Blackberries

[Wowbagger]

I've had a few blackberries straight from the bramble so far this year, but they've been too sour. I've also had a few mulberries from the tree in Priory Park, which were OK. Charlotte and I were eating wild raspberries in North Wales last week.

[Deano]

Is "blackberry" how you southerners refer to brambles?

I'm looking forward to going camping in a month - bramble porridge for breakfast again

We discussed this last year. The bramble is the trailing part of the plant, the blackberry is its fruit.

Ah well.  I'll persist in calling both the bushes and the fruits "brambles".  You may persist in being wrong right different

[Psychler]

All green round here. There are people picking things from hedgerows, but I don't know what they are They are purpleish, and a bit smaller than a plum. Skin is not shiny.

Sound like sloes mmmmmmm sloe gin!!!

[pcolbeck]

Is "blackberry" how you southerners refer to brambles?

I'm looking forward to going camping in a month - bramble porridge for breakfast again

We discussed this last year. The bramble is the trailing part of the plant, the blackberry is its fruit.

No the whole thing is a bramble up north.

If you want to be accurate what we refer to a bramble or blackberry is rubus fruticosus - the common blackberry. A bramble is really any plant of the genus rubus that happens to be thorny, the raspberry would equally count as a bramble and its fruits are bramble fruits. But really anything other than the latin name only covers local usage and in the north of the UK a bramble is the common blackberry and it's fruits are brambles too. It's pointless arguing about plant names unless you are a botanist and engaged in a technical discussions as they vary so much between areas and over tine.

[Psychler]

mmmmmmmmmmmm rubus fruticosus!!!

[Notsototalnewbie]

I'm currently enjoying finding untapped bramble sources in central(ish) unpolluted(ish) London. I doubt many Londoners take advantage when Waitrose will be selling them for £3 a punnet  

I'm planning a raid when we get back from hols in Sept. The ones we tasted this weekend were a bit tart still.

Ooh..would you reveal your sources or is it SEEKRIT?

[Gattopardo]

Little miss mac can I have a heads up for location? Will trade for brighton hand picked apples.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Nowhere is selling cooking apples at the moment so I have  bought pears instead and will make pear and blackberry pie once they ripen.

[rogerzilla]

In these days of unleaded petrol I'm happy to collect them from the side of the road, where no-one else bothers to look 

[Gattopardo]

Seen some in the garden but they are all below three feet, do cats or foxes pee on them?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Little boys, probably. 

[pcolbeck]

Little boys, probably. 

No little boys always try and pee as high as possible so probably over three feet

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I have made a batch of pear & blackberry muffins, 2 small mixed fruit crumbles and the pastry for a mixed fruit pie is chilling in the fridge. The mixed fruit is blackberries, pears, blackcurrants, raspberries and a peach.

[teethgrinder]

In these days of unleaded petrol I'm happy to collect them from the side of the road, where no-one else bothers to look 

A very good plan. You might even bag a roadkill rabbit too.
Come autumn there should be some roadkill pheasant around too.

Haven't been blackberrying since I was about 10. Maybe I should have a hash at some blackberry pie...

[rogerzilla]

Before the name was usurped by a mobile phone, this meant only one thing, and they're at their peak right now.  We collected some last weekend and I made eight blackberry and apple crumbles for the freezer.  Yesterday we filled Miss Z's bike basket with more blackberries and her younger sister is currently demolishing them, conveyor-belt style.

So get out on your bike down remote lanes, which haven't been plundered yet, and fill your boots.  Or your panniers.  The bigger the "bobbles", the sweeter they are.

[Basil]

Hmm.
I made the op from Brum.
Unfortunately, there are very poor pickings in this part of Wales.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I went back along the canal today. 13 mile round trip, 90 minutes cycling time but was out of the house for five hours. My three and a half hours picking resulted in 6lb blackberries brought home, and probably another 1.5lb I accidentally spilled into the undergrowth and couldn't get back.

I think it's time I learned to make jam.

[JStone]

My lunchtime ritual from the office at this time of year - scoff sandwiches, then take my lunchbox on a blackberry hunt round the local lanes. Can usually fill it in half an hour. But I was appalled last Thursday to see that builders have grubbed up one of the prime sites, so am having to extend the walk.
Half goes in the freezer, half in the fridge for the next couple of days consumption. 

[hellymedic]

I went back along the canal today. 13 mile round trip, 90 minutes cycling time but was out of the house for five hours. My three and a half hours picking resulted in 6lb blackberries brought home, and probably another 1.5lb I accidentally spilled into the undergrowth and couldn't get back.

I think it's time I learned to make jam.

Jam:

Pick fruit.
Weigh fruit.
Place fruit in large microwavable dish.
Add weight of jam sugar equal to weight of fruit.
Microwave on full for a few minutes.
Stir in sugar until dissolved.
Microwave on full until jammy¹, stirring occasionally.

That is all.

1) It is jammy when it sets on a cold saucer.

Decant into clean jam jars. You may wish to sterilise these first by placing in a slow oven.
If you place hot jam into jar and reboil in the microwave, you can put on lids with a safety button and safety button will go in as jam and air cool.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I've just made my first ever batch of jam!

[hellymedic]

I've just made my first ever batch of jam!

Well done!
It's fun, if messy.

[Wowbagger]

We picked some on Friday and I'm stewing them now.

[Pancho]

The last week has been very bounteous for us - blackberries all over the place and tonnes of apples and pears in the garden. We've eaten very well - crumbles mainly. At school, eldest daughter does "outdoor work"[1] rather than PE and has spent the last few days very productively learning countryside foraging skills.

[1] They run a farm and, when not rebuilding antique tractors and doing manual labour, learn country cooking.

[dasmoth]

The last week has been very bounteous for us - blackberries all over the place and tonnes of apples and pears in the garden. We've eaten very well - crumbles mainly. At school, eldest daughter does "outdoor work"[1] rather than PE and has spent the last few days very productively learning countryside foraging skills.

[1] They run a farm and, when not rebuilding antique tractors and doing manual labour, learn country cooking.

As "school stuff" goes, that almost sounds fun!

(We also picked a few on our ride today, crumble's in the oven now  )

[pcolbeck]

Your all obsessed with crumble. Plate pie is the thing for brambles.  Apple and bramble mixed and the pie made on a dinner plate not in a pie tin. A thin pie slices of which you can pick up with your finger to eat or have with custard or cream.