Written by Sammie Longhorn, Lime Wood’s resident forager

One of the very first signs that winter is tentatively beginning to loosen her icy grip is the emergence of catkins. Starting as a mere smattering in January, by mid-February there is a proliferation of pale-yellow catkins dancing and wiggling on the otherwise bare branches of the Hazel tree.

Behind Lime Wood Hotel is the beautiful Pondhead Inclosure. This is a wonderfully unique habitat which is conscientiously managed by The Pondhead Conservation Trust to create the largest area of hazel coppice within the New Forest National Park. Coppicing is an ancient technique whereby Hazel trees are cut down to ground level in order to harvest the subsequent regrowth for fencing, building materials and even for traditional charcoal creation, another heritage craft that takes place in the inclosure. This land management technique has created a diverse habitat for insects and rare bird life. In spring it is well worth taking a stroll around the inclosure to enjoy the peace and beauty of the primroses and bluebells.

Such a density of Hazel trees holds additional gifts for a forager. Bursting with micronutrients, protein and healthy fats, hazelnuts are an amazing culinary ingredient. We love to make hazelnut biscotti, chocolate and hazelnut spread and dukkha (a Middle Eastern seed, nut and spice blend).

Unfortunately, you simply cannot rely on the UK hazelnut harvest. We could be patient and wait hopefully until autumn, but the likelihood is that the entire nut harvest will be gathered by a far more efficient forager than we could ever hope to be: the grey squirrel. We can, however, take advantage of a much more abundant and earlier harvest, the catkins themselves. Catkins are the male reproductive part of the tree, designed to open out and release their pollen to the wind, which will find its mark on the inconspicuous, red female flowers, which then swell to subsequently become the autumn’s nut harvest.

The nutritional magic of catkins is contained in the glorious pollen, but sadly for us, the catkin’s life purpose is to effectively disseminate that pollen. If you are lucky and find yourself harvesting on a warm, sunny and still day, you may find your fingers and basket covered in the golden powder of pollen which is immensely nutrient dense, packed with protein and minerals. Otherwise, once empty of pollen, its merely just a good source of dietary fibre but catkins can still be viewed as an interesting ingredient to experiment with.

Eaten raw, catkins are unpleasantly astringent. I lightly roast them at 160 degrees for 15 minutes which enhances their beautifully nutty, oaty flavour. They can then be ground into a flour substitute or used in my favourite way, as an addition to crumble toppings, biscuits and flapjacks. A word of caution which I learnt the hard way during my wild food experiment: catkins are a fun addition when used sparingly in a recipe, but the bitter and astringent notes can still surface if they are used as a predominate ingredient such as a catkin porridge. Perhaps like many ingredients, the catkin really sings when paired with oodles of sugar and butter.

For anyone that has attended my walks, I always love to delve into a plant's history and myth, and the Hazel has beautifully rich folkloric associations. Known by the Druids as the tree of wisdom, it was viewed as a portal to connect our ancestors with their innate knowing and intuition. There is a beautiful Irish legend about the great hero Fin McCool (or Fionn mac Cumhaill) and The Salmon of Knowledge. This salmon had received legendary status by eating the nuts from each of the nine trees that grew in a sacred grove by the banks of the River Boyne. When Finn ate the salmon, it bestowed upon him all the wisdom of all the realms, enabling him to become a seer, poet, warrior and leader of otherworldly skill and power. This association with divination and magic persists to this day and Hazel is always the wood that is used in the ancient art of water dowsing.

Join Sammie on one of her upcoming foraging walks from Lime Wood into the heart of the New Forest: Foraging · Lime Wood Hotel