WILD FOOD Young leaves of wild , February, Galloway Eating and Cooking The and other compounds that give alliums KNOW YOUR their pungent flavour are highly volatile. In a practical sense this means that heating them alters and vastly If my article on the carrot family reduces their characteristic flavours. Just think of the in the last issue of Bushcraft and sharp, cheek-puckering, eye-watering properties of Survival Skills Magazine seemed AUTHOR PROFILE: a raw , compared to its sweet unctuousness a bit daunting, then you’ll find when cooked. This general transformation occurs the onion, or , family much MARK WILLIAMS to a greater or lesser degree in all alliums and you Wild garlic has beautiful easier to get to grips with. Mark Williams shares his lifelong love of wild should consider this when you prepare and eat them. starbursts of edible white foods through his free online learning resource, flowers hances are, you are already GallowayWildFoods.com and as a full-time I used to be a bit of an “allium purest” - scoffing at familiar with wild garlic or foraging tutor. With clients ranging from Michelin those that cooked ramsons or wild until no Cramsons (), chefs to bushcraft schools and primary school hint of their raw pungency (and precious little of which have been at the vanguard of pupils, Mark passionately believes that wild their goodness) remained. But, like an onion in a the upsurge in interest in wild foods foods should be accessible to all. He runs courses wok, I’ve mellowed. I now see the place for using in recent years. This is no surprise, UK-wide, but is happiest at home harvesting for the mild, sweet, grassy flavours that are left after as they tick the three boxes every friends and family in the forager’s paradise of Galloway, south-west Scotland. cooking as background in sauces, soups and stews. novice forager looks for: easy to He has worked as a chef and fisherman and served in Mountain Rescue But remember you won’t get a garlicky hit or oniony Teams since he was 15. You can Tweet with Mark on @markwildfood find, easy to identify, and delicious. “fizz” if you cook most wild alliums for more than a But they are by no means the only nanosecond. rewarding member of this family. alliinase converts alliin into allicin, which is responsible Wild Garlic can carpet for the pungent garlic and onion flavours so appealing to In general, when adding wild alliums to hot dishes, large areas The wild relatives of cultivated staples like onions, most humans, but reprehensible to grazing animals. It is chuck them in at the last possible moment to retain garlic and leeks offer great gastronomic and nutritional also actively toxic to many animals, reducing the blood’s their vibrant characteristics. Better still, to experience rewards. Early spring is absolutely the best time to take capability to carry oxygen. Don’t let your dog eat wild all that’s good about alliums add different elements your knowledge of them to new levels and to harvest garlic. at different stages of the cooking process - being and preserve them for the year to come. sure to blitz through some raw pizazz at the end! This clever defensive strategy is a real own-goal when the onion family meets humans. As well as being Medicinal, Bushcraft and Nutritional delicious, allicin and other compounds found in alliums Wild Garlic uses of Alliums such as kaempferol and quercetin, have proven anti- aka Ramsons (Allium ursinum) bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. They can Wild garlic grows in delightful abundance in well Forget apples...it’s a garlic a day that keeps the be useful in the treatment of everything from bites, doctor away! established, moist, deciduous woods and hedgerows wounds and headaches, to heart disease, cancer, viruses throughout the UK and much of Europe. It has a and lots more. surprisingly a few weeks before I hear any reports from Garlic has famously been employed to deter vampires. preference for slightly acidic soils and is considered an foraging friends further south. I don’t know if it’s the Ancient Woodland Indicator species. As with many legends, this has a basis in more practical In a bush-medicine context, you’d do well to consume nutritional goodness, vibrant flavour, or symbolism of traditional uses as a blood purifier and the pungency new life that gives me a joyful burst of energy in the plenty of raw allium greens and for their gentle, Most wood-lovers feel a glow of affection when they of its active compounds to deter more troublesome natural antibiotic and antiviral properties, as well as their winter gloom. Probably all three! blood-suckers. The juice of most alliums can be useful in think of its rich, carpeting