Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a great herb to use in all seasons but I find it especially useful in the autumn and winter. It adds a gentle warmth to food, stokes up the digestive fire and stimulates the circulation. It has been used medicinally since ancient times and is still employed for many ailments. I love to add freshly grated, or powdered, ginger to a mug of hot lemon and honey, as a cold remedy. I also find ginger biscuits or chunks of crystallised ginger very helpful against nausea (though not against motion sickness). It is also very tasty!
Ginger features strongly in the Ayurvedic system of medicine and it is quite common in parts of India to eat a little sliced ginger, soaked in lemon juice, before a meal or a little crystallised ginger afterwards. I do find that this really helps me to digest a meal more effectively, especially a heavy meal.
I found a forgotten piece of ginger (a rhizome) in my kitchen this weekend and was delighted to see that it had started to show signs of life. Three green tinged buds had started to form so I decided to help them along. Jekka’s Complete Herb Book provides simple instructions about how to encourage fresh ginger to grow, so today potted it up and hope to add a healthy ginger plant to my indoor herb collection very soon.
I cut the rhizome about 5cm below the first bud with a sharp knife and placed it in a small pot of moistened compost, with the buds facing upwards. The buds are just covered in compost. I then placed the pot in a small plastic bag, and placed it in my airing cupboard. Jekka recommends leaving the pot at 20 oC and hopefully after around three weeks shoots will start to emerge. I shall let you know how it goes.
Yesterday, I was kindly given a half Kilo of Jerusalem artichokes by my friends at de Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam. After seeking inspiration in The River Cottage Cookbook and Jekka’s Herb Cookbook, I concocted this simple and tasty recipe using fresh Winter Savory (the mystery herb I purchased in France recently) and dried Herbes de Provence. We enjoyed it as an accompaniment to white fish, just a few hours after the Jerusalem artichokes were dug up.
You may well be thinking that this recipe will cause some unwelcome digestive effects! Both Jerusalem artichokes and Brussels sprouts are currently in season but both have a reputation for causing flatulence. However the addition of fresh Winter Savory (Satureja montana) aids and stimulates digestion, helping to prevent flatulence and it enhances the flavour to this side dish. The Herbes de Provence mix I used also contains plenty of Winter Savory (26%). The Dutch name for Winter Savory is Bonekruid, literally bean herb. Perhaps this pertains to it’s ability to aid the digestion of legumes? Jekka’s Herb Cookbook contains a recipe for broad beans with Summer Savory, I must try it.
Creamed Savory Jerusalem artichokes & sprouts
250g Brussels sprouts
4 tbsp creme fraiche
1 tsp finely chopped fresh Winter Savory
1 tsp dried Herbes de Provence
50g grated Cheddar cheese or Goudse jonge belegen cheese
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
Peel and roughly chop the Jerusalem artichokes and sprouts. Simmer in a little water for about 5 minutes, until the sprouts have softened and the artichokes are thoroughly cooked.
Drain the vegetables before adding the dried herbs, chopped fresh herbs and creme fraiche. Stir well and mash lightly.
Add the grated cheese before warming through on a low heat for a couple of minutes.
Rose is the plant of love, grown and used by women and men for millennia. There is much folk and magical lore associated with the rose, I shall post about this another time. Its petals can strengthen the heart and spirits and are found to have a cooling tonic effect on the female reproductive system. Rose hips are often used as a preventative tonic to strengthen the immune system and to aid those who are convalescing.
There are several species of wild rose in the UK: dog rose, Rosa canina; field rose, R. arvensis; sweet briar, R. rubiginosa; burnet rose, R. spinosissima and downy rose, R. villosa . R. alpina and R. rugosa also grow wild in the Netherlands. R. canina is probably the most familiar wild rose, with flask shaped hips shown here. Sweet briar is notable for the especially fragrant foliage. The hips of all roses are actually false fruit and the flowers of wild roses have only five petals, little scent and no nectar. Rose hips becomes softer and the dry calyx drops off later in the autumn, usually after the first frosts. Hips are ready to harvest when they are a deep red (or purple with R. spinosissima) and can be pulled from the plant with little effort, without damaging the foliage.
