Edible Berries

[Sneezewort]

Hi Tracey

Originally Posted by Tracey.A

I'd love to know your hawthorn recipe and your rowanberry jelly recipe Sneezewort, both of which sound yummy

Tracey

I am busy sorting these recipes out for you now - will be in touch soon.

Sneezewort

[Tracey.A]

Originally Posted by Sneezewort

Hi Tracey



I am busy sorting these recipes out for you now - will be in touch soon.

Sneezewort

Thank you Sneezwort, looking forward to trying out your recipes

Tracey

[Sneezewort]

Hi Tracey

And finally ....

When I came to look at my versions of the recipes - scrawled in pencil on pieces of recycled paper and including various bits of barely intelligible shorthand - I decided they needed to clean up their act a bit before they were fit to be seen in public

So I decided, given that they seemed a bit lengthy also, it would be best to get them on my blog where I have some other recipes and stuff about our family outdoor adventures. You should also get the photos in glorious technicolour - I hope. The link is now on my signature line below.

Hope you enjoy them - but please do get back to me if you have any problems with them.

regards
Julie

[Stinky Bob]

You better hurry up you have only got a couple of days left of blackberries picking , we just eat them straight of the plant - need to keep an eye out for maggots though
We like the River cookbook recipes from "Pam the Jam" OH has just made blackberry cordial and there wasnt quite enough for the last bottle and she erm topped it up with Brandy - not sure if she marked it differently from the others so the kids may get a bit of a surprise

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by Stinky Bob

You better hurry up you have only got a couple of days left of blackberries picking , we just eat them straight of the plant - need to keep an eye out for maggots though
We like the River cookbook recipes from "Pam the Jam" OH has just made blackberry cordial and there wasnt quite enough for the last bottle and she erm topped it up with Brandy - not sure if she marked it differently from the others so the kids may get a bit of a surprise

A couple of days??

You can pick Blackberries right into November and in mild years i have seen them in December.

[thunder]

Originally Posted by wildherbalian85

A couple of days??

You can pick Blackberries right into November and in mild years i have seen them in December.

Nope - can't pick them after October 11th - the Devils spits on them then!

henrya

[Meta menardi]

Originally Posted by thunder

Nope - can't pick them after October 11th - the Devils spits on them then!

henrya

I have heard this all my life, most superstitions have some strange basis, what could this be? Oh, and you are lucky if 't devil only spits on them, it's a bit worse round here.

[thunder]

Originally Posted by Meta menardi

I have heard this all my life, most superstitions have some strange basis, what could this be? Oh, and you are lucky if 't devil only spits on them, it's a bit worse round here.

Apparently the tradition is that the devil was cast out of heaven on October 11th, and landed on a bramble bush - hence his unpleasant behaviour I had heard that he sometimes does worse things - but this is a family site

henrya

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by thunder

Apparently the tradition is that the devil was cast out of heaven on October 11th, and landed on a bramble bush - hence his unpleasant behaviour I had heard that he sometimes does worse things - but this is a family site

henrya

Well its a good job the devil is a load of nonsense

I find that the later you pick them the sweeter they are.

[Monkey Orchid]

My favourite recipe using blackberries was the blackberry and apple jelly my mum used to make. It was time-consuming: first you had to cook all the fruit, then hang it up in a muslin bag overnight to let the juice drip out, then finally simmer the collected juice again to make the jelly... But the results were always fruitylicious!

I have made elderberry syrup too (which is great made into a hot drink in the winter, for colds etc). There's a good website for elderberry recipes and info - just Google 'elderberries ning com' and you'll find it.

The other berry I've eaten regularly is wild strawberry. They're a lot smaller than the cultivated ones, but they more than make up for it in wonderful flavour! Like wild raspberries, best eaten straight off the plant, no need to wash.

One I've never tried is Wild Service Tree fruits, or chequerberries as they're called. Supposedly they become very sweet and flavoursome in the autumn, after they've 'bletted' (become overripe). I have eaten Medlar fruits which you treat in the same way - leave them on the tree until they 'blet', becoming so ripe they're actually half-rotten and the flesh goes brown. This sounds disgusting I know, but they tasted quite amazing: very sweet and rich, fragrant, with an almost tropical fruit flavour.