If blackberries were growing in your garden…

[hugebuyersremorse]

Would you pick and eat them? The actual bush they’re growing on nobody owns and it’s behind our back fence, but it’s overgrown and has curved over our fence. I’d say there are probably easily 50 or more ripe blackberries within reach.

DH has said a dog might have done its business on the roots of the bush… (😂) so he’s not so sure about it. I can’t see a problem, surely no different from fruit that you buy from the supermarket.

YABU - don’t eat them
YANBU - pick them and eat them!! winning

There are some bushes local to me absolutely breaking with berries! On a quiet road, backing onto a church.

So far I have gathered two huge boxfuls! I make an easy compote and freeze it. Or a crumble.

I wash the blackberries first at least twice

I sprinkle some salt in the bowl and cover with tepid water. I let it sit for 5 mins. Rinse and repeat. This brings any bugs and dirt to the surface.

I then dry the berries on baking paper.

I cook them with sweet cinnamon, a small amount of sugar by bringing it close to the boil and then simmer 20 mins on a gentle heat.

Voila! Use it for yoghurt, ice creams etc and freezable.Lasts around 2 weeks in the fridge.

Please use local free food! Fresh berries taste absolutely amazing !

Your DP seems to have a very weird notion of how growing fruit and vegetables work. What does he think soil actually is?!

Anyway - yes, it’s fine. Pick them, give them a wash and eat them.

Before I took an allotment and inherited a cultivated blackberry bush, we'd go blackberrying along public pathways every autumn and stock up the freezer with berries that'd last the year.

We go blackberrying as a family day out. They're only just ripe here but looks like it'll be a good year if they don't get too wet. Never go out for a walk between now and October without a pot or two for blackberries!

Why? Saltwater works. Dilute white vinegar works too.

I have tonnes as well. I sometimes eat them but I haven't picked any this year yet, maybe I will tomorrow! I would soak them in something - can pretty much guarantee there are loads of maggots in there even though you can't see them. I used to pick them as a child and one day left them in a big bucket, next day it was crawling with maggots. It's all I think about when eating them, but I am just very careful to get them out.

Don’t you just leave them in salt water
for 15 minutes ns or so so that any bugs float to the top?

or just buy frozen ones

And don’t let him have any!

I am guessing OP and her DH are townies 😂

There's loads near me, I'm going to make jam

Love foraging for blackberries, do it every year with the kids, great free activity!
Crumbles and smoothies are my favourites.

I live on the edge and just wash them well under cold running water 😁

Yes we do it every year. Just soak them in slightly salted water and rinse, removes bugs and anything nasty

Made this last year, for anyone with a glut, it's delicious!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/blackberry-liqueur-creme-de-mure

I feel so stupid! We have brambles growing in the garden, not sure where from as we didn’t plant them and they weren’t there when we moved in several years ago.

Do I have a free blackberry bush?! There are berries on it, I just assumed weeds!

Probably courtesy of birds that perch on the fence.

What?
Of course you can. Ffs

I soak mine underwater and any maggots come out. Usually only a couple in a whole big pot of bbs.

Blackberries have come early this year despite a poor start to the summer.

Lots of old waste land round here with tons of bushes, we got 50 lb of fruit in 2 trips, made a nice crumble and 50 litres of wine.

Free food and fulfills a basic need we have to gather,what's not to like?

I wouldn’t normally buy blackberries in a shop. There are plenty available in over fence and hedge situations.

Wild blackberries have so much more taste than the ones you buy in the supermarket.

Pick them, wash them and eat them. Make blackberry and apple pie, totally delicious.

I'm so shocked by how removed some people seem to be from nature, natural food, and foraging instincts!

It always amazes me people pay for Blackberries when there's an abundance of them for free.

Same goes for the two huge jars of foraged hazelnuts I have in my kitchen.

Even living in a city there's free food growing, and it's organic too. Walnuts, hazelnuts, brambles, elderberries, apples, plums, dandelions, pine cones for the seeds (and the cones themselves are great firestarters), mint, etc etc. I even spotted some Morrell mushrooms growing in my local park last week!!

I give brambles a soak and a rinse but other than that I don't worry too much.

I’m surprised that you have never done this. Of course you eat them, why wouldn’t you?

If you have an ice cream maker (or patience) this is easy and delicious.

www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/blackberry-sorbet/