It’s a good
thing colour can’t leach through the keyboard onto the blog or this post would
be written in purple. I've just come in from blackberrying, and even after a
good scrub with the nailbrush my fingers are still juice-stained. It’s not that
we need any more jam, as we have more
than enough of my summer production to last us through the winter and
beyond. It’s more a case of not being able to turn my back on nature’s bounty
and this year she has been inordinately generous.
As I stretched
across the bramble bushes, always straining for that even more luscious cluster
just out of reach (there’s a life metaphor in there somewhere….) I couldn’t
remember ever having seen such profusion before. Every small shoot was weighed
down by glistening berries, all ripe at the same time, thanks to this year’s
late harvest, and seemingly longing to drop into my bowl almost before my
fingers touched them.
 |
| O for a macro lens and a steady hand! |
 |
| Please note the spider making a bid for freedom |
Of course I browsed
as I picked, with my purple lips matching my fingers by the time I brought my
laden bowl into the kitchen. The berries are so ripe that they won’t keep, so I
shall stew them gently with some of the apples from our French orchard, as a
treat for DH who adores blackberry and apple. If I’m lucky there will still be plenty
to be gathered over the weekend, but they are a fleeting pleasure and it won’t
be long before the bushes are bare and their unmistakable rich and almost
earthy flavour will just be a satisfying memory until next autumn.
Much too good to resist...even with jam galore in the larder.....and how fitting that you have fruit from at least two of your houses to marry into something which will delight your husband.
ReplyDeleteDo you make blackberry gin...on the lines of sloe?
It would be a sin not to take advantage of this year's extraordinary harvest. I've never seen so many ripe at the same time. In the past I've made bramble jelly, but now we prefer to eat them as dessert. I've never even made sloe gin, so certainly not blackberry, but it does sound worth researching.....
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteOh my - and DH is not alone!!! slurpyworpy drooling going on this side. A long-time favourite pastime which I hope to revive in the not too distant future, berry scrumping. Now I have to check back because I don't recall an update post - but am going to take it that news is good for DH and he is on the upper? You both continue in prayers. YAM xx
..tsk I did miss one - and can you believe it is not showing up on Google... of course you can....&*| continued good wishes. xx
DeleteGoogle does it again. Sigh....Yes, he's home and starting to feel better, thanks. We noticed the blackberries when out for a gentle constitutional, hence yesterday's harvesting. They are so ripe and juicy.
DeleteJust looking at the photo I can smell those luscious blackberries. Haven't seen any around here - too much spraying goes on these days.
ReplyDeleteThey are almost bursting with juice. :-) We're lucky that there are lots of hedgerows around us and no spraying because this is pasture land, not arable.
DeleteDear Perpetua, I've been away from reading blogs for over a week and so I've misses what was happening in your life. I'm so relieved that DH is home now and better. What a scare that was and how you must be feeling so grateful for your continued life together. I read the two blogs you did on what happened. I don't know much about high blood pressure and so I was surprised to learn that it could affect how he was typing. I'm just so happy for you right now.
ReplyDeleteAnd finally, I want to thank you for the Simon's Cat video you put up three postings before this one. I laughed out loud because he always just captures the essence of cat! Peace.
Thanks, Dee. What happened was that DH had a very small stroke which slightly affected his left side coordination. When our doctor examined him, he discovered extremely high blood pressure and the rest is history. DH is now on medication and hopefully his BP will stabilise at a normal level soon.
DeleteI knew you would enjoy Simon's Cat. :-)
Dear Perpetua, thanks so much for explaining what happened with DH. I hope his BP will stabilize soon. The medication for that usually works. I'm also hoping that his left-side coordination is not permanently affected. Peace.
DeleteIt's juts his hand now, Dee, and that's gradually improving, thanks.
DeleteA perfect marriage blackberries and apples together. H picks all of our blackberries every year and bottles them too. They keep us going all through the winter, and as you mention this season is a good one.
ReplyDeleteWe often wonder why more people don't take advantage of this free gift from our hedgerows.
Good for H. I've never tried bottling, but have sometimes frozen blackberries, though this lot are just too ripe to do anything but cook straight away. Thankfully we have plenty of apples too.
DeleteI passed people out blackberrying on Tuesday when we collected DH from hospital, but agree that most of the crop is usually left for the birds.
Blackberries yum! I no longer go picking but John and I did so for years and I used to make bramble jelly, the very best use for blackberries I think.
ReplyDeleteThe flavour is incomparable though it is a bit wasteful of berries.
Sometimes when all the juice had dripped through I would use the still quite good berries and make apple pie.
Yum indeed! I almost lost my appetite fort supper having eaten so many while picking. :-) It's a long time since I made bramble jelly, though I agree with you about the flavour. I was never very good at getting my jellies to set. :-) What a good idea to use the residue of the berries for a pie.
DeleteWhoops! I meant to say apple and blackberry pie.
DeleteSenior moment.
I picked our last batch last weekend for freezing. Our weather has changed quite suddenly and many of the remaining ones got too wet to use - or were well protected by spiderwebs.
ReplyDeleteSadly I left these too late for freezing. They were ultra-ripe and fit only for stewing, but taste wonderful. We've had a few much warmer days this week which ripened them so quickly i almost missed them.
DeleteWith purple on your fingers & on your lips Perpetua, you must look like a candidate to be the first female bishop in the Church in Wales :-) So glad to hear that DH is home & on the mend & trust that he thoroughly enjoys his stewed blackberries & apples.
ReplyDeleteROFL, Ricky! Isn't it great that we can now make jokes like this. :-) Yes, it's great to have him home again and he's starting to feel a lot better. Blackberries and apple always go down well with him and I'll freeze some in their cooked state for later.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the joke Perpetua - I just couldn't resist with the mention of purple :-)
DeleteBlackberries are among my favourite fruits:) It became difficult to find bushes that hadn't been sprayed back in NZ. The only blackberries I have seen in Australia are 'the garden variety'. I adore blackberry and apple pie, and blackberry and apple jam or jelly [it depended on how much time I was prepared to put into the making]. The best part of picking is the eating!!
ReplyDeleteI think that's a problem in much of the arable areas in the UK too. We're lucky that we don't get any spraying here so can pick to our heart's content.The good thing about garden blackberries is the size. The wild variety are much smaller. I've made all the things you mention at one time or another, but nowadays content myself with stewed fruit for dessert.
DeleteYummy :-) a classic combination! I picked [and nibbled away on] our hedgerow several weeks ago and they went into the freezer.
ReplyDeleteWalnuts are ripe and falling so the collecting has begun :-)
It's our very favourite, especially nowadays with our French apples. The blackberries are very late ripening this year and with everything that's been going on I almost missed them. They are so ripe I'll freeze them cooked instead. Thanks for the walnut update. :-)
DeleteHow wonderful to have nature supply these gorgeous berries, and for free! We always had blackberry jam when I was a child, came in a tin from the shop. I don't think I have ever seen them growing. It is nice to see your life returning to some normality, and I'm sure HB enjoyed his apple and blackberries. Happy Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI doubt blackberries would flourish in a semi- tropical climate, but you must have other lovely fruit to make up for this. The good (or bad, according to your point of view) thing about blackberