This recipe uses the large tree fruits, not the small ornamental quinces, which are not nearly so tasty. Windfalls are good for this, just cut away the bruised parts. Ingredients: quinces, washed, peeled, cored, chopped. Keep the peel and cores. vanilla pod, split sugar, equal to the amount of cooked quinces. Preparation: Place the quinces … Read more
Making sloe gin is slow but not laborious. There’s no cooking required, just patience, as the sloes must steep in the gin. Ingredients: 450g/1lb sloes 225g/8oz sugar 1 litre/1¾ pint gin Preparation method: Traditionally, you should prick the skin of the sloes with a silver needle after waiting for the first frost of … Read more
Mushroom ketchup is an old English favourite, though not often seen in the shops today. Here is an original recipe, from 1728. ‘Take a stew pan of the large flat mushrooms; set it on a slow fire, with a handful of salt; they will make a great deal of Liquor, which you must strain, and … Read more
This should be the quiet part of the year, when plants and fungi are dormant: but not this year! The weather has been so wet and mild that plants and mushrooms are coming up out of season. As an example, Clifford found Wood Blewits and St. Georges Mushroom fruiting together in Kew Gardens on New … Read more
The wet weather of last few weeks has brought the mushrooms up that were just waiting for the right conditions. Several species can be found now including Boletus edulis, better known as the Penny Bun, Cep or Porcino, and often called the king of mushrooms for its exceptional flavour. Field and Horse Mushrooms, Agaricus campestris, … Read more