Joshua
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I don’t know where you are seeing them, but some of the winter red (& reddish) berries include hollyleaf cherry, toyon, and firethorn (pyracantha). I don’t think the chokecherries are up, and the ones I’ve found in the Sierra have been very dark-colored by September.
Happy New Year to you, too!
Very cool – I will definitely try that one.
Interesting. I’ve found more, and have put them on my tongue – they have a nice, sweet flavor, but yeah, not very strong.
They were all ripe – so I added an equal amount of elderberries, and about half as much sugar. Great pancake syrup! I will definitely save the seeds – that is a great idea.
I really think an elderberry/chokecherry syrup or jam will go well with cinnamon or basil. I will be experimenting soon.
Ironically, I just popped on here to say that my foraging trip this weekend after gooseberries came up a goose egg… they are all still green! Granted, I was checking a north slope, but still, it seems so late.
I’ve got a great location for gooseberries, not so good for currants – although, in your watershed, you might try the road-cuts up around Bear Meadows.
tomson, I’ve got “Edible and Useful Plants of California”, but Ms. Funk’s book may also be helpful. The book I use is helpful to a point, but once I’ve got a general idea, I find google to be very, very useful. For example, I googled “sierra gooseberry” pics to double-check. The pictures one gets online are often varied, which helps in identifying. Of course, you have to trust the photographer…
Ms. Funk often has events around native plants – maybe she’ll set up one around gooseberries and currants.
Sierra gooseberries are a very spikey 1/2 to 3/4″ ball – it looks like a tiny morningstar – at it will turn red when ripe. The spikes are tough to deal with (pick them with full leather gloves) and don’t get cooked out, so make a syrup by boiling the berries with sugar, and then straining through a sieve and cheesecloth.
Ooh, something new to do with elderflowers! I’m going to try it.
