The Taste of Britain. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

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       South England

      Blueberry (High Bush)

      DESCRIPTION:

      BLUEBERRIES ARE SMALL ROUND BERRIES JUST UNDER 1CM DIAMETER; THEY HAVE A THIN BLACK SKIN COVERED IN A POWDERY BLUE BLOOM, GREENISH OR PURPLISH FLESH, AND A DISTINCTIVE SLIGHTLY WINY FLAVOUR.

      HISTORY:

      High bush blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum, are related to the native British bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and flourish in similar conditions. A precedent for the use of blueberries was well established in hill and heathland areas of the British Isles, where the inhabitants were accustomed to using wild blaeberries or bilberries in various sweet dishes. In Scotland, in the hills of Angus and Perthshire, blaeberries were picked by itinerant travellers who used a wooden device which they combed through the small bushes to extract the berries. These they sold in towns and villages to be eaten with cream, used for jam, or made into pies. Since the wild berries are time-consuming to gather, fruit-farmers have been experimenting with the alternative high bush blueberry.

      This was developed in New Jersey, USA in 1920, putting to good use acid, boggy soils which had previously been thought worthless for growing. They have been grown in Britain since the 1930s. The first edition of Law’s Grocer’s Manual (c. 1895) mentions ‘swamp blueberries’, which grew on bushes up to 6 feet (2 metres) high, so it is possible that the British growers were aware of this type of plant some decades earlier but no evidence for their cultivation has been found. According to grower Jeremy Trehane, the bushes with which his family began production were offered free to British growers by a Canadian university in the 1940s. Cultivation has spread to other places in the lowland heath areas of the southern counties of England. In Scotland the berries were originally developed at the Scottish Crop Research Institute at Invergowrie as an alternative to blaeberries.

      TECHNIQUE:

      High bush blueberries grow well in impoverished acid soils (ideally pH 4.3-4.8, although they can tolerate slightly higher pH if dressed with peat) of the type which underlie many of the heathlands of Britain. The ground is cleared and the bushes planted at an appropriate density. Their only major nutrient requirement is potash, but to do well they do need heath-land environments, as good growth relies on the presence of a particular micro-organism in the soil, which is not found in land that has been cultivated. They are pruned lightly in winter to remove old wood which has not fruited in the previous season. Protection from birds is necessary.

      REGION OF PRODUCTION:

      SOUTH ENGLAND.

      Borage

      DESCRIPTION:

      BORAGE (BORAGO OFFICINALIS) IS A TALL ANNUAL HERB WITH COBALT-BLUE FLOWERS AND STEMS AND LEAVES WHICH ARE COVERED IN COARSE HAIRS; THE LEAVES AND FLOWERS HAVE A FLAVOUR REMINISCENT OF CUCUMBER, AND A NATURALLY COOLING EFFECT WHEN EATEN.

      HISTORY:

      Borage was probably introduced to Britain by the Romans, and has subsequently spread and naturalized on the chalk hills of southern England. There have been literary references to it since the thirteenth century. It was valued as a medicinal herb, and was made into cordials. Apothecaries considered it promoted cheerfulness and herbalists still use it to ease colds and throat complaints. The herb has also been used to decorate and flavour drinks. Dorothy Hartley (1954) quotes a recipe for claret cup from a Victorian magazine. This gives instructions for each glass to be flavoured with a sprig of borage, commenting on the unique flavour the herb gives and remarking, ‘On this account the pretty blue flowers can be had of every gardener during the picnic season, and it is grown under glass all the year round for the express purpose of flavouring claret-cup.’

      Borage is grown in gardens on a small scale and produced in larger volumes by market gardeners and specialist herb growers. Several growers who specialize in herbs and salad vegetables, mostly in the southern and eastern part of England, grow borage as part of their mixed crop. Recently, it has been established as a field crop for the sake of the oil that can be extracted. Always recognized as a useful bee-plant, this modern development has allowed some apiarists to produce monofloral borage honey.

      The flowers are used to garnish summer drinks, especially Pimm’s and claret cups. They are also added alone, or with other edible flowers such as nasturtiums, pot marigolds, chive flowers and heartsease, to salads; the leaves can be added too, if chopped finely. It is also used to flavour vinegars. The seeds can be used for the extraction of oils for food supplements. Until very recently, it was possible to buy borage flowers candied with sugar, although it appears that no-one makes these at present.

      Alkanet, a related plant with similar leaves but smaller, rounder flowers is sometimes mistaken for borage; it is edible, although the applications are medicinal rather than culinary.

      TECHNIQUE:

      Borage is relatively undemanding and although some recommend well-drained calcareous soils, in practice it is tolerant. The plant prefers a sunny aspect. Commercial growers start the plants from seed under glass in about March and plant out in April. Borage is susceptible to frost, and dies back as the weather becomes colder in autumn. Once established, the plants will self-seed and grow again in the same ground year after year. The leaves and flowers wilt easily after picking, and so are generally picked to order for hotels and restaurants. One technique used by cooks for preserving the flowers is to freeze them in ice cubes.

      REGION OF PRODUCTION:

      SOUTH ENGLAND; EAST ENGLAND.

      Cherry

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