growth, vibrant flavour and all-round nutritional profile. Laying the bruised leaves or stunning star-bursts of white flowers. It encapsulates the deterring biting insects. To be honest though, I favour a rubbing the juice of say, wild garlic, on cuts and sores can Identification is quite straightforward once the 20-35cm midge net, as smearing yourself in wild garlic juice may freshness and generosity of spring, though it actually long, 4-6cm broad lanceolate, hairless leaves are formed. only help, perhaps in conjunction with ribwort plantain starts its life cycle in the depths of winter. It starts to see off more than just a few insects! (plantago lanceolata). It gets even easier once the flowers emerge around April appear in my area of SW Scotland in mid-January - in glorious starbursts of small white 6 petalled flowers The flavour of alliums that we now hold in high esteem is actually a defence evolved to deter grazing. Unmolested pre- flowering alliums tend to be more or less odourless. The second they are cut, bitten or otherwise damaged, the enzyme

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Wild Garlic Flower Buds, March Ramsons v Ramps sweeter, grassy background flavour (see my general arranged in globes. Any doubt notes on cooking alliums above). Some people like to There seems to be some confusion in foraging literature over identification should be separate the pale stems from the open green leaves, over the difference between ramsons and ramps. For eliminated by the distinct smell citing a slight difference in flavour which I can’t detect. clarity, ramps ( - also known as wood of garlic from all parts when The broad leaves are excellent as a wrapper for on-the- or, confusingly, wild garlic) is found wild only in crushed. spot sushi rolls. If you’ve never blitzed them with oil, Eastern . I have never foraged or eaten nuts and possibly a little cheese to make a punchy pesto, ramps, but from what I read, they are very similar to their Having said that, as foraging then you’re missing out. I also use them to wrap fish for European relatives in look, habitat, flavour and usage, for wild garlic becomes ever steaming or to make dolmades. They can be frozen in though there does seem to be more of a tendency to more popular, I expect mistakes ziplock bags for cooking later. My very favourite way to uproot them in the US. will occur. I’ve seen people preserve and eat them though, is lacto-fermented - a indiscriminately cutting sheaves great way of preserving in a bushcraft setting, adding Ramsons (Allium ursinum) are native to Europe and most of leaves, paying very little heed new dimensions of health and flavour - see my attached commonly referred to in the UK as wild garlic, though to what may be mixed in. You Lords and Ladies (), recipe. it also goes by various colloquial monikers including can avoid this issue by picking March. Note the pronounced veins buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, devil's garlic, mindfully, showing due reverence and deep V where the stem joins". Flower buds - these form very early but remain hidden gypsy's onions and stinking Jenny. and care for both the , in the leaf stems until thrust skyward in March/April. They and what goes in your mouth! make beautiful garnishes and stunning pickles. “Ramson” is derived from the Anglo Saxon word Though not particularly similar Lilly of the “hramsa”, meaning rank. The butter and milk of cows to the discerning eye, you should Flowers - Whether just emerging from the buds or fully that have grazed ramsons can be tainted, though this be aware of the following when Valley opened into their globe formations, flowers are always flavouring was popular in 19th century Switzerland. I picking ramsons: delicious and best eaten fresh in salads or strewn on wonder how long it will be until we see “ramson-fed soups and tarts. cow’s butter” on fancy menus... Lords and Ladies, aka cuckoo pint, (Arum maculatum) - This In much of Europe Allium ursinum is known as bear’s will burn your mouth in a deeply- Using wild garlic to garlic, which is reflected in the ursine nature of it binomial unpleasant-but-unlikely-to-be- wrap sushi name. Brown bears know what’s good for them and fatal kind of way. Distinguish gorge on the shoots and roots when they emerge from its leaves by the strong V shape hibernation. I suggest you do the same! where they meet the stem; glossy, often variegated-look; and Although wild garlic is generally abundant, I’m starting to small trough that runs around the hear reports of over-harvesting in the UK. This generally leaf edge. occurs where lazy, greedy, unmindful foragers strip large areas for re-selling, or use in commercial