Archive for the ‘blackberries’ category

Blackberry Picking Time

July 1st, 2011

Prime blackberry picking area somewhere in southern Middle Tennessee

One of my favorite things about Summer is the availability of fresh berries and fresh blackberries are my favorite. I’m not talking about those large tame blackberries you get from CSAs and grocery stores. Those fakers are so light on flavor that it’s not worth the hassle of making anything with them. You may have to wade through tall grass, repel chiggers and keep an eye out for a napping rattlesnake but I can assure you it will be worth it in the end. Those tame blackberries may look huge and juicy but they lack the flavor and the fun of the hunt.

Late June is prime blackberry season. You have to be sure to get them before the birds, June bugs and Japanese beetles get to them. As they ripen all three will take these tasty morsels from you before you can reach them. The best course of action is to find a good spot with plenty of bushes and keep an eye on the berries and plan to pick the moment the ripen. This may mean walking a good distance through tall grass and brush to check on them daily as it gets later in the month but you’ll be glad you did. Those pesky birds know how good these things are, too.

After scouring our regular spot for picking these delights we came away with nearly a gallon of small delicious berries. I already had in mind what I wanted to create, a blackberry cobbler, the perfect blackberry concoction. All of that changed when we picked up a few peaches and blackberry peach pie was as good as in the oven. With enough blackberries left over after the pie there was blackberry ice cream, vegan of course, churning to go with the pie. Still this used less than half of our berries. I’m sure to get that cobbler over the weekend and maybe even some blackberry jam.

If you have the opportunity to pick wild blackberries do so and taste what a blackberry is meant to taste like.