Edible Plants Fruit Trees and Shrubs by Stephen Watts

Everything is Food Fruit Trees & Shrubs by Stephen Watts

Fruit Trees & Shrubs

Fruit trees

Keep you eyes open for apple, pear, cherry and plum/damson trees, but especially apple. In the last year I have got food from about 15 – 20 fruit trees being neglected or under used.

As I am writing this there are some apples in my room from three trees which were found on abandoned allotments. Now they have all vanished to make way for student accommodation. Your neighbour might have a tree in their garden which they just don’t bother using, leaving the fruit for the birds

Shrubs

Wild Rose/Dog rose, rosa spp..

This grows all over Sheffield, from the city centre to the country. The flowers can be eaten but the hips (fruit) are my favourite part. They can be picked in autumn and winter. There are cultivated roses which have fatter hips with more flesh but less intense flavour. I test out most of the rose hips I find. The flesh has to be soft to make pleasurable eating. WARNING: don’t eat the pips/seeds (although I have on occasion). These have tiny fir like brushes on which can be an irritant to the gut (they have been used as an itching powder!)

I have found that you can pull all the seeds out at once by there attachment to the little black bit on the bottom: tear the skin around this bit and pull gently, aiding the seeds out with a slight squeeze with the other hand. I gave some of this fruit to a child today and asked him what he thought of it. He said it tasted of sweets. I totally agree. Yummy snack while giving yourself a fat dose of vitamin C.

I have tried making rose hip syrup but since it uses sugar and cooking in the process I don’t bother. When I did make it however it was very popular with other members of my family!

Bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus

These are abundant on the heaths and moors surrounding Sheffield. Picking is time consuming but done with friends makes the task a chance to have a good chat and a summer break from the treadmill of nine to fives. It is difficult to gather any real quantity in a short space of time so if time is food you’d be better off with black berries.

Bilberries are brilliant for the eyes and improving vision.

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Allotment Foods