What can you pick near you?
Autumn! Some of the loveliest berries and fruits are now ready to be picked. We don’t all live on a farm or have a great, big garden full of berry bushes to harvest from - but you might still be able to fill your kitchen with nice things, if you live near woods or parks. I share my experience!
Once you see it…
Out walking at the end of August, I spotted a few ripe blackberries here and there in the woods near my house. So, a few days later, with my backpack and a few airtight Zoë&Mii boxes, I went back to the same area to see if more had ripened. Early September is still a bit early for blackberries in the UK, especially after a disappointing summer; the bushes may have had enough water, but not quite enough sun! I managed to fill a couple of boxes and enjoyed the hunt so much, it took my mind off everything else going on in my life!
The most exciting thing was that once I was out looking for the berries, I realised how many blackberry bushes I had walked past and completely ignored on many a walk in this area before. They were everywhere! So - I suspect that when I go back in a week or two, I will find enough to fill my whole freezer! It was lovely to see a few other people out picking berries to eat them there and then, but I do suspect that not many people head out with buckets or boxes like me and collect them.
Depending on where you are in the world, there might be different things you can find in your area - I am a spokesperson for Imagine Scholar, an educational project in South Africa. The first time I had a video call with some of the girls at the school there, they showed me mangos growing all around the school area! I love blackberries, but I would swap them for woods full of mangos any day!
A bit further north like my native Norway, you will find a lot of raspberries. I have memories of picking redcurrant, blackcurrant and sweet gooseberries as a child. And of course the berry unique to Scandinavian countries and Canada/Alaska, the cloudberry.
Apples are great fun to pick too - last autumn I discovered a big apple tree in a park near me - belonging to no one! And again, I seemed to be the only one picking from it. I got a few weird looks from passing dog walkers while shaking the branches vigorously to allow the apples to fall down, but I don’t care. The difference between a freshly picked, tart, lovely apple straight from the tree and one that arrives in plastic wrapping from the shops? Too big to even describe. I’ll do some apple recipes later in the month, but for now, check out my healthy blackberry jam with chia seeds!
We all live in different places and I understand that if you are in a city, this might be harder. But even when I lived in East London, I would come across raspberry and blackberry bushes on my walks, so don’t be disheartened! Maybe it’s even worth jumping on a train somewhere a bit further out and see what you can find? Another option is to be brave and knock on a neighbour’s door if they have some berry bushes or an apple tree. Maybe they’ll let you grab a few? You can offer to pick some of their fruit for them and ask if you can take some for yourself as payment. Everybody wins!
Where in the world do you live, and what can you pick there at this time of year? Post on Instagram and tag me @TheFromScratchBody and use the hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!
