General Chat

Where my dad is a manic blackberry picker at the moment I have been desperately trying to find things to do with them.One has been to make enough jam to feed a small nation.We will never eat it all so I have offered some to the local night shelter where men who are homeless can go for the night.
They are not sure if they can take it and I am waiting for them to call me back when they have decided.

Sharron, I am having to rack my brain here, but some years ago when I was involved in some sort of function, that involved food that was over, we took it to the local hospital and OAP home. But you cannot do it nowadays, for H & S regulations.
Julia in Derbyshire

hi silly isnt it you think they would be glad of it but i suppose this day and age its all done by the book my dad and his friends who have allottments take all their excess veg to some of the old peoples homes as well as giving it too neighbours

Hi Sharron & all . Crazy or what!! Years ago I used to help on a 'Soup supper run' locally. M&S were very good and always donated their unsold sandwiches for the homeless. -As mentioned, can't do it now.

Did anyone alse watch Jonathan Maitland and his 'Freegans' raiding supermarket bins for perfectly good, not even old food? AWT turned the spoils into really good dishes. I think the world (or Eurotwaddle at least) has gone mad. Thank goodness the lot in Whitehall have said they will abolish recommended sell-by dates.

By the way - try making Blackberry Brandy with surplus - rather like sloe gin, only sweeter.

Off to find an unguarded, unlocked supermarket bin! x

My friend works for a well-known supermarket and was horrified at having to dump many crates of perfectly good bananas, because their 'best before' date was up. Some of them were still greenish, so perfectly fresh enough to eat and my friend asked if they couldn't perhaps be donated to a nearby home, ...but No..... H & S decree that this OK fruit had to be thrown away.

Gwyn

QED Gwyn : In the programme one of AWT's dishes was a banana caramel bread & butter pudding. One of the Freegans said there were always lots of bananas. Plus, lots of people prefer their bananas really soft. One man's sell-by date is another's 'just right' !!
I buy almost all my bread at half price. Straight into freezer, take out a slice or two as needed. Whole bakery loaves are wonderful 're-baked' in a hot oven - Or don't others do that nowadays?

I do that with my scones if they get a bit dated, put them in the microwave for a minute and they taste quite fresh again. Not being big eaters this does happen, but you have to bake enough when the oven's on!

I expect those homeless men forage in the supermarket bins,at least I hope they do.Bad as my kitchen might be,it can't be worse than a bin can it?

Oh happy day!
They are able to take my jam because somebody here has a hygiene certificate.OH has an advanced one,he teaches it.He still couldn't stop me spitting in the jam if I wanted to!

As I remember from a friend who was WI, they have their kitchens inspected and have to stick to rules and regulations, like covering their hair, and not allowing anyone else in the kitchen and no pets there either. Much more strict than you are yourself.

You cant be too careful at times!! but be sensible......

my Brothers' wife and daughter went down with suspected E colli a week or two ago.........(ssssh!! from allegedly a eating out place)

Last November, I had a craft stall at a local village fair and the people next to me had about 60 jars of home made jam on sale - wonder if you could do something like that with them?

I've been out picking them today (and yesterday) - I'm up to 2lb 9oz! (Sadly for EU regulations, I'm not sure what that is in kilos - about 1.3kg, I suppose?)

Hi Sharron , so glad that all your lovely jam won't go to waste.

As for H & S - even Heston Blumenthal got it wrong by not handling & cooking shellfish properly - pretty basic stuff one would have thought. As kids, when food was rationed, we ate just about anything - a quick rinse, common sense and a sense of smell were all we used. Is it just a coincidence that most of the post war baby-boomers like me, are still fighting fit and active?
Our food was unsanitized, unprocessed,raised on cow dung (organic in new speak) very un H & S - and the only E number was when Mum said 'Only ONE' and meant it!

they do freeze very well and then you can either make jam later on or use for blackberry crumbles or in a pancake with a bit of ice cream.

Paula, during the war we ate all sorts of things collected from hedges and fields. Mum would be saving hazel nuts now for the xmas cakes and puddings, and there was a special ration of jam sugar. Anything like rosehips were collected and taken to collecting depots and made into syrup for childrens coughs and colds. Stepmother made wines out of anything that would ferment! Potato peelings and wheat I remember.

Oh Yes Jean - I'd forgotten the rose hip gathering! My older brother and our evacuee were enthusiastic gatherers apparently. (I was a bit little!) I'm sure in later years this was still done for pocket money. I do remember searching hedgerows for eggs, when hens were laying away (all free range then!) Gran could make jam, cordial, cough syrup out of practically anything we picked - blackberries, sloes, hips, bullaces etc. She brewed amazing dandelion & burdock - I can still taste it now!