A March Salad -12 different plants

[Greg]

Calm down...take the arguement / discussion somewhwere else!
Jon has made the effort to start a very good thread and you two are spoiling it quickly.
I can see both of your points of view..but please stop NOW!

 

[phill_ue]

Calm down...take the arguement / discussion somewhwere else!
Jon has made the effort to start a very good thread and you two are spoiling it quickly.
I can see both of your points of view..but please stop NOW!

I think you'll find Jon agrees with me. The wannabe Mods need to stop it now!

 

[Toddy]

Behave yourself! You saw it as an opportunity to be smart and nothing less!

If a smart alec raised their head and spouted the Law every time somebody posted something on this forum, how long do you think it would be before it got tedious?

Phill_ue you are relatively new on this forum.
Craeg simply stated the realities that say picking is not always permissable.
Quite relevant on a thread such as this, and these sorts of reminders are normally just accepted on threads here.

Usually I give links to the 'please do not pick' list of scheduled and protected species.
I forage constantly but it's no bad thing to be reminded that it's not always either legal or appropriate.

As for wannabe mods.......there are none, we have a policy of self moderation by the membership itself. That someone else felt the need to intervene says more about your responses than his.

Your understanding would be appreciated.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[phill_ue]

Phill_ue you are relatively new on this forum.
Craeg simply stated the realities that say picking is not always permissable.
Quite relevant on a thread such as this, and these sorts of reminders are normally just accepted on threads here.

Usually I give links to the please do not pick list of scheduled and protected species.
I forage constantly but it's no bad thing to be reminded that it's not always either legal or appropriate.

Your understanding would be appreciated.

cheers,
Toddy

Well, I can't disagree with a Moderator, but I still think it is going overboard. Every time somebody posts about making a stick from a hazel coppice, will somebody lecture us on the law?

 

[Toddy]

See, there's the difference........a gentle timely reminder with the first thread in a while on a topic is no cause for offence.
To harp on at something we are all then aware of becomes a pain in the neck.

Everybody happy ?
Oh good

cheers,
Toddy

 

[craeg]

Cheers Toddy :You_Rock_

That's all it was, a gentle reminder and not me being a 'smart alec'.

Incidentally, I now have some primroses coming through in my garden but I have never had them before and I can't see them in our neighbours' gardens either? So it is really cool that nature brought them here for us to enjoy but as it is only one plant it won't be eaten

Also, ref one of my previous posts, does anyone know if our wonderful wild greens, e.g. ransoms, wood sorrel, etc., can be frozen without too much loss in flavour? I understand that one couldn't use them in a salad but maybe as a soup or meal ingredient.

Happy foraging.
Craeg

 

[locum76]

I reckon ramsons will turn to tasteless slime if you freeze them, they certainly lose flavour if cooked too much. Sorrel should be okay though.

 

[phill_ue]

I reckon ramsons will turn to tasteless slime if you freeze them, they certainly lose flavour if cooked too much. Sorrel should be okay though.

I have blitzed ramsons in mayonnaise, and I wonder if dehydrating them would keep them longer.

 

[phill_ue]

And what about pressing them like children press flowers in a heavy book between sheets of paper? They are effectively dried and preserved this way, so maybe they would also preserve their edibility.

 

[locum76]

And what about pressing them like children press flowers in a heavy book between sheets of paper? They are effectively dried and preserved this way, so maybe they would also preserve their edibility.

I reckon they'd disintegrate if you dried them but it'd be good to use the resultant dust as a condiment, maybe mixed with salt? mmmmm, wild garlic salt.

EDIT: I'm just chatting to a very experienced chef friend on facebook, he reckons blanch, blend and freeze is the way forward to preserve ramsons.

 

[Toddy]

I just jar them in good olive oil and keep them in the fridge once the flavour has saturated through the oil. Last from one year until the next this way. I've just finished the last of the flowers that I pickled in rice wine vinegar, and the little bulbs from the seed heads are about done now too.
If you cook them they lose flavour very fast unless it's the bulbs that you use and even they go very mild indeed.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[phill_ue]

I just jar them in good olive oil and keep them in the fridge once the flavour has saturated through the oil. Last from one year until the next this way. I've just finished the last of the flowers that I pickled in rice wine vinegar, and the little bulbs from the seed heads are about done now too.
If you cook them they lose flavour very fast unless it's the bulbs that you use and even they go very mild indeed.

cheers,
Toddy

Well, I might give that a go this year!

 

[Toddy]

I was very pleasantly surprised at how tasty they were and how well they kept

HWMBLT tells me that pickling in oil is a way to create ideal conditions for botulism however
Apparantly the buggits that cause it thrive in anaerobic conditions. Fortunately they give us an early warning system; if the jar stinks of anything but garlic, dump it Botulism is supposed to smell worse than dog doodoo. (silly word but the forum ***'s out anything else.)

cheers,
Toddy

 

[mochasidamo]

Right, so it was cleaver tips today. One for the emergency survival list only we concluded. Dead nettle will be next...before the wretched ground elder gets it's annual stewing (hoping it's better than last ).

 

[locum76]

Yeah cleaver tips aren't that good. Its the way they stick to the roof your mouth that gets me.

 

[phill_ue]

Yeah cleaver tips aren't that good. Its the way they stick to the roof your mouth that gets me.

Next time, try rolling them in your hand before eating them. Just roll them like you would plasticine to make it into a ball.