Rose hips (NL: rozenbottels) are a particularly rich source of vitamin C and rose hip syrup was produced in quantity and rationed in the UK during WWII. Roosvicee is a popular brand of rose hip based drink, here in the Netherlands. Rose hip jam has traditionally been produced in Germany (Roosvicee also produce rose hip jam), rose hip soup is still popular in Sweden and a wine based on rose hips has traditionally been brewed in Sweden and Russia.
Rose hips are used medicinally in teas (1 – 2 tsp hips or 1/2 tsp powder in a 2 cup pot of water), infusions (steeped for up to 4 hours) and syrups. Hips may be used fresh or dried. Once dried they can be ground into a powder. Most recipes call for the removal of the hairy seeds by straining as they can be very irritating.
Rose hips from Rosa canina
Rose petals can also be used in a variety of ways such as; layering with grease-proof paper wrapped butter to impart their heavenly aroma into the fat, adding to bath water, eating in salads. I prefer heavily scented garden roses for these uses as I can’t bear to see the flowers removed from wild rose bushes (and they have little scent anyway). Rose petal glycerite is also very simple to make but requires lots of petals.
These days I only have access to small quantities of rose hips and I prefer to make a good strong syrup from them, or a tea if I can only collect a few. Here is a very simple traditional recipe for rose hip syrup which can be used for any quantity of hips. I use this recipe whenever I collect a cup or more of hips and it is beautiful, delicious and useful. The colours and aromas of this recipe are always magical. I have also included a raw syrup recipe, from Hedgerow Medicine, by Julie Bruton Seal & Matthew Seal. I haven’t yet tried it, as I always want my syrup quickly, but it sounds interesting and is thought to have a higher vitamin C level than the boiled version. Do let me know if you make it.
Traditional Rose Hip Syrup
Clean and sterilise your syrup bottles#.
Wash your harvested hips and remove any dry calyxes and stalks.
Measure the volume of your hips and boil them in half that volume of water. Simmer for 20 minutes with lid on pan.
Turn off heat and use a fork to lightly mash up the hips into the liquid.
Allow the pulpy brew to cool to a manageable temperature.
Strain the brew (mashed hips and liquor) through a sterilised jelly bag or tea towel or muslin cloth, into a clean bowl. Get as much juice out of the pulp as possible without squeezing the seeds through the jelly bag or cloth.
Rinse your saucepan.
Measure the volume of the extracted juice and return it to the clean saucepan. Add half that volume of sugar and give it a little mix.
Bring the juice and sugar to the boil then simmer for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
Pour the syrup into sterilised bottles, seal with a tight lid and label.
#A guide to how many bottles you will need – Yesterday I collected one and a half cups of ripe hips. This yielded about 150ml of syrup.
Raw Rose Hip Syrup
Clean and sterilise a wide mouth pickling jar (NL: available cheaply in Blokker)
Clean and prepare your rose hip harvest as above – then dry them off.
Gentle score the skin of each hip, a few times with a sharp knife.
Cover the bottom of your jar with a layer of caster sugar. Then make layers of hips and sugar, so that all the spaces between the hips are filled with sugar.
Close up the jar and leave on a sunny windowsill for a couple of months or until the juice has been drawn out of the hips and liquified the sugar.
Strain off the liquid, bottle and store in the fridge.
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There are many public spaces in the heart of Amsterdam where ripe herbal fruits, leaves and flowers can be found at the moment. Wild cherry, chickweed, dandelion, mallow, nettle, chestnuts, yarrow, walnuts and sloes, are just a few treats you could find. Today I also noticed that scented geraniums have been planted in the tree pits on Mr Visserplein. Urban herbs are rarely far away, growing on walls, roadsides, between paving stones and in untended spaces. Pollution from cars, people and pets mean that not all locations are suitable to harvest from, but urban foraging is good fun and can be very rewarding throughout the year.
Most people have foraged fruits such as blackberries at some time or other but few harvest herbs on a regular basis yet there are so many available to us! This weekend consider taking a herb walk with family or friends, through some local green and relatively clean area of your city. Try to build your knowledge of local herbs and how to use them. I’ll be looking for rose hips in my local park and will post a simple syrup recipe next week. If you don’t feel confident enough to pick, then notice where a few useful herbs grow on your way to work or in your local park. There are so many edible wild plants in this part of Europe, I’m sure more people could find and make use of at least one or two.
