Blackberry season

se999

If you get fedup of blackberrying, there are some other ideas of food for free on downsizer.net, though I'm not sure if I'd feel safe with mushrooms.

Anyway here's the link:

http://www.downsizer.net/Projects/Wild_Food/Top_Ten_Wild_Foods_for_August/

Simba_25

I would definately advise to stay away from the mushrooms unless you 100% know what your looking for. It is so easy to make a mistake and pick the wrong kind if your not sure. \you can end up seriously ill from it too!

Please be careful

squeaky

There are mushroomer groups around that you can join. That way you get taught on the spot by an experienced mushroomer. Except they're not called mushroomers they're called something else but my brain has quit on me.

Allexie

squeaky wrote:

There are mushroomer groups around that you can join. That way you get taught on the spot by an experienced mushroomer. Except they're not called mushroomers they're called something else but my brain has quit on me.

mycologists???

squeaky

Very probably!

Louisa_2

Thanks Pal for this idea, got a load of blackberries this afternoon! Mixed some with my home made yoghurt (thanks to other MSE'ers for guidance on that) and my 8-month old loved it. Will see if my 5-year old neice wants to come too next time, collecting the fruit then making a nice pie will be a lovely way to spend a few hours to round off the holidays.

jazzyjustlaw

Be careful where you pick them. I was out picking last year and the environment agency informed me that they were on contaminated land. They also warned me against picking them from areas near main roads. In fact I wouldnt pick them wild.

Be safe check with the environment agency first.

henhog

Made a load of apple and blackberry jam this evening - the left overs tasted good, so lets hope the jam does too! I might go out and get some more as I quite fancy making bramble jelly next!

SnowyOwl_2

Over here in N.Ireland our blackberries are still v.green...it's a bit cooler over here. Anyway, I have been scouting out the best places to go blackberrying, and I should be able to get tons of them for free from the various forest parks we have. My dumb question is...how how do you prepare them for freezing? Somebody told me they should not be washed - is this true? Do I just bung them into a tupperware box unwashed and put that in the freezer?

Zziggi

SnowyOwl wrote:

Over here in N.Ireland our blackberries are still v.green...it's a bit cooler over here. Anyway, I have been scouting out the best places to go blackberrying, and I should be able to get tons of them for free from the various forest parks we have. My dumb question is...how how do you prepare them for freezing? Somebody told me they should not be washed - is this true? Do I just bung them into a tupperware box unwashed and put that in the freezer?

This is what I do for both brambles and raspberries. I wash them in the dry them thoroughally. I do this by letting them stand in the seive for a few minutes and then laying them on kitchen roll and dabbing them gently. Be warned it does use a fair bit of kitchen roll but worth it. Then when as close to dry as it gets i lay them 1 bramble thick across a baking try and then bung them in the freezer. Following day when they are frozen i'll move them from the baking tray into freezer bags in eith 1/2lb or 1lb amounts. This conserves space. By doing it this way the brambles don;t stick together in a lump in the freezer bag so if you ony want a handful, you can take only a handful out to defrost. Once they have defrosted you can just eat them, add the to yogurt or whatever.