Now Forage

Apple (Malus): Background skin colour shifts from green toward yellow; seeds turn brown when ripe. Fruit separates from the spur with a gentle upward twist. Aroma develops near the base. Wild Malus fruit is often small and tart — excellent for cider and jelly.

Grape: Berries fully coloured and slightly soft. Stem where it joins the bunch turns woody and brown. Seeds easily visible inside. Sweet throughout when fully ripe — taste from different parts of the cluster as they ripen unevenly. Grapes do not continue ripening after harvest.

Japanese persimmon: Two types: astringent (Hachiya — must be very soft before eating) and non-astringent (Fuyu — eaten crisp). Both are orange when ripe. Hachiya: ripe when feels like a water balloon. Fuyu: ripe when orange, firm, and sweet even when crisp.

Mint: Harvest leaves just before flowering for peak flavour. Cut stems back by a third regularly to encourage bushy growth. Flavour declines after flowering — cut flower spikes off to extend harvest.

Olive: Harvest time depends on intended use: green olives (October, firm, very bitter — require curing); turning olives (November, red-purple, half-ripe — for oil or eating); black olives (December, fully ripe, shrivelling — sweeter, for oil). All must be cured before eating — never eat straight from the tree.

elderberry: Dark blue-black clusters when ripe. Cook thoroughly before eating — raw berries are mildly toxic. Ripe when all berries are dark and clusters hang downward.