The image, above, shows the full ash tree, left and ash leavesand immature fruit (ash keys), right..
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Common Name: Ash |
| Scientific Name: Fraxinus excelsior |
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Other Names: European ash, Common Ash |
| Family: Oleaceae |
| Range: Europe, including Britain south of latitude 64°, to N. Africa and W. Asia. |
Physical Characteristics
Fraxinus excelsior is a hardy deciduous tree, growing to 30m (100 ft) by 20m (65 ft) in size. It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from April to May and seeds ripen from September to January. The flowers are dioecious (either male or female) and are wind pollinated. A tree will only produce one type of flower so both male and female trees need to be present for seeds to set.
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| Edible Parts: Fruit, Young Leaves |
 Edibility Rating: 2 
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 Known Hazards: The leaves are toxic to ruminants and the leaves and sap can cause contact dermatitis in those who are sensitive.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to European Ash along with all the European Ash containing recipes presented on this site, with 3 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain European Ash as a major wild food ingredient.
The European Ash, Fraxinus excelsior, (also known as Common Ash, Lofty Ash, The Gout Tree) is a tall deciduous tree of the Oleaceae (olive) family. The tree's common name derives from the Old English æsc, a word also routinely used in Old English documents to refer to spears made of ash wood. Ash seeds, commonly known as keys are actually a fruit of a type known as samara (ie they bear wings).
Young ash keys are typically preserved by pickling (steeping in salt and vinegar) before serving as a condiment. The leave are typically gathered in June and dried, when they can be used as an adulterant for tea.
As a food source for foragers, ash leaves can be prepared into a tea which is astringent. But the best part of the tree are the keys (fruit) which, if collected when very young and green, can be pickled and used in place of capers. Ash keys are bitter, however, and should be boiled in three or four changes of water before pickling which both removes the bitterness and tenderises the fruit.
Mature fruit can also be pressed to extract a cooking oil from them.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain European Ash as a major wild food ingredient.
The European Ash, Fraxinus excelsior, (also known as Common Ash, Lofty Ash, The Gout Tree) is a tall deciduous tree of the Oleaceae (olive) family. The tree's common name derives from the Old English æsc, a word also routinely used in Old English documents to refer to spears made of ash wood. Ash seeds, commonly known as keys are actually a fruit of a type known as samara (ie they bear wings).
Young ash keys are typically preserved by pickling (steeping in salt and vinegar) before serving as a condiment. The leave are typically gathered in June and dried, when they can be used as an adulterant for tea.
As a food source for foragers, ash leaves can be prepared into a tea which is astringent. But the best part of the tree are the keys (fruit) which, if collected when very young and green, can be pickled and used in place of capers. Ash keys are bitter, however, and should be boiled in three or four changes of water before pickling which both removes the bitterness and tenderises the fruit.
Mature fruit can also be pressed to extract a cooking oil from them.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all European Ash recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 3 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| Ras el hanout Origin: North Africa | Spiced Ash Key Pickle Origin: Britain | To pickle Samphire, Broom-buds, Kitkeys, Crucifix Pease, Purslane, or the like Otherways. Origin: Britain |
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