kitchens. Lilly of the valley (Convallaria Large ecosystems can depend on abundance and majalis) - Highly toxic and clearing expanses can have repercussions throughout potentially deadly. While the the environment. As with all wild , picking should leaf shape is broadly similar be done mindfully, considering other foragers and plant to wild garlic, it is more fleshy, lovers, but more importantly, the reliance of a wider lacks the scent of garlic and only arc of nature on finite resources. In practical terms, this ever grows with pairs of leaves means spreading your picking around and resisting (wild garlic always grows in rapidly stuffing sheathes of leaves into carrier bags. I larger bunches). The flowers are would discourage anyone from uprooting ramsons: the quite different: bell-shaped and bulb is poor and usually splits into a soggy outer and growing in racemes. a tiny succulent inner - a poor reward for undermining future crops. Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) - Deadly poisonous. Be careful no Like all “glut” crops, wild garlic demands close attention leaves of this common woodland and thoughtful preserving while in season to lay down plant, that often shares habitat with wild garlic, get mixed in. One is enough stores for autumn and winter. Most people focus on the to kill you, and the very distinct flower heads don’t appear until after the wild green leaves and paler leaf base, but they have many garlic season. The leaves, fortunately, are really quite different - hairy, deeply Seeds – It is possible to harvest large numbers of the more delicious edible parts: veined, lobed at the edges. freshly formed, succulent, crunchy “seeds” (they are technically pods) quite quickly. Try them like Basal Leaves of foxglove: hairy, Leaves and leaf stems - excellent raw in salads, used capers or scattering as “flavour bombs” through soups veined and with a wavy edge as you would spring onions, but also cooked as a lighter,

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and salads. As they darken in similar way to wild garlic known as rocambole “off” or mouldy here. We are they lose their flavour and go seeds. They have a mostly (Allium scorodoprasum) allowing beneficial bacteria hard. northern distribution and are which are quite similar to preserve and enhance our Three cornered leek in full common in Scotland. Use in to Babington’s leek and diet. Fermenting wild plants is flower, London, March. the same ways as you might have similar uses. magical and very rewarding, and Wild Leeks wild garlic. Few-flowered leek works particularly well with wild is considered so invasive that Field garlic (Allium garlic and leeks. There is absolutely no need for it is illegal to spread it in the oleraceum), rosy garlic anyone who lives anywhere wild, though I would happily () and 1. What to ferment? I near a park, woodland or have it in my garden instead crow garlic (Allium recommend you start with shady riverbank to spend of grass. vineale) all have a dense something you can gather a single penny on spring bulb more reminiscent quickly and easily in decent onions between January and Three-Cornered Leek of cultivated garlic, quantities - another reason to July. If you can’t find wild (Allium triquertum) - You with narrow leaves start with alliums. Sea beet, cow garlic, chances are you’ll get are more likely to encounter that can be used like parsley, common hogweed, some wild leeks. They grow these in the South of when young and watercress, garlic mustard and very happily (some would England, where they are not tender. They can be sea kale also work well. say invasively) in semi-urban uncommon in parks, verges found on sandy soil in settings and especially parks. and hedgerows. Rather larger verges, field edges and 2. Round up enough of the plant than its relatives, its long, especially around the you wish to ferment. If you come across a plant that thin leaves grow up to 60cm. coast. None are rare, How much is enough depends reminds you of wild garlic, but They are distinctly triangular but their narrow leaves on how much you’d like to make, has narrower leaves and less in cross-section and though make them quite grass- the plant you are using and the of a garlic smell, you may have milder than most other like and hard to spot. I vessel you wish to ferment it found wild leeks. These aren’t alliums have a very pleasing recommend looking out in. Going on wild garlic, if you the hulking great Frankenstein succulence. It has the tastiest for their pink and purple want to fill a 1 litre Kilner jar you leeks you might expect to find and prettiest of all allium pom-pom-like flower will need a surprisingly large in shops and gardens, but