Hawthorn fruit leather ?

[falling rain]

I'm going to have a crack at making some hawthorn fruit leather this weekend as the berries are about right at the moment.
The first I heard of this was on RM's Wild food series so I'm basically going to do pretty much what Ray and Gordy boy (I love Gordon Hillman.....top bloke :You_Rock_ ) do on the DVD, except I'm going to collect the berries and make it at home rather than in the field as in the series.
I thought I may be able to push the berries through a sieve to get out the pips and roughage and just collect the juice in a mixing bowl and let it 'set' before slicing for drying. Would this work?
Anyway I just wanted to ask has anyone tried making it before and if so any tips please?

P.S. I fancy a go at the acorn 'mush' in the series too, but although RM, Gordy, and Linda the basket maker lady say it tastes nice it does look like something a cow left behind after a night out on the town followed by a vindaloo!...............may try that one another time.:11doh:

Cheers in advance

FR

 

[bushcraftbob]

Hey falling rain i had a go at this last year. I mushed all the berries up with my hands in a bowl and I added a bit of water to it, before pushing through a sieve. I think I added too much water as the first batch i made was too wet and didnt set that great.

The second batch i made i just added a tiny drizzle of water (to aid it to turn in to a pulp) and it set a treat in the sun. I was a tad disappointed with the taste tho, a bit bland

I was thinking of adding fruit high in pectin (like crab apples) to try and improve the taste a bit.

 

[scanker]

Couple of opinions here recently.

 

[falling rain]

Couple of opinions here recently.

Doh !!

Thanks Scanker. I didn't read this thread. I'll have a proper read through later. I had a quick blast through and it seems folks reckon it's a bit bland but on the programme they're enthusing about it being the closest to something out of the sweet shop or words to that effect. Oh well I'm going to give it a whirl anyway, I don't really eat sweet stuff much anyway. Also any wild food is never that fantastic if we're perfectly honest (except game or fish) I'll let y'all know how I get on.

 

[bushwacker bob]

Doh !! :confused
. Also any wild food is never that fantastic if we're perfectly honest (except game or fish) I'll let y'all know how I get on.

ALL food was wild once could it be your cooking?
wild strawberries are still my fav fruit.

 

[falling rain]

ALL food was wild once could it be your cooking?
wild strawberries are still my fav fruit.

Very true Bob, but of course man has fiddled and enhanced and cross bred etc to improve flavours........crab apple or coxes pippin................bulace or victoria plum. We've over millenia made food tastier, plumper, juiceier, less bitter etc with a lot of fiddling.

 

[Tadpole]

Very true Bob, but of course man has fiddled and enhanced and cross bred etc to improve flavours........crab apple or coxes pippin................bulace or victoria plum. We've over millenia made food tastier, plumper, juiceier, less bitter etc with a lot of fiddling.

Plus our tastes have changed, we are used to eating sweet saltier, spicier food, so when we eat ‘normal’ old fashioned wild food, they don't taste 'right' some how. Try making lemonade from scratch, it's much tarter less sweet than you buy, even if you get the cloudy old fashioned type.
I find you do get used to the more bland food. Apples are the other way round though they are sharper more tasty in the old fashioned types, and modern apples just tend not to have any taste at all, they're just a mouthful of sweet 'texture'

 

[Buckshot]

I made some last year - wasn't impressed tbh
Couldn't give it away twice to the same person!

Mark

 

[Forest fella]

I tried last year also.Made it to wet,And when it did eventually dry it went well Mouldy,won't be trying that again.

 

[falling rain]

I made some last year - wasn't impressed tbh
Couldn't give it away twice to the same person!

Mark

And yet in the programme they're enthusing about it as though it's delicious. I'll still give it a go anyway. you've got to try these things yourself .

Thanks very much for everyones input though. Much appreciated

 

[R Doull]

I tried it a couple of weeks ago.. it's not too bad.. but not great.. I could eat it though.. Oh.. and I did add some Sorrel pulp to the berry pulp.. added a bit more of a taste.. I read that the berried were once used as a preserve.. so I figured they would stop the sorrel from going off..

 

[Tony]

Try a mixed fruit leather, use the haws as the main fruit and add other fruit. Is it possible to add some honey into it, I was going to say sugar but honey is the natural choice.

To start with for experimenting with flavours you could find someone with a dehydrator to dry them for you, then you'll be able to experiment more because the drying process will be sorted

 

[alpha_centaur]

ALL food was wild once could it be your cooking?
wild strawberries are still my fav fruit.

Nothing to beat freshly picked wild strawberries is there.