Recently, I was kindly given a jar of pickled Samphire. Marsh samphire, or ‘Salicornia europaea’.  Marsh samphire is related to the beet family and is often known as ‘glasswort’ from its former use in the manufacture of soda glass. Samphire is to be found near the sea but thrives in estuaries, where it colonises wetland areas and is rich in minerals and trace elements.

With a large salad, a piece of smoked mackerel, a hunk of bread and a cup of tea to wash it down, the samphire, which I have never tasted before was quite a treat.