and hedge garlic, wild hops,.....the prize find of the year are a patch of wild pacific oysters on the tide line of the Kent coast.

There weren't many big ones, these were the biggest we found, but there are plenty of small ones which shouldn't be picked for another few seasons to give them chance to breed.

Tj @ TheNook