At first glance, foraging sounds like it has endless benefits. Many plants that grow in forests and meadows are not only edible, but also very aromatic. What's more, they are virtually free along the wayside and are literally waiting to be picked. On closer inspection, however, you realize that a lot of time goes into searching for, collecting and processing them. Because it can take a whole year before the spruce fizz or sea buckthorn sour ends up on the menu. Unlike supermarket shelves, the supply of wild ingredients is seasonal and limited - and potentially poisonous.
"It's a bad idea to poison your customers"
If you've seen the movie "Into the Wild" (and if you haven't: spoiler alert), you know that wild fruits and herbs are great until you poison yourself. A basic understanding of botany and a sound knowledge of the specific plants you want to collect and their potentially poisonous doppelgangers are essential. Experts who are familiar with the subject offer courses in almost every city.
These are a good start to learning more about the subject, as are guides in book form. You should be careful with apps that use artificial intelligence to identify photos of plants. They can certainly offer a helpful "second opinion", but everyone bears the responsibility and ultimately the liability themselves. Or as Camper English, who runs the informative blog cocktailsafe.org about potentially harmful cocktail ingredients, once said: "It's a bad idea to poison your customers."
"Toxicity also depends in part on the timing."
Identifying the plant is not enough. You need to know which parts of the plant are edible and which are poisonous. For example, all parts of the yew plant are highly poisonous - except the red fruits (without seeds!). Toxicity also depends to some extent on the timing. For example, some fruits are more toxic when they are unripe than when they are fully ripe. The reverse is true for rhubarb.
This contains oxalic acid, which is present in high concentrations in the leaves in particular. At the same time, the rule of thumb is that the stems should not be harvested after St. John's Day (June 24), as the toxin also accumulates there over time.
In addition to toxic substances, collectors should also be aware of the legal situation in the respective canton. While collecting for personal use may be permitted in most public places "to the extent customary in the locality" (as stated in the Bernese Nature Conservation Ordinance, for example), a permit may be required for "commercial collecting". Anyone who collects protected species is liable to prosecution.
You should only ever harvest as much of the permitted plants as you actually need. In addition, you should never graze everything and leave some for the birds and insects. It is best to collect in public places or, if necessary, ask the landowner for permission.
Processing and preparation
Once the herbs, roots and fruits have been collected, they need to be turned into a durable and tasty cocktail ingredient. Infusions, liqueurs or essences as well as syrups and cordials are suitable in liquid form. Fruit is best kept whole or pureed in the freezer. Flowers such as clover, evening primrose, wild pansies, daisies, daisies or apple trees are suitable for drink decorations.
They can be candied or dried and added to the rim of a glass with sugar or salt. The leaves of raspberries, blackberries and currants can also be used as tea if they are fermented beforehand. To do this, harvest young leaves, leave them to wilt for a few hours and place them on a drying cloth. Use a rolling pin to press the leaves and break open their cells. The cloth is then rolled up and placed in an airtight plastic bag in a warm place (25-30° C) for three to four days.
"Unlike the supermarket shelves, the supply of wild ingredients is seasonal and limited - and potentially toxic."
The fermented leaves are then dried and can be used like tea. If you go to all this trouble, it would be a shame if the guest didn't even know what they were drinking. Foraging should definitely be a topic on the bar menu. The topic is also ideal for social media. Is the spruce syrup made from self-collected spruce shoots from the forest behind the mayor's estate?
Or do the flowers for the elderberry sparkling wine come from the local mountain? Stories like these undoubtedly belong to cocktails that were made from home-gathered ingredients.