The following is a brief outline of how to set about foraging. It is certainly not a full guide, you should consult a good book on the subject and perhaps join a weed/foraging walk in your area for further guidance.
Where to look: I prefer to harvest from the greener parts of cities and in Amsterdam there is choice. We have some relatively clean canal side verges, lots of parks, trees on quiet roads and hedgerows away from main roads. I avoid herbs from beside busy roads or other places where pollution is likely. I also try to pick from as high up as possible, to avoid plant material that has been soiled by passing people and animals.
How to identify the herbs: Stick to herbs you are certain of and use a good field guide and foraging guide when harvesting any herbs you are new to. Mostly I use The Wild Flower Key: British Isles – N.W. Europe, by Francis Rose and Food for Free, by Richard Mabey. The Self Sufficient-ish Bible, by Andy and Dave Hamilton is too big to carry around but is also a great foraging resource.
Picking rules:
Double check the identity of everything you pick (or consider picking). If in doubt don’t pick or use.
Forage easily identifiable herbs and avoid those which may be easily confused with poisonous relatives.
Try anything new to you in very small quantities.
Forage only from areas where there is plenty of the herb you are interested in.
Be considerate, careful and moderate. Pick sparsely to help conserve the health of the plant, it’s appearance and the wild animals it supports. Never strip all the leaves, berries or whichever part you are interested in from a plant, however tempting. Take only a little from each plant, leave plenty and avoid harming plants by rough picking.
Flowers or seeds of annual plants shouldn’t be picked, their seeds are needed for their survival.
Never pull up whole plants or pick from rare plants.
Amsterdam is currently enjoying a warm start to October so it feels a little odd to be thinking about protecting herbs from frost damage but this weekend we removed the drip trays from the roof pots and had a look to see how much fresh produce might be expected over winter.
I’ve built up a collection of potted herbs on our roof and balcony, which can happily withstand Amsterdam winters. Herbs which don’t survive are not replaced and just a few are brought inside before the frosts. Some survive by self-seeding, others are winter hardy evergreens and perennials. Water trays are removed in early autumn and a couple of pots are moved to more sheltered spots. I don’t bother with insulation and only harvest lightly through the coldest months. An occasional plant is lost when temperatures really plummet but overall this relaxed approach makes potted herb gardening much easier and cheaper. Finding self-seeders such as nigella, rocket, borage and calendula in interesting places when spring arrives, is a pleasure that it also brings.
Wild rocket (Diplotaxis muralis) is one of the few herbs I harvest in quantity from the roof come mid winter and it can still be sown from seed in October. It tastes stronger, even more peppery, in winter and I really like the warmth it adds to dishes. Wild rocket self-seeds quite readily and is a hardy perennial. Although at its best in summer, it goes on producing vitamin and sulphur rich leaves throughout the winter months. After Patrick Whitefield recommended it during a 5 day permaculture course, I sewed a handful of seeds amongst other herbs and have had plenty to pick from ever since.
My friend Elodie uses wild rocket from sand dunes in summer, to make a great pesto. I often use the leaves in salads and, at the very end of cooking, tear them into root vegetable soups. I’d like to grow more herbs that can be eaten fresh throughout winter and would love to hear about any successes or suggestions you have.
Plant swapping can be an excellent way to boost your herb collection for free. This summer I made use of the excellent plant swap facility in Sarphati Park, Amsterdam. I had a large pot-bound mint on my kitchen balcony which needed splitting. I had no space or need for more mint plants so I decided to take a clump to the plant swap centre. Continue reading Plant Swaps→
Nyons, in Drôme Provence, France is famous for award winning olives and delicious wines. During my recent holiday there I enjoyed some great herby meals and bought two local specimens to add to the kitchen balcony. One restaurant stood out because of its use of local herbs. D’un Goût à l’Autre has several dishes on its menu which make an eye catching and delicious feature of fresh herbs. Continue reading Herbes de Provence→
Urban Herbology 