3. Add Vinegar & Salt

Hawthorn Ink

What will you need

  1. Plastic Containers for Berries

  2. 1.5-2litre Stainless Steel Pan

  3. Stainless Steel Seive

  4. Potato Masher

  5. Wooden Spoon

  6. Cheesecloth

  7. Glass Measuring Jug

  8. Ink Jar 250-300ml

  9. Gum Arabic Powder

  10. Vinegar

  11. Table salt

  12. Winter Green Essential Oil

Foraging Hawthorne Berry

In the British countryside you can find Hawthorne along Hedgerows , parks and woodlands. Before it is time to go foraging for Berries it is easier to know where to find the Tree or Hedge to ensure you have to collect. I collect my Berries from 3 trees in a field close to a woodland. The trees have given sheep shelter during the year.

I only take enough for my needs , however , you need quite a lot of Berries to make enough ink. For guidance I have made just under 200ml of Ink from 1000ml by volume of Berries. It is enough for me to share a little and keep the rest for my art.

It is fun going out into nature and identifying plants that will provide ink in the future. You have your natural larder and can forage when ready rather than hoard.

Hawthorne by the name are a little prickly so be careful in collecting. I use Bonsai scissors to cut the stem close to the Berries and drop them into a bag.

Hawthorne should last a week in a bag in a fridge if you cannot make the ink straight away , or even longer in a freezer.

Hawthorne in Folklore

Hawthorne Ink Recipe

  1. Clean Berries

Firstly you will need to remove the berries into a container from your foraging bag. I have a plastic lidded container which I have marked lines for volumes. I am not ultra particular that some berries have the tiny stems remaining as they do not contain any colour to contaminate the ink.

Once de-berried I will place the Berries in a Stainless Steel Seive and clean under a tap. I do this in sections.

Place the Berries into your cooking pan.

2. Place Berries in Pan

Ensure you have big enough pan to contain the Berries and liquid, I have by volume 1 litre of berries and my pan is 1.5litre.

My rule of thumb in adding Vinegar to Berries is 1/4 vinegar by volume of Berries. 1 litre of Berries = 250ml of vinegar.

As you will find out , Hawthorne Berries are not that Juicy , like Elderberry or Blackberry. Initially I have added 300ml of vinegar.

Add a teaspoon of Table Salt into the mixture.

4. Cook Berries

Bring up the liquid to simmering , or just before simmering

This stage cooking process will be around 10 minutes from simmering.

Once the berries start to warm up and loosen up , use your potato masher and start mashing up the berries.

Be Careful

You need to be present whilst doing this process as you will discover the liquid is soaked up by the mashed berries , ensure you are not burning the bottom of pan

At around 5 minutes you will notice the mixture is quite dry , you need to add another 100-150ml of vinegar to the mixture. Have the vinegar ready in a measuring jug so you can keep an eye of the cooking.

Add more vinegar and cook gently for 5 minutes.

5. Extract Ink. ( Part 1 )

Have a glass measuring jug ready and a stainless steel sieve which corresponds with the jug size so you don’t have any spills.

With a wooden spoon transfer the mixture from the pan into the sieve and use the back of the wooden spoon to press out the liquid.

Continue until all mixture has been done

Discard dry organic material to composting.

The liquid is very gloopy but a beautiful red colour.

6. Cook Liquid

Check quantity of gloopy mixture in glass measuring jug. I had 150ml.

Add same volume of vinegar to double quantity , stir to combine both. The gloopy mixture will be thinned out

Transfer back into your Stainless Steel pan , add 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Bring the liquid to near simmering point and gently cook for 5-7 minutes.

7. Sieve Ink

cut a piece of cheesecloth so it can be folded 4 times and it is big enough to cover the Stainless Steel sieve and enough around the edges.

Place your Stainless Steel sieve over the glass measuring jug , the sieve just fits one the jug otherwise things get a bit tricky.

Place Cheesecloth over the sieve and begin to pour the mixture and let it filter through the Cheesecloth. Leave alone.

The Ink will of passed through into the jug and the cheesecloth holding organic material.

The reason I make the cheesecloth big enough to hold the material and squeeze the liquid out without the material going everywhere.

It is the organic material which will rot.

8. Decant into jar

Before you begin to make the ink , have your jar or jars ready. Sterilise the jars. I use some lemon juice and boiling water.

Decant the Ink into the jar carefully , use a Funnel . You do not want all that work spilling everywhere.

9. Add Gum Arabic Powder

If the ink is cold by now , you can always before decanting add the ink to a pan and warm up.

If you are adding powder it helps dissolve.

If you are adding Gum Arabic Solution then there is no need

I have added for 175ml of ink , 1/2 teaspoon of Gum arabic powder into the ink jar , lidded and shaken up a few times. It will dissolve.

10. Add Wintergreen Essential Oil

You can use other anti bacterial essential oils if you have them. Thyme or clove are great.

You can also put a clove directly into the jar.

This should keep your ink for 12 months.

11. Label Jar

I use sticky address labels

I write on the Ink Type and Year.

I know that it will be September when I make it as I make the Ink as I forage it.

12. Document your Ink

I have two sketchbooks to document my ink

  1. I use Khadi paper hard backed sketch book as I know the paper is PH Neutral

  2. I use Arteza A5 sketchbook as I know it has an Alkali content which affects the colour.

13. Different paper

Alkali in the paper will affect the colour.

Look at this as fun in which you can be curious with and play around with natural inks and paper.

14. Share with Friends

The majority of the ink I make will be used on my own art.

However, I am a gifter and share my work with friends. Those who I think appreciate the made Ink will get a small bottle of Ink

Sharing is a beautiful concept and when we look at how nature has gifted us beautiful plants to make colour from we move from things being a commodity to inter connected world.