Blackberries and maggots!

[FourArms]

I have just picked about a million blackberries. Carrying them in I noticed a few tiny caterpillars (?) crawling on them. Have thoroughly washed them in cold water. Anything else I can do to eradicate creepy crawlies before I make a crumble?!

[whomovedmychocolate]

If you are putting them in a crumble you can put them in the freezer which will kill anything living on them and make it easier to rinse them off before cooking.

[cornsillk]

Agree with WMMC about cooking them to kill them. my MIL once served me up raspberries from her garden which were crawling with maggots and expected me to eat them. MIL and FIL used to eat them and dh also (he was too scared of MIL to say no.) I lost my appetite and have never been able to eat raspberries since.

[stitchtime]

washing in salt water. apparently they then rise to the surface

[whomovedmychocolate]

stitchtime - rationally that sounds like a good idea, but utterly boaksome. Can you imagine the horror of skimming maggots off food you are then going to eat.

[BigGobMum]

I never eat blackberries because of the maggots - they seem to be always crawling with them (when you pick them yourself). I suppose the ones in the supermarket have been sprayed with killer.

[FourArms]

Well, I did the soak, and didn't see any more except the two I picked off at the start (which I'm sure were caterpillars, not maggots).

The crumble went down well!

[JillJ72]

Cover with water, any critters will rise to the surface and can be removed

[BigGobMum]

How do you know youve got them all though? Can they get trapped inside the berries?

[Theinvisibleone]

Unless you are a vegetarian it doesn't really matter.

You won't taste them.

Just try not to think about it.

Or just think about it as a little extra protein!

[Hassled]

I don't think they are maggots - they're too thin. I picked a bunch yesterday and was trying to identify them - they don't move like maggots (they crawl/wriggle rather than just wriggle).

Anyway - I just rinse the hell out of them, for bloody ages. Eventually the mysterious white things will be drowned at the bottom to the sink. Then you have to scoop them out.

Blackberries are still so worth it. I bloody love them.

[Hassled]

Gratuitous use of "bloody", twice. Sorry.

[RedLollyYellowLolly]

Same issues here too.

I wash, leave standing for a while, soak, rinse then cook and try to forget

[FourArms]

They are so lovely, and free. It's about £1 for 10-15 in Morrisons, we had about 100 in one crumble, and they were fairtrade, organic and free-range too

[FAQtothefuture]

yep same issue here picked about 2.5kgs in the last week (in two trips) - they're frozen (unwashed) and will be rinsed thoroughly before bunging in crumbles etc

[FAQtothefuture]

not sure about the fairtrade.....DS's didn't get any extra custard or crumble for helping pick them

[wukter]

I love picking blackberries and just noticed the first ones ripening today where I am.

When picked, check the base where broken from stem.
Clean & green/white - maggot free and just ripe.

Tending to brown - overripe but maggot free.
Juice stained - freak out and throw away, Maggot Present. (puke).

Let them soak in water and watch all the tiny things rise to the surface. Protein free blackberries.

[FourArms]

Wow wukter. I bow to your superior blackberry knowledge! I shall henceforth always check the bases!

[meltedmarsbars]

Its the raspberry beetle, it lays its eggs in the flowers, these then hatch into fruit worms, which then mature inside the fuit and then burrow out and drop into the soil to pupate.

[EachPeachPearMum]

why did I open this just before breakfast?

[stuffitlllama]

if you spread blackberries on a plate and cover them in sugar the maggots come out for the sugar

after a while you wash them all off

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

Lololol I only eat the juice stained ones, they are the nicest, the others are always a tad sour, the dcs and I ate loads on saturday in my mums garden, we must have bellies full of the little critters.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

are they out already? fab - know what I'm doing next weekend then!

[FourArms]

[Raspberry26]

Okay so me and my family were picking blackberries today (Sat 8th Sept 2018) down the Hayling Island Billy Trail near the factories and theatre. And of course we ate a few thinking nothing of it and later on when I was rinsing them saw loads of what looks like maggots 🤢 I'm just wondering...

1. Are we going to get ill?
   
2. How do I get rid of these pesky critters?
   

TIA 😀

[bonbonours]

They aren't maggots just larvae of beetles or fruit fly. Apparently harmless and tasteless to eat. But if you'd rather not, rinse them, put in fridge for a day. When you take them out any worms will have crawled out of the berries and you can brush them away.