Woodruff
Woodruff season starts in early Spring and carries through to early Winter with the flowering period being May to June.
Season:
Look:
Woodruff looks very similar to Cleavers and other Bedstraws. The leaves grow in whorls of up to 8 leaves around the stem. In the summer it grows small white flowers at the top of the stem. It has a grassy, vanilla like scent
Habitat:
Woodruff likes shady patches. It can often be found in woodlands and shady hedgerows.
Edibility:
Woodruff has a lovely vanilla like flavour. It is widely recommended that the leaves are dried before use. Once dried they can be used in any place that vanilla might be used, infused into syrups, dairy, or liquids. In the restaurant we also make a green oil out of the leaves, we then use this to either garnish dishes, make marinades or flavour other products such as our woodruff goats curd which we filled our Spring croustade with.