Western Hemlock
Supplied by Totally Wild UK
Suggested use:
We recommend you boil up a sprig of this to enjoy as a cup of tea with a little honey or a slice of lemon.
You can also add this to soups, casseroles, stews or even gravy, as a replacement for herbs. It has a pine/citrus like flavour and goes really well with bay leaves.
You can stuff your nut roast or your meat with it and you can even roast vegetables or potatoes on top of it, to give them a wonderful flavour.
Make sure you have a good whiff of your Douglas Fir leaves - that pine and citrus scent comes from compounds called terpenes. If you wish you can put a little under your pillow to bring the smell of the forest indoors overnight.
Did you know that trees talk to and take care of each other? They can send biochemical messages in terpenes in the air, as well as through underground root systems that are created by symbiotic fungal colonies. This communication network transfers nutrients from bigger trees, to its saplings and those with insufficient access to nutrients. Trees also warn one another when trouble arrives, so they can prepare their own defences.
To learn more about Trees I highly recommend 'The Secret Life of Trees' by an enlightened agriculture advocate Colin Tudge
Further info
https://totallywilduk.co.uk/2021/01/04/douglas-fir-and-apple-membrillo-recipe/
