Blackberry picking Q

[seeyouinanotherlifewhenwearebothcats]

Hi all, the hedgerows round me seem to have lots of blackberries so I was considering taking DC to pick some. But pardon my stupid question here, the red ones? Are they edible also? I originally thought they were unripened blackberries but DH tells me no. Any tips for picking and what to use them for?

Red ones are unripe....

Yes, they are very edible, if they are in the wild pick the ones higher up to avoid dogs marking territories.

They are the unripened ones, they are edible but hard and sour, pick the black ones.

The red ones aren't yet ripe so don't pick those. Wear gloves as prickly and make pies, crumbles, cakes etc. Love blackberry picking

You want them dark and so ripe they fall into your hand! Pick from high up and leave some for the birds.

Any tips?
You and the DC eat the nice, ripe ones. Give the red ones to your DH.

Don’t pick the ones on the lower branches or make sure you wash them.

Look at the bottom where they attach. That's how you check for maggots.

Just picked and made Jam with our home grown plums.

Tomorrow it is time to pick and jam the blackberries!

Red ones are definitely just unripe blackberries though :)

A few red ones in with the jam helps it set, but yes they're unripe.

If possible soak before eating so any maggots come out of the berries.

🤣🤣🤣 this sounds like a plan!

Thank you everyone for the brilliant tips and tricks, love the idea of a crumble 🥧

The birds will be fine. I wish they’d leave more for me!

love the idea of a crumble
Blackberries are full of water so when you cook them they just mush down to juice. Bulk out your crumble with apple (cooking apple), use three times the weight of apple to blackberry.

Apple and blackberry crumble with custard is the food of the gods.

Take sturdy gardening gloves and a strong stick to help hold bramble branches out of your way. Wear long sleeved tops.
Soak briefly in cold water to get rid of maggots.
Blackberries freeze well, freeze on an open tray and bag once frozen.

What to do with them....
as well as all the traditional jam, crumble, pies....
Make into a compote to have hot or cold with ice cream, yoghurt or chilled custard.
Make a sorbet, delicious on a hot day.
Use the bramble compote in a trifle, or with waffles or to fill pancakes, or serve with plain cake.
Use the whole fruit to make bramble whiskey or gin or vodka.
Poach with any combination of pears plums apples to make a winter fruit salad.

My mum used to soak them in salted water to bring out any maggots

I cook them and sieve them and add sugar and make ice lollies. Bit of a farce but very nice.

@seeyouinanotherlifewhenwearebothcats I'm intrigued to know what your DH thinks the red ones are...😂

I wonder if your DH is thinking of raspberries or other berries that are red when fully ripe? Raspberries do grow wild though are much more unusual. Like blackberries they go soft when they're ripe and come away from the plant very easily. Your picture is definitely blackberries though.

What to make? Blackberry ice cream is food for the gods, plus we make blackberry and apple jelly (used to make jam but the pips can be annoying). And of course crumble and pies.

Tayberries? They look like red blackberries.

Our tayberry bush doesn't go red when they're ripe. They're more "purple" (i.e. redder) than blackberries, but when they're red they're definitely not ready 😂
I appreciate tayberries are hybrids though, so not every plant is the same.

It's OK to use a few red ones if you're making jam. Jam needs underripe fruit to set. But not just red ones. A mix of black and red for a reasonable amount of pectin.

But for eating or putting in pies etc, JUST use black ones.

He says he thought they were redcurrants 😂 but once I told him you all said they were, in fact, unripened blackcurrants he has now googled redcurrants and been put right. Every day is a school day!

Had Apple and blackberry crumble made with handpicked blackberries yesterday. Delicious!

My tip is to make sure you have long trousers on to protect you from the brambles. Also, put insect repellent on as I bit but several times (which is very itchy). However, enjoy! There’s something quite therapeutic about picking blackberries.

You can bottle the slightly firmer ones in syrup. They will keep for a year. I bottle enough to fill about 40 jars, and ds eats them with pancakes through the winter.

Make bramble jelly, or blackberry & apple jam, blackberry vinegar, blackberry gin for the store cupboard.

And blackberry crunch for dessert on the day you pick them.

I love this time of year 😊