Sarah Watson says trying golden gorse will lift the spirits

Primroses are regaling us with their cheerful faces now, but gorse has been bringing striking golden-yellow brightness to the sodden winter landscape since early January.

Native common gorse (Ulex europeaus) is widespread on Sussex heaths, roadsides, railways and fields, flowering mainly from January to June. It’s a large, evergreen shrub covered in sharp, needle-like leaves with yellow coconut-perfumed flowers, the scent being more noticeable on sunny days.

The flowers are edible and impart a distinctive coconutty, floral-vanilla flavour to infusions. The petals can be used as a decorative salad garnish, scattered over cakes, or infused in boiling water to make a tea.

Crystallise them with egg white and fine sugar (this intensifies the coconut flavour) then sprinkle over ice cream - ideally a gorse ice cream, made by heating the cream or milk of your recipe with a handful of gorse flowers, then cooling and leaving it overnight in the fridge before straining.

Pictured is my coconut and lime cake with gorse flower rum frosting, topped with fresh gorse petals.

Gorse flowers are also used in the new breed of artisan British gins, in winemaking, and to flavour whiskey and beer.

Try John Wright’s River Cottage handbook recipe for gorse flower white rum, or infuse a handful in vodka for a couple of days, before straining and adding sugar to taste.

The flowers provide pollen for insects, especially on warmer winter days. Luckily picking too many is difficult as the bush is well-protected by spines, so gathering them needs to be a slow, careful process – gloves are recommended!

n Get wild food tips and details of my foraging and cookery courses on: www.wildfeast.co.uk