Abundance Edinburgh

 We recently went out to East Lothian to pick some sea buckthorn – it’s very abundant along the coastline there, having been planted as a wind break.

Sea buckthorn is supposed to be very good for you, high in vitamin C amongst other things. The oil is used in skin creams too.

We found the best harvesting method was to cut off small branches. When we tried to pick the berries, they dissolved in our hands in a sticky mush! You can also use a fork to rake the berries off the branch into a tub.

At home, I cut my branches into twigs with the berries still attached and put them in the freezer on a baking tray. Once they were frozen, they popped straight off. I put them in a bag back in the freezer to be processed at a later date.

I’m going to make mine into a runny conserve/jam with left over pectin from last year. I’m also tempted by the idea of a sorbet… Others have made juice (mixing with apple juice makes it a bit nicer!) and infused oils and vinegars and a cordial. I’ve seen Hugh Fearnley-W  make a juice/syrup for a sea buck’s fizz too. My Finnish friend Trella also makes a sea buckthorn vodka.

Valla

We’ll be making some juice, using our big press and laying down some cider this Saturday.

Bring apples along if you’d like them juiced on the spot!

It’s all happening at the Pavilion Cafe on the Meadows, from 11am this Saturday…

Tomorrow is the day of our biggest event of the year – our harvest ceilidh – and we’d like to see as many of you there as possible.  It’s from 7-10:30pm at St Peter’s church on Saturday 15th October.

The money raised through the event will go to Abundance Edinburgh and Bridgend Growing Communities. Any funds that we do raise will make us less dependent upon funding bodies, and more free to do fun things again next year, so come along for a dance!

Abundance Edinburgh members with Robin Harper and Green MSP Alison Johnston

What a beauty!

Abundance Edinburgh attended the Holyrood Apple day last Thursday and were lucky enough to win a Wee Apple Award in recognition of our fruity work – well done for your hard work so far this season Abundancers!

We’re starting to get offers of fruit coming up for the next few weeks – if you want to get involved, it’s not too late! We’re looking for enthusiasts to help pick, process and distribute fruit as well as donations of fruit.

Sign up to our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/abundanceedinburgh?hl=en or e-mail us on info@abundanceedinburgh.com for information about pickings.

We also have a group discussion list: https://groups.google.com/group/abundance-edinburgh-spraff for more in depth fruity chat.

Swedish berry scoops - and our modest crop

I often go hiking in the Pentlands, but until last year I had no idea that the many of the low bushes I was passing on my walks carried edible berries. It was only after chatting to a Canadian woman who was picking them last summer that I found out what they were – blaeberries, a small, tart and (I think) tastier version of their fat foreign friend, the blueberry.

Last year I nearly broke my back bending over to pick the berries by hand (they are small and fiddly) – and ever since I’d been eyeing up “Swedish Berry Scoops” online. But part of me had felt like buying something in order to pick free fruit was still being part of general consumer culture, so I’d not ordered one.

The daily grind...

Luckily, I heard that Abundance Edinburgh not only had some of the scoops, but that I could borrow them for free. Result.

So, last week, we took some American friends and family out to the Pentlands, near to Bonaly Scout camp. As you ‘ll see from the pictures we made a day of it – I have a portable wood burning stove, which we brewed coffee and cooked lunch on, and we even had a mill to grind the coffee!

Going...going...

All gone!

The only disappointment was that we seemed to have left it rather late in the season to collect blaeberries. The bushes, which had been abundant just a few weeks ago, had only a modest amount of fruit. Still, it was enough for the kids to feast on, and it was good to finally get a go with the scoops, which are certainly efficient and easy to use. We reckon we’ve got enough left to make some blaeberry syrup to pour onto apple crumble.

But we’ll certainly be back next year – and by then, I aim to get their before the end of August, and have my own berry scoop to hand.

Glamping

Last week we had a visit from Radio Scotland’s Out of doors team who made a short piece on us while we were out picking plums.  The show was broadcast on Saturday morning, but if you missed it, you can find listen to the whole show again on BBC iPlayer.  Alternatively, you can click on the link below to hear the 7 minutes segment featuring just us!

Abundance Edinburgh on Radio Scotland

Did you see us in Thursday’s Edinburgh Evening news?

If so we’d love to hear from you.  We’re on the look out for surplus fruit that needs harvesting, and we’re also happy to help other groups get started harvesting in Edinburgh.

You can get in touch with us by email, twitter, or facebook, or just come along to our pressing event this Saturday from 1pm at the Pavilion cafe on the meadows.