Image © John Renston, Forage London flowers which are bell shaped heads in early summer. amount – a well filled carrier bag. something tender and elegant, and white with a green strip, Where established you A quarter of that would do for a much more closely resembling growing in drooping . should be able to return standard jam jar. The plants you spring onions. They start to Few-flowered for a steady harvest year use should be squeaky-fresh – I grow between November and leek, Ayrshire, Babington’s Leek (Allium after year, and nobody don’t recommend this process to February. March ampeloprasum var. is likely to object to you “rescue” stuff that’s been lurking babingtonii) - This is the carefully uprooting a in your fridge for a week. Be aware that crocuses, closest you will get to a few bulbs from large, snowdrops and bluebells grow cultivated leek in the wild. It invasive patches. 3. Wash the plants and remove around the same time and can grows up to 2m tall, though excess moisture. be mixed through wild leek its relatively slender girth Recipe: How to A quick whizz in a salad spinner colonies. They are all toxic, but always makes it seem more Lacto-ferment will do – you don’t want the plant unlikely to do you much harm. like a baby leek. The greyish- Wild Greens dripping in tap water – it contains chlorine and additives green leaves are flat and that inhibit fermentation. The three varieties of wild hollow with a ridge running Fermentation offers great scope for bushcrafters who leek you are most likely to down their back. Their flowers wish to preserve and store gluts of wild greens encounter are: heads look like pink pom- without needing a fridge or freezer. All you poms of bulbils with a few need is the plants, some jars and a tiny bit of Few-Flowered Leek (Allium wispy white flowers waved salt. The process retains most of the beneficial Few-flowered leek paradoxum) - These are erratically above. raw qualities of wild greens and enhances them washed and shredded for rather daintier than any of by introducing health-promoting bacteria. fermentation their cousins but can carpet large expanses of woods and Other Wild Alliums I understand why many people feel a little parkland with 20-40cm long, trepidation at the prospect of actively 5-25mm wide leaves. As its The much less common encouraging bacteria in our food, but this name suggests, it has rather fewer flowers than one Allium ampelosporum is distinguished from Babington’s is largely a result of aggressive, misguided might expect from such a vigorous plant, but it makes up leek by its huge flower ball and is too rare to pick. marketing and a culture of misunderstanding. for this by producing lots of bulbils which are good to eat On the coast you may encounter sand leeks otherwise We aren’t talking about letting your food go

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4. Shred the plants. You could use whole leaves but about 2% of the weight of the greens. Troubleshooting shredding makes it easier to spoon the finished product out of the jar later. 7. Leave to stand for 20 to 60 minutes. This allows the If you are new to fermenting, I expect you will feel a bit salt to start its work drawing the juices from the leaves. anxious that the ferment will go “off”. I have never had 5. Place the shredded plants in a large open bowl, a few any problems with the method above, except when handfuls at a time. 8. Massage the salted, shredded leaves. Give them a I topped up a common hogweed ferment with tap If you are only fermenting a small amount, it can all go in good rub/massage with your hands until they darken, water. The top level went black and it developed an the bowl at the same time. become wet and start to lose their form. unpleasant smell that was instantly recognisable as “off”. Observe your ferment and trust your senses. Blue mould, 6. Sprinkle each layer lightly with natural sea salt. It is 9. Leave to stand for another 20 to 60 minutes. blackening and a cheesy smell are bad signs and usually important to remember that the salt is not a preserving Weighing the leaves down with a plate can help get the occur because you haven’t created anaerobic conditions agent in this process, merely a means of drawing out the juices flowing here – but its not essential. and/or your vessel/plant matter wasn’t clean. All may leaves’ natural juices. You will be tempted to add too Use a tub or jar to not be lost however: you can scrape off the top mouldy much salt first time around. This is OK, you’ll just have 10. Pack the leaves firmly into a glass or earthenware keep the ferment layer, top up with uncarbonated mineral water and give it another chance. quite a salty ferment and