Gathering Autumn for Christmas
- belindalouise17
- Oct 3, 2025
- 2 min read
Autumn is my favourite time of year. The air, cooler now, feels softer than the harsh heat of summer, and the light is more delicate and dappled. After the late summer rains, the grasses and hedgerows are fresh with green, while the trees begin to show their autumn colours, their tops and tips tinged with yellow and ochre.
As the hedgerow foliage thins, nature reveals her harvest for our store cupboards – wild plums and crab apples, hazlenuts and sweet chestnuts, rowan berries and sloes. These seasonal treasures have long been gathered to bring flavour through the darker months and a touch of brightness to the Christmas table.
Stirring Stuff at Christmas is, in many ways, a journey through the year, collecting flavours and delicacies to bring to the festive table. Autumn is one of the richest seasons for this: the hedgerows heavy with fruits and berries that can be preserved, steeped or frozen, ready to brighten December’s celebrations and prepare gifts for friends and family.
This month, I’m turning to three favourites that earn their keep at Christmas:
Blackberries:
Blackberries in the freezer: Blackberries are worth gathering while they’re plump and glossy on the brambles. Pick over carefully, freeze them on a tray so they don’t clump, and then bag them ready for winter puddings. They’re perfect for the Brown Sugar Pavlova with Maple Cream, Poached Plums, Figs & Blackberries, Topped with Maple-caramelised Pecans.
A showstopper of a dessert and one of my absolute favourites (recipe in the book).
Sloes:
Sloe for Sloe Gin: deep crimson, gently fruity, and perfect for soaking the pudding or to serve in a small glass by the fire. A jar or two tucked away now will be ready to open just as the festivities begin.
Rowan Berries:
Rowan Jelly: a sharp-sweet preserve with a ruby glow, delicious stirred into Christmas gravy to cut the richness of roast meats.
Autumn’s gifts are fleeting, but with a little forethought they can be bottled, frozen or steeped for Christmas. Always keep a collecting bag tucked in your pocket. Recipes for all the above can be found in Stirring Stuff at Christmas.
Happy cooking!
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