blackberry picking

2cats1kid

I can recommend blackberry wine. Racked mine last night and got a wee taste through the syphon and it is good. I want to go and gather more to make another gallon of wine!

Gigervamp

I'm still waiting for our blackberries to ripen. There are the odd few that are ripe, but most are still tiny and green.

scattymam1

Oh Fab thread :j - just what I needed - was walking the dog last night and found thousands in a quite remote location. There were a few that were ready but most were still green - how long do you think it'll be before we can pick them?

My dad pays 1.99 for his tiny box of blackberries every week - so I'll store as many as I can in my freezer and give the rest to him. Money saving big style all round.

Does anybody know if they store better in containers or in freezer bags???

I would never have thought to have soaked them in salt for the maggots - :eek: I ate two off the bush last night!!!

But here's a daft question - how much salt or vinegar(white or brown) do you add to water - It doesn't make them taste salty does it? Told you it was a daft question.

Can't wait...blackberry crumble...:D

scattymam1

Blackberries

One cup blackberries contains 1 gram of protein and over 7 grams of dietary fiber.
Potassium - 282 mg
Calcium - 46 mg
Phosphorus - 30 mg
Magnesium - 28 mg
Manganese - 1.9 mg
Iron - .8 mg
Selenium - .9 mg
Zinc - .4 mg
Also contains a trace amount of copper.
Vitamin A - 237 IU
Vitamin C - 30 mg
Vitamin E - 1.5 IU
Folate - 49 mcg

scattymam1

Not sure what all of it means - but I'm sure it means they're jolly good.

2cats1kid

how long do you think it'll be before we can pick them? -ours are ripening gradually, so maybe a fortnight for the bulk of them if they are green now, but less if we get a good dose of sun. Ours all ripened quickly when we got a couple of sunny days. Just a guess though.

My dad pays 1.99 for his tiny box of blackberries every week - so I'll store as many as I can in my freezer and give the rest to him. Money saving big style all round. - do be aware though, that wild ones have bigger pips, so they aren't quite as nice to eat as berries as the commercial ones. He will be able to tell the difference.

Does anybody know if they store better in containers or in freezer bags??? if you want to use them whole, store in containers as they will squash more easily in bags. If they're going to be squashed anyway, I don't worry too much about it.

how much salt or vinegar(white or brown) do you add to water - It doesn't make them taste salty does it? I just add a slosh of vinegar (technical term) and rinse them after. Not had any complaints yet.

sjaypink

yes, same here! i would also like some clairification on the 'salt' issue!

another daft question... where might be the best places to find wild raspberries/ gooseberries etc? do they have other plants they tend to hang around with (iykwim ) -or sunny/ shady spots?

would love some wild raspberries and gooseberries, but dont know where to look...

Gigervamp

2cats1kid wrote: »

Does anybody know if they store better in containers or in freezer bags??? if you want to use them whole, store in containers as they will squash more easily in bags. If they're going to be squashed anyway, I don't worry too much about it..

If you freeze them on baking trays first, it doesn't matter if they're put in bags or boxes as they'll be frozen already so they won't get squashed.

juliejim

scattymam1 wrote: »

Does anybody know if they store better in containers or in freezer bags???

If you want to freeze them in bags, freeze them on a tray first then put them in bags when frozen - obviuosly if you're doing loads though this could be a pain!

LittleBill

My OH told me that he read somewhere that the nicest/sweetest ones are the first big ones to ripen at the end of the stem ...

These are best for eating raw etc ... the others which ripen later ... are less sweet and better used in things with added sugar ...

Bramble Pie .. Bramble Jam ... Bramble Gin ... Hic ... :^)