FOR STARTERS

NEWS, NIBBLES OF KNOWLEDGE AND GOOD THINGS TO DO RIGHT NOW

WORDS: RACHEL WALKER, PHOEBE STONE, KERRY FOWLER, SUSAN LOW. ANJUM ANAND PORTRAIT: APARNA JAYAKUMAR

MUCH ADO ABOUT MULBERRIES

Join in the search for London’s food history

The mulberry tree was introduced to London by the Romans and is often associated with medieval monasteries, where the fruit was grown for its perceived medicinal properties. By the 16th century, fashionable society was using mulberries to bring a taste of the East to dining tables, and some of the saplings they planted survive in private gardens and squares.

The Conservation Foundation has launched a project to uncover London’s mulberry heritage by recording the locations of these rare trees – if you know of one, you can register it on their website.

Black mulberries (white ones are rarer) look like large blackberries or loganberries and can be eaten raw or cooked as other berries – if you can beat the birds to them. Not into urban foraging? Buy a mulberry gift set online and support the project’s aim to provide mulberry saplings for schools and communities. moruslondinium.org

THE MUSIC I’ M COOKING TO . . .

ANJUM ANAND

I like a lot of different types of music so it’s hard to come up with just one list, but at the moment I’m listening to:

1Prince was my all-time favourite. I’m revisiting Purple Rain, Kiss and Under the Cherry Moon.

2 David Sanborn (saxophonist) and some light jazz when I cook alone.