March
2021

Spring has finally sprung and we are starting to see the signs that things are about to get a lot more green. Finally! It’s been a long, tough Winter so the warmer weather is definitely welcome, not least because the hedgerows start to produce their abundant wild harvest. In this month’s box, we have included some early-Spring classics, along with a wild spice just crying out for a Bloody Mary.

What's
Inside?
Silver Birch Sap

Silver Birch Sap

Other Names:
N/A
Season:
Specifically early March for sap
Parts Used:
Leaves, catkins, sap, twigs, bark
Origin:
Cheshire
Possibly confused with:
Other Birch species
Produced by:
Great alternative to:
Any refreshing drink
COMING TO MARKET SOONBUY SEPARATELY
INFO

If there was ever a starting gun to mark the start of Spring, this is it. A truly special phenomenon, the ‘rising’ of sap occurs for barely two weeks at around the start of March (the start of which will vary depending on your latitude) as birch trees force all their energy reserves into new growth. The first time one witnesses such a bounty being collected is a memorable one - it really does flow out of the tree and can fill a litre bottle overnight.

The method for collecting is of great debate among the foraging community, with a neat divide between those who do and don’t drill into the trunk of the tree, and further still, those who do and don’t plug the tree afterwards. The arguments on both sides of the conversation are convincing enough but here at Forage Box, we have removed ourselves from this debate as much as possible by simply snipping the tips of low-hanging branches to minimise any damage to the tree (it’s essentially very light pruning, which as any gardener will know is a perfectly safe way to keep any tree nice and healthy) before collecting the free-flowing, clear liquid that drips from the freshly cut branch.

By the time you read this, the Silver Birch sap season will likely be over until next March. What you have here, therefore, is a rare snapshot of what this symbol of springtime can offer us. Crack open the bottle and take a swig. You’ll be familiar with the watery consistency, but the delicate ‘woodland’ flavours will glide across you palate and you will try to put your finger on where you recognise that sweetness from. We think it is a bit like watered down honey, but please don’t let that put you off. Savour it, because this is a rare treat and one that has the most limited availability that nature has to offer.

Common Hogweed Salt

Common Hogweed Salt

Other Names:
N/A
Season:
All year (best in Spring and Summer)
Parts Used:
Leaves, stems, flowers, seed pods, seeds
Origin:
Cheshire
Possibly confused with:
Other umbellifers (CAUTION); Giant Hogweed (TOXIC)
Produced by:
Great alternative to:
Celery salt
COMING TO MARKET SOONBUY SEPARATELY
INFO

One of our most popular products, but you may be wondering whether hogweed is safe to eat. In this instance, we have used Common Hogweed, rather than the rightly-feared Giant Hogweed that sees councils throw up red tape on country footpaths. So it’s a resounding YES - it is edible!

The part of the plant we have used for this product is the dried seeds. On their own, they’ve been said to taste a bit like cardamom, a bit like orange and a bit like soap. Not the highest praise really, but when blended to a powder and mixed with sea salt, as we’ve done here, you get a much more pleasant account of what these abundant seeds can taste like.

Comparable to celery salt, this sits very nicely atop a Bloody Mary cocktail, or mixed into a tomato soup. We like to pair it with boiled eggs (quail eggs are even better) or to rub it on something before it hits the BBQ grill. However you choose to use it, it should remain a kitchen cupboard staple for years to come, and you’ll soon be using it instead of your bog-standard salt in everything! It comes in a handy grinder, so can reach for this with ease when looking to elevate your cooking. Once it has run out, simply top up the grinder with your favourite spice and reuse indefinitely!

Nettle Matcha

Nettle Matcha

Other Names:
N/A
Season:
All year
Parts Used:
Leaves, seeds, flowers
Origin:
Cheshire
Possibly confused with:
Other nettle species (mostly edible)
Produced by:
Great alternative to:
Matcha tea
COMING TO MARKET SOONBUY SEPARATELY
INFO

Some people just don’t get foraging. Blinkered by celebrity survivalists eating questionable things as a stunt, or cliché-riddled perceptions of hippies with flowers in their hair (we love you, hippies - you are our people), the go-to sneer for cynics always seems to about bloody nettles. Nettles. Those perennial so-called weeds that we are warned about from such a young age are always used as a stick to bash foragers with as if it is totally absurd that we eat such a maligned plant. This is where foraging smugness steps in. Not only are nettles free, common, abundant and easily identified, they are also incredibly good for you, versatile and delicious. Often used in place of spinach but offering so much more in terms of complexity of flavour and nutrition, they will happily sit anywhere on the bitter-sweet spectrum and are a great ingredient for cordials, beers, hearty stews and everything in between.

You may be pleased to hear that we haven’t got any plans to send out something that will sting you upon opening your box any time soon, so don’t expect any fresh nettles from us. Besides, nettles are a great beginners plant to begin any foraging adventure with - it would be hard to think of a more commonly recognised plant in the UK - and not imaginative enough to warrant replacing our more interesting fresh ingredients with. So for our first nettle product, we have created Nettle Matcha, which is a great way of preserving its distinct ‘iron’ flavour whilst hanging on to all the nutrional value that nettles are renowned for. It is a fine powder that can be enjoyed as a hot drink by mixing in boiled water, or as a key ingredient in a sweet or savoury dish.

Let’s get one thing clear before we suggest better ways to serve this amazing product: if you want the maximum health benefits, it isn’t going to taste that great. It’s fine, but enjoying it mixed into hot water alone is done purely for the nutrient injection, rather than the taste sensation. Try it instead incorporated into an oily sauce, rolled into pasta dough or iced on top of a cake (bit of icing sugar, bit of lemon/apple juice, bit of nettle matcha). It’s very versatile so let your imagination do the work! Don’t worry - however you decide to prepare it, the notorious ‘stinging’ characteristic of the plant is removed through the drying and powdering process.

If you decide to pick nettles for yourself (you definitely should), avoid dog-walking hotspots and any questionable waste ground - stinging nettles love freshly disturbed soil but have a tendency to absorb pollutants from the earth they grow in. It sounds obvious to say that wild food picked from a lush woodland edge rather than a building site is better for you, but it’s certainly worth a gentle reminder every now and again.

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