Ash Keys.

[Barry Smith]

Hi. A couple of years ago I was on a course run by John Rhyder (Trees - Very good) and he passed round some pickled Ash keys for everyone to try.

I have just collected a load and want to pickle them. Is it a simple as putting them in a jar and covering with vinigar? If so how long will they last?

Thanks

Barry

[al]

i make pickles and chutney alot and its really easy, "a 1000 classic indian recipes" is a cool book , well worth having, got lots of pickle and chutney recipes in there and as with most cooking you can always use the recipe as a guideline and busk your way round it to experiment, the book only costs about 6 quid, sound interesting too , i may give it a go myself, cheers al

[martin]

Never heard of "Ash keys",what are they?

[al]

the seeds that hang in big clusters,well i hope so now i`ve posted this :-D

[Justin Time]

Richard Mabey ( food for free) has this to say:
"John Evelyn recommends boiling the young, green keys, chaging the water, boiling again, and then pickling under hot spiced vinegar. I personally find them rather tough and bitter, but if you pick the very youngest keys you may be luckier."

I have no experience of my own to add to this.

Justin

[ESpy]

Again, no personal experience.

My new copy of The Really Wild Food Guide wot arrived just this morning says this:

"The 'keys' of this common tree can be made into an interesting pickle. Harvest them early in the Autumn."

I can't find much else with google, other than the occasional mention of using brine, vinegar or brine and vinegar.

The rest of this book is fascinating, and well worth the money IMO. Of course, you'll need a decent guide to go with it - e.g. Food for Free on the botanical side - but some of the recipes are very, very appealing.

[george]

Barry

If you only picked the keys recently then I would throw them away and wait until spring for some new ones!

We pickle several jars every year - the recipe from Richard Mabey works well, but theres just no point in doing it unless they really are as young and tender as possible. Up here (N.W. Scotland) we wouldn't gather them after the end of May or early June.

I like them with roast meat or used instead of capers in pizzas etc.

Good luck

George