Autumn is here!

Autumn is probably our favourite season for Scottish food. Incredible fruits, delicious root vegetables and a huge variety of fish and game are in season.

Our second selection of recipes focuses on seasonal fruits. It’s hard to pick just one with so many growing everywhere including wild fruits and berries. It’s easy and free to pick wild berries including brambles, elderberries and rowan berries. This is the season for preserving so we can savour the delicious flavours of Autumn throughout the Winter season and beyond.

We run foraging courses in the Spring, Summer and Autumn with Anna from Flora Medica (http://floramedica.org/). There are also some helpful sites where you can learn more about foraging in Scotland. Foraging is a lot of fun especially with kids. What grows wild also has a huge range of health benefits including many more vitamins and minerals than shop bought ingredients including ‘superfoods’.

Find out about foraging –

https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/planning-and-development/social-and-economic-benefits-nature/food-and-drink/foraging

https://www.visitscotland.com/blog/nature-geography/foraging/

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/things-to-do/foraging/

https://www.facebook.com/foraginginscotland/

Find out about what’s in season –

https://www.greenerscotland.org/sites/default/files/EIS-calendar13-14.pdf
https://www.greenerscotland.org/eating-greener/in-season-food-calendar

One of our favorite things to do with Autumn fruits is to make cordial. It’s quick and easy and tastes so much better than buying it in the shops. At this time of year we like to add spices or a chai teabag to our cordial to make it taste even more warming. If you don’t have muslin, you can use any fine cloth including a clean tea towel or even some kitchen roll.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-make-cordial

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/43847/elderberry-cordial.aspx

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/blackcurrant-cordial

http://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/plum-cordial

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/12/how-to-make-blackberry-star-anise-cordial-recipe

Delicious, quick and easy recipes we like using Autumn fruits and berries:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gingery-plum-cake

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/blackberry-jam

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pear-nut-blackberry-bircher

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pan-fried-venison-blackberry-sauce

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/apple-blackberry-crumble

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/12405/apple-crumble-cake.aspx