Food from the Wild

Stems

Alexanders Smyrnium olustrum.

A European herb somewhat resembling celery widely naturalized in Britain coastal regions and often cultivated as a potherb. Growing to 160cms high. Has roundish dark-green shiny leaves in groups of three. Yellow-green flowers give way to small black seeds in Summer. Larger stems have a celery flavour. 

Used in salads, stews and soups. The steamed flower buds have been known to be used in salads. Used by finely chopping leaves and stems. Good in pottages and soups if you find young enough specimens and even older stems may be peeled, chopped and used in a similar manner. They are also quite good steamed as a side veg.

Elder Sambucus nigra

In mid-April the young shoots of new growth on elder trees should have attained optimum size for eating. Peel the pith off, then tie in bundles and boil for about 20 minutes. Another way of using them is to pickle them. Use the recipe for ash keys on page 24. The elder is a common hedgerow tree with many other uses (see Berries, and Flowers).

Hop Humulus lupulus

The young shoots of the hop are picked when they appear in spring, tied in bundles, as with asparagus, and boiled for about 20 minutes. They make an excellent spring vegetable. Once appreciated by the Romans, Pliny mentions their cultivation for this purpose. Hop shoots were also sold in English markets. They are found climbing through hedges in many parts of Britain.

Lovage Ligusticum scoticum

If earthed up and blanched, the stalks of lovage resemble celery, but are inferior in flavour. As its Latin name suggests, lovage is a Scottish speciality; it doesn't grow south of Northumberland and prefers a coastal habitat. A tall plant growing to 1 m (3ft), it has large, glossy leaves, red stalks and greenish-coloured flowers which bloom in June and July.

Sea-kale Crambe maritima

Miller in his Gardener's Dictionary of 1731 says that 'the inhabitants (of Sussex) gather it in the spring to eat, preferring it to any of the Cabbage kind.' Previously it was common to blanch the stems by piling up pebbles from the beach around the growing plants. Then bunches were picked and taken to local markets for sale. The stems were separated from the tough leaves and eaten either chopped and raw in salads or cooked, preferably by steaming, and served with butter or in a cheese sauce. The leaves should be cooked like spinach.

Samphire Crithmum maritimum

At one time samphire was popular enough for it to be sold in London markets under the cry of 'Crest Marine'. But by the middle of the seventeenth century, Culpeper was bewailing its lack of popularity and the foolishness of the people who no longer ate this plant valuable for all 'ill digestion and obstructions' that 'are the cause of most of the diseases which the frail nature of man is subject to'.

However, the habit of eating it never quite died out in Norfolk and other coastal areas with shingly shores. This is where samphire proliferates from June to September; it is considered to be in its prime during the first two weeks of July. The stem, although inclined to be stringy, is full of spicy juice and the leaves are thick and succulent. They can be eaten raw as salad, or boiled and served, hot with butter, or cold with bread and butter for a Yorkshire speciality.

Thistle Cirsium eriophorum; Onopordum acanthium

The young stems, when stripped of their rind, can be boiled and eaten while the bracts of the flowers were eaten in former times in the same way as artichokes. Although most thistles can be treated and eaten in this way, obviously it is more profitable to concentrate on the larger varieties, particularly the woolly thistle (Cirsium eriophorum) and the Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium). Getting past the fearsome spines is made easier if the stalk is put in boiling water for 1 minute before attempting to peel it.