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Cool off this summer with Pineapple Weed and Coconut Ice Lollies

Congratulations, it’s officially hot enough in the UK to put aside your complaints about the dreary grey skies, and unending torrential rain – to now begin complaining about the heat. Jokes aside, it’s finally the season to be thinking of hot weather snacks, and even better, forageable hot weather snacks.

If you’re into making iced desserts, there’s 101 ways to go, with Instagram churning out never-ending options for special blenders to make ice creams, three ingredient sorbets or ‘frozen barks’ – but how do you make something a little more interesting, a little more unusual, something with a wow factor, that you can find just about anywhere? We asked Rachel Lambert, forager extraordinaire, for a recipe to enjoy during the great British summer – and she came back with a wild card: Pineapple Weed and Coconut Ice Lollies, but first... what the hell is pineapple weed?

The where, what and why

You’ve undoubtedly spotted pineapple weed before, and not known its potential – seeing it pop up on paths and pavements, at the roadside at a petrol station (not that that’s where you want to get it from). It was introduced into Europe in the late 19th century from North America, and its widespread takeover is assumed to be from the motor transport boom – where it was picked up by tyres and distributed all across Europe.  

There aren’t many lookalikes for this plant, so the chances of picking something else are low. Its fine and feathery leaves have a pineapple smell when crushed, and the large yellow heads themselves also resemble pineapples. It comes as no surprise that it’s a member of the daisy family, looking a little like an oxeye daisy without the white petals, and larger head. This giant head is in fact, a ‘composite flower’, so it’s made up of lots of individual blooms.  

You’ll find this plant everywhere, from crop fields, nurseries, vineyards and orchards to more unusual spots, like sand bars, riverbanks – even on heavily concreted and tarmacked areas like roadsides and pavements. Just make sure wherever you get it from, it’s unlikely to have been sprayed with pesticides or otherwise coated in something you don’t want to eat...  

As for why you’d want to pick it, it has a gentle, sweet pineapple flavour as well as a number of purported medicinal qualities. As for what you can do with it, over to Rachel for the steps!

Pineapple Weed and Coconut Ice Lollies

Makes 6 | Vegan and gluten-free  

These lollies give a cooling hit of sweet, grassy pineapple weed, followed by a layer of puréed pineapple, sitting on a sweet coconut base. My niece and nephew, Fin and Elana, always devour them without a word – possibly the best feedback I could get! You’ll need a lolly mould to make them; some have built-in sticks, but otherwise you can use traditional wooden ones.

Pineapple Weed Syrup

Makes 500ml/18fl oz | Vegan and gluten-free  

Hand on heart, this is the best pineapple weed syrup you’ll ever try: aromatic and citrussy. The secret is to discard the green bits and just use the flowerheads. It’s delicious drizzled over yoghurt, diluted for drinks or used in Pineapple Weed and Coconut Ice Lollies.  

Ingredients:

150g/5oz pineapple weed flowerheads (no stalks)  

250g/9oz golden granulated sugar 2 tbsp pineapple juice  

Method:

  1. Place the flowerheads and 500ml/18fl oz water in a small saucepan and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes, then leave to cool. 
  2. Strain through a jelly bag or fine sieve, squeezing out all the liquid you can, then discard the flowerheads and add the liquid back into the pan along with the sugar and pineapple juice. 
  3. Bring to a simmer over a low heat, stirring, and cook for a further 3 minutes. 
  4. Store in a sterilised bottle in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Ice Lollies

Ingredients:

100ml/31/2fl oz Pineapple Weed Syrup 

200g/7oz canned or fresh pineapple, puréed in a blender or food processor  

100ml/31/2fl oz coconut milk  

Method:

  1. Mix half the syrup with 100ml/31/2fl oz water and pour into the lolly moulds so each is equally filled. Freeze for 2 hours.  
  2. Take out of the freezer and pour in the puréed pineapple to form the second layer, dividing the mixture equally between the moulds. If using wooden lolly sticks, the syrupy layer should be firm enough now to push a stick into each so the sticks stay upright. Freeze for a further hour.  
  3. Combine the remaining syrup with the coconut milk, stir well then top up each mould. If using lolly moulds that have built-in sticks on the lids, place the lids on now and return to the freezer. Eat within 1 month if using an unlidded lolly mould with wooden sticks, and within 6 months if using a lidded one.

Taken from Wild & Sweet by Rachel Lambert and published by Hoxton Mini Press.

If you’re curious about making more wild recipes, or how to get out foraging in nature, check out Rachel’s Instagram, buy her book or just head straight to her website for more!

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