It’s usually at about this time of year, excluding this particular year where everything seems to have already sprung and died back, that the light at the end of winter’s dark tunnel should be in sight. Thoughts may occasionally drift to the garden shed where neglected tools, fading seed packets and wellies caked in last seasons dried mud lay forgotten in freshly spun cob webs. If you’re anything like me, you will try to put those trespassing notions of spring cleaning to one side for as long as possible and go back to nursing those mid winter munchies. But outside, Mother Nature is doing a little spring cleaning of her own by injecting some colour into a drab barren landscape.

Young leaves are edible and have a slightly nutty flavour

It can still be pretty slim pickings this early in the year for a forager, but dotted through hedgerows are little flashes of green as Hawthorn trees awake from their hibernation. The young leaves of the Hawthorn are edible and have a slightly nutty flavour. They can be used to garnish a salad, much in the same way you might do so with coriander or rocket, or as a herb in cooking.

They can be eaten raw, though frankly I find eating them like this to be a pretty unpleasant affair, as the leaves can be quite woody if not picked early enough. If I’m completely honest, I’m not all that sold on the flavour either. But just like any cuisine, there is always going to be something you put in your mouth that makes you curl your lip in horror, but perhaps you might find Hawthorn leaves to be rather palatable. Go for a walk in this early spring air and try some for yourself! Just because I don’t like them doesn’t mean you won’t.

If you’re not 100% sure that what you’re picking is safe for human consumption, don’t pick it. If you’re prone to food allergies, or pregnant, always seek medical advice before consuming anything foraged in the wild.