Description
A full day course focussing on plant based foraging. At this time of year there are an abundance of plants in flower or fruiting and this makes it an ideal time to nail down a lot of plant id with specimens showing you their true colours and full suite of features! The day will be split between harvesting and processing activities.
Set at the picturesque Kidbrooke Park, a stones throw from the Ashdown Forest this course will introduce you to the abundance of spring time plants. You will get to explore the many and varied habitats at this location under the guidance of experienced forager James Grant. James will show you how to approach the subject of foraging in a safe and fun manner considering plant families and features to get you started exploring summer wild foods.
Sessions
The day is split into four sessions with two 30 minute brew breaks and 1 hour for lunch.
- Vegetables & greens - With the days growing longer, plants are now in over drive reaching for the sun and its time to move from the salads of the spring to the vegetables of the summer. In this session you'll learn to ID family traits and species features of common native plants before harvesting them for use at lunch time.
- Herbs & spices - Knowing your herbs can makes the difference when making tasty meals and foraging is no different - oh hang on, it is a bit as there's flavours and aromas that you simply can't buy. This session will teach you about the spices and aromatics that lay hidden in our hedgerows.
- Fruit & flowers - Knowing which berries and flowers are safe to eat can literally be a life or death situation and here you will learn the difference. You'll also get to do some harvesting for use in the next session.
- Preservation & processing - In the last session the attention turns to preserving the bounty. Booze and Jams generally need no promotion with many people still performing their personal annual rituals... However, any preserving whether fermentation, pickling, jams, sauces, alcoholic infusions, dehydration and many more... all benefit from adding the wild and this session you'll get to make something to take home to enjoy the flavour of your day in the weeks to come.
Skills covered
- Tree and plant ID
- Harvesting techniques
- Food preparation
- Food preserving
3 course lunch
All of our one day ForagedTM courses include a 3 course lunch showcasing wild foods.
When booking onto one of these courses make sure you inform us of any dietary requirements, food allergies, pregnancy etc. during the checkout process.
Refreshments
Hot water for drinks will be provided by way of a brewfire kettle. Foraged teas and cordials will also be provided.
What we do not provide is any caffeine, sugar or dairy but you are more than welcome to bring your own if you need to.
