My foraging 'addiction' has started to develop since an early age in Slovakia. I was really lucky. Both my parents loved gardening and also loved to take us walking in the mountains. My sister and myself learned how to care for all types of fruit trees and vegetables, how to identify them just by looking at the shape of the tree or its leaves. Helping out, observing my parents and grandparents was all we did, but it was the best way to learn. Not that I really cared about any of it at the time and specially not in my teenage years...:). And while exploring the mountains, we learned all about the tasty mushrooms, which, how and when to pick them. You would only find certain types of mushrooms growing under certain type of trees, so we learned a bit about the trees too. But the wild blueberry, raspberry and strawberry picking were the best!
I loved foraging in Scotland too, however, the days of foraging for SLOES on a frosty October Sunday's afternoons to make the yummy sloe gin or collecting huge blueberries in the sunny Pine tree forrests near the Loch Katrine are long gone.
But now I discovered West Indies! Barbados, Bequia and Grenada are beautiful green tropical islands. Most of the fruit that grows here we can buy in UK, but seeing them growing on the trees is super! I learned a lot from the lovely local people already and developed an addiction to the sweet juicy mangos - there are mango trees everywhere - with rum, in your morning porridge or in a salad with some nice grilled fish, there is nothing better! Pawpaw, Star fruit, Sugar cane, Coconuts, Nutmeg, Almonds, Avocado, Bananas, Oranges, Lemons, Tamarind - take your pick! An interesting fruit is a bread fruit, a large green ball like shape that grows on the massive trees. This was and is used as a substitute to wheat as that does not grow here. I attach a few photos below.
Maria x
Sugar Cane fields, mostly seen in Barbados.
Getting thirsty on the beach? No problem - Foraging for coconuts with help from James!
Yummy porridge with Mango.
Coconut trees in Bequia - this island used to produce many coconuts with plantations everywhere. Now they are mostly mini hotels!
Sorrel - used to make a refreshing drink.