To still go blackberrying?!

[rainbowsandsmiles]

I know I'm not BU but does anyone else still do this? They're in season now and it's one of our favourite family pastimes that we all enjoy doing! Kids too. Went today, juicily ripe. Might make a crumble tomorrow with what we've got left and not scoffed already

Yes I thought they were later too, like September/October - I know we always used to go around DS's birthday.

I have a massive blackberry bush in the garden so genuinely don't need to go very far. They are amazing this year and so prolific. They are ripening much sooner than usual too, due to the heatwave. I've been inviting one of my neighbours to pick as many as she wants too because I am running out of freezer space!

Blackberry and apple sponges are my favourite.

@FATEdestiny - only just started coming into season here (UK) went 2 weeks ago and none ripe. Loads today though!

3 jars of jam made by DS and I’m on crumble duty tomorrow.

We do it every year but it'll be 2-3 weeks before they're ripe here (north Scotland) I ordered a new jelly bag from amazon so I can make bramble jelly as the kids prefer it to jam 😊 waiting for the elderberries for jelly, sloes for gin and brandy and rose hips for rosehip syrup!

We went Sunday and today after work and I've made 8 jars of jam and we have four punnets in the freezer for smoothies. All this talk of sloe gin has made me wonder whether it would be possible to make blackberry gin. Does anybody know about that?

Blackberry gin is nice - blackberry vodka is even better!

Sweetest and earliest blackberries in my living memory. It’s an amazing season for them.

I know what we are doing tomorrow!
We make blackberry vodka, or apple & blackberry vodka.
And crumble, if there's any left over

Yes! We did this at the weekend and I found myself at age 9 (ish) again, it was great!

I've picked 16lbs so far this year, they're huge near me. I'm going to be eating blackberry jam til this time next year

I wanted to go rosehip picking for syrup, rosehip brandy and because they’re like sweets for the horse and very good for him. They’ve all bloody shrivelled up in the heat! So pissed off. I have found a nice sloe bush, tho. I can make sloe gin. There are lots of blackberries at the stables, the horse picks his own and I pick him more. There was a blasted child picking them all today, tho, little demon!

Made blackberry gin with the ones foraged from the train line brambles at the bottom of our garden

Freezer full

Today I saw blotches of red on the brambles at the bottom of the garden, got closer and noticed most needed another week or so, but picked nine black ones from one spray, all larger than usual, and enough for friend and I to have first yoghurt and bramble breakfast with lots to come later (N. Yorks).
Yes, lots out of reach, but I take an old walking-stick to pull stems down.

Blackberry whisky rather than gin, was given some to try by a friend last year and I'm determined to make my own this year. Proper lush, as they say.

Those we've picked so far are ear-marked for wine (blackberry and elderberry if I can find the elderberries - not as good a year for elder as it is for blackberries), must go grab another punnet for the whisky this week.

The elderberries are ripe and luscious here in Shropshire. Just picked 6lbs of them this evening. We made elderberry Wine last year for the first time 2 Demi johns full (12 bottles) and it's the best country wine you can make it was delicious. All gone now so we are going to try and make at least twice the amount this year.
Going to get more later this week. Well worth it if you've never tried wine making it's easy and so fulfilling.

whats the best way to prepare them? ever since i found a little white grub in one years ago it put me right off

I was making a peach crumble yesterday, and suddenly thought it would be nice to have another fruit in there as well. So I walked about 100 yards and picked a load of blackberries. Ideal.

Makes August and September dog walks with DC a joy. We’ve had several pies already, but mostly just juice stained children.

Love it Same with youngest child here before bed. "I have washed my face, honest!"
Me - "Then why can I still see sticky juice patches in the corners of your mouth?! Get back in there!"

anyoldname76
Same for me. We used to pick them when we were kids. My Mother used to soak them in salted water to get the maggots out. They would all be floating dead on the top. I just couldn't bring myself to eat the jam
I'm sure it's the same for raspberries too but I can manage to enjoy them.

Great blackberries this year where we are, we always go picking, the DDs know exactly which bush on our local headland has the best ones :)

Recipe idea for when you don't have loads but 2 very excited kids, blackberry upside down cake.

Cake tin of choice, line with greaseproof paper on the bottom then put in lots of soft brown sugar, syrup, dark brown sugar etc. Whatever you have in the cupboard that needs using up. Enough to cover the bottom of the tin.

Get over excited children to arrange their precious berries in whatever pattern they want. Make standard plain cake mix but add a small amount of extra milk so it is slightly runnier than normal, tip into cake tin. Put in the oven 180c, lower for hot fan ovens, for anything 20 - 40 mins depending on size & depth of tin. If it starts to burn on the top put a foil hat on it.

Serve with custard, cream & ice cream according to DD2!

More popular here than anything else I do with berries, I only did it in a lean year out of desperation& now get constant requests :)

In the past two weeks ive made two blackberrycrumbles, two bottles of blackberry gin, two jars of blackberry jam and we are off out collecting again tomorrow! Most so far have come from My garden.

Have you got a peach tree popocatepetals. My grandparents had one and it was divine. Warm juicy peaches still remind me of my childhood The warm juice running down my arm and the whiff of hay and horse mingling.

Occasionally in France when there are warm peaches fresh from the market it takes me right back to those days and I can close my eyes and smell the stables.

Perhaps I'll plant a peach tree. They would have been grand this summer.

OhTheRoses No, we are talking Aldi tinned peaches here