One of my lovely neighbours, Natalie, and I did our almost annual bramble-hunt a couple of weekends ago. Our previous record was two kilos. This time we beat it and collected two-and-a-third kilos of blackberries (image below are the unwashed and unsorted berry-fruits). All gratis, courtesy of Mother Nature. The plants are over-laden this year, with plenty of fruits left for our wildlife friends. There are even blooms of future berries still flowering everywhere.
If you do go blackberry-picking, remember not to pick those at a level they could have been urinated upon by dogs. Also, do not collect from the sides of busy roads as pollutants may have adhered to the fruits. When you return home, cleanse your fruit in cold water with a splash of spirit, wine or cider vinegar - not malt (top image below). The brambles may have been walked over by slugs, snails, insects, spiders, mice or birds, so this helps ensure no bugs are passed on to people!
I used my collection to make fruit crumbles (top two images below), some of which will be shared with shielding friends. I also hoped housemate would go out to purchase some cheap vodka. He did. With it I placeD some of the berries in a container and covered with the alcohol (bottom image). This will be stowed until Christmas when it will be served up as a warming Yuletide liqueur. My neighbour is going to attempt to make crème de mure. Other uses are in jams, fruit wine or added to a Rumtopf. Enjoy!
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