not add so much the next time. vessel. Ensure the vessel is clean. Jam jars work fine, submerged For a carrier bag of wild garlic to fill a 1 litre Kilner jar, I or kilners if you are doing a larger amount. Traditional add about 1.5 teaspoons of salt – sprinkling a little on fermenting crocks are made for the job – lucky you if you Variations each layer then adding more leaves and sprinkling again. have one as it makes the next stage a lot easier! As you The simple alchemy of this preparation is part of its It is possible to ferment without adding any salt at all – add the leaves to the vessel, champ them firmly down important – do spend some time ensuring that your charm, but it is easy to add a few twists. Try adding nam but I suggest leaving that until you are more confident with the end of a spoon or rolling pin or the like – it is ferment is sealed by liquid from the air. pla (fish sauce), chilli and ginger to make Vietnamese with the process. The weight of salt added should be important to avoid air pockets between the wet leaves. style kimchi. Green hogweed seeds, sea rocket or wild By the time you have three quarter filled the 13. Leave to ferment at an ambient temperature. Resist garlic/leek capers add a bit of extra kick. Play around! vessel with champed down plant, you should all temptation to put the ferment in the fridge. The be aware of plenty of juice. If you are packing helpful bacteria that will preserve and give character How to eat into multiple vessels, ensure you add the liquid are dormant at low temperatures. Do not be alarmed by Fermented wild leeks - look left in the bowl evenly to top up each vessel to white froth/bubbles forming - this is a normal part of the Here’s how I like to use fermented foraged greens: soggy, but retain their crunch fermentation process. You can scrape the froth off if it about three quarters full. • As a condiment – on the side of salads, stir-fries, curries disturbs you! Blue mould, blackening or a “cheesy” smell etc. are not good signs – see below for trouble-shooting. 11. Test for liquid. When your vessel is about • As a part of a salad three quarters full, press firmly down on the • As an ingredient stirred into stir-fries, risottos etc. 14. How long to leave the ferment? Leave it to ferment leaves. There should be enough liquid to cover • Great in cheese sandwiches or under cheese on toast at ambient temperatures for at least a week, but as long the leaves. If there isn’t, ensure you have evenly • Can be cooked and puréed to make a rich green sauce as you wish. You can dip in and taste on a regular basis distributed liquid if you are using multiple Don’t waste the fermenting liquid – add it to salad until you are happy with the flavour. After a week you vessels. If you can’t get the juice to cover the dressing, sauces or just drink it. I particularly like tequila should notice the characteristic slightly “fizzy” mouth-feel leaves, add some uncarbonated mineral water and fermented wild garlic juice shooters! – DO NOT be tempted to add tap water, as the of all lacto-fermented greens (if you are not sure what additives inhibit fermentation. this sensation is, buy any half decent sauerkraut from the shops and taste that). The greens 12. Weigh the leaves down in the vessel. should retain a surprising crunchiness for Fermentation must take place in an anaerobic something that looks so wet and wilted. environment – ie. with no air present. So now The sharp, pungent flavours (of wild garlic you need to find a way to keep the leaves for example) should have mellowed into a rounder, more complex flavour. When Kimich wild leeks weighed down beneath the level of the liquid you are happy with the flavour, remove (L) and fermented in the vessel. Traditional fermenting crocks the weighing-down item, put on the lid ramsons (R) have specially designed lids for this very purpose. I don’t have one, but fortuitously, a and keep in a cool place or the fridge. If standard jam jar or large yogurt pot is just the you have fermented in a large vessel, its right size to sit inside my kilner jars, and tiny best to re-jar the ferment in smaller jars yogurt pots or jars are often the right size to fit for storage – this keeps air exposure to a inside standard jam jars. So play around and minimum, especially if you ensure there is see what you come up with. Typically, a jam a covering of liquid. The ferment should jar filled with water (or, cunningly, another keep well for several months in sealed ferment) should be enough to keep your jars, but consume them within a couple of fermenting leaves submerged. This stage is weeks once you start using the jar.

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