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CROCKETT’S Twitter: @survivalcoursesCOUNTRY WITH JONNY CROCKETT
I
n a museum in Italy there is a stick. An
unremarkable stick. A stick that you’d flick
out of the way if you were going to sit down
where it was.
It wasn’t until it was analysed for traces of birch
tar that scientists discovered something
unexpected. It showed traces of porridge. At least
something like porridge. It was, in fact, a whisk.
With the modern trend for coffee lovers to
always be pursuit of unusual blends and all
manner of milk-to-coffee combinations, the whisk
could just be the perfect thing for the modern manor woman to have in the wilds. A flat white or a
frothy latte, anyone?
Well, this is so simple that it actually takes less
time to make than it will take to read how!YOU WILL NEED:The top of a conifer sapling
A knife
A chisel-ended piece of wood with a
V-shaped notch cut in the end
A confier rootFind a sapling with as many side shoots around
the top as you can (pic 1). Most seem to have
four, but I searched a little longer and found a
sixer (pics 2 and 3) – the Holy Grail of Conifer
Whisk Making! Cut the top of the sapling.
With your knife, very gently slice a few needles
from the side shoots. You want to cut through the
needles and the bark, but not through the side
shoots (pic 4).
You can then peel the bark with the remaining
needles still attached from the wood (pic 5). This
step is actually easier than it sounds. If the saplingMaking a whisk, Ötzi style!
If you fancy a frothier coffee while on your shoot work party this summer, why not give this
old-fashioned whisk a go? It’ll be ready before your water has even boiled!
PICTURE:
JONNY CROCKETT
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