I came across shed loads of Ash Keys. Admittedly they were all on north facing branches, so I guess they are later than south facing ones, but they were all small, young, green and tender; just as the books recommend. If you are interested, I doubled the amount on the recipe below! If Im going to make a failure of it, I might as well do it properly!
Oh the Crazy Chasing Cow Ash Keys reference is due to the fact my foraging was brought to an untimely halt by a herd of kung foo cows chasing me out of the field. Thanks once again to Chasca the dog for instigating and arranging this bit of Sunday sporting action!
Ash Keys (Fraxinus excelsior) provide a unique taste sensation. If youre into Slow Food then this is certainly a slow recipe as it takes three months before you can indulge your taste buds.
One thing to make sure is that you pick your Ash Keys when they are very young, and the small seed within the wing has barely developed. You can see the seed if you hold the Ash Key up to the sunlight.
Ingredients
2 cups of Ash Keys without stalks
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 bay leaves
8 peppercorns
1 tsp allspice (I also added some Juniper berries HC's note)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar (I used 2 tbsp of runny honey instead HC's Note
2 cups cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar instead HCs note)
water
Suggested Instructions
1. Wash your Ash Keys, then place in a pan covered with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Strain off the water and return to the pan with some fresh water, then bring back to boil and simmer a further 5 minutes.
3. Drain off the water again, allow to dry slightly and then pack into warm dry jars, but allow an inch of space from the top of the jar.
4. Put the spices, salt and sugar into a bowl and add the vinegar.
5. Put the bowl into a saucepan (cover it), add some water (not to the bowl but just into the pan) and bring slowly to the boil. Allow to gently boil for about 5 minutes, then remove the bowl and let it sit for about 4 hours or until it is cold.
6. Strain the liquid through a muslin or sieve into a jug and pour over the Ash Keys filling the jars right to the brim. (I used whole spices (not ground) except for the ginger, and think they are quite nice to look at so Ive left them in)
7. Screw on the tops. Store for 3 months and let the pickle mature.
8. Give your friends a shock when you serve this up as an after dinner treat, along with some fine cheese.
Oh the Crazy Chasing Cow Ash Keys reference is due to the fact my foraging was brought to an untimely halt by a herd of kung foo cows chasing me out of the field. Thanks once again to Chasca the dog for instigating and arranging this bit of Sunday sporting action!
Ash Keys (Fraxinus excelsior) provide a unique taste sensation. If youre into Slow Food then this is certainly a slow recipe as it takes three months before you can indulge your taste buds.
One thing to make sure is that you pick your Ash Keys when they are very young, and the small seed within the wing has barely developed. You can see the seed if you hold the Ash Key up to the sunlight.
Ingredients
2 cups of Ash Keys without stalks
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 bay leaves
8 peppercorns
1 tsp allspice (I also added some Juniper berries HC's note)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp brown sugar (I used 2 tbsp of runny honey instead HC's Note
2 cups cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar instead HCs note)
water
Suggested Instructions
1. Wash your Ash Keys, then place in a pan covered with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Strain off the water and return to the pan with some fresh water, then bring back to boil and simmer a further 5 minutes.
3. Drain off the water again, allow to dry slightly and then pack into warm dry jars, but allow an inch of space from the top of the jar.
4. Put the spices, salt and sugar into a bowl and add the vinegar.
5. Put the bowl into a saucepan (cover it), add some water (not to the bowl but just into the pan) and bring slowly to the boil. Allow to gently boil for about 5 minutes, then remove the bowl and let it sit for about 4 hours or until it is cold.
6. Strain the liquid through a muslin or sieve into a jug and pour over the Ash Keys filling the jars right to the brim. (I used whole spices (not ground) except for the ginger, and think they are quite nice to look at so Ive left them in)
7. Screw on the tops. Store for 3 months and let the pickle mature.
8. Give your friends a shock when you serve this up as an after dinner treat, along with some fine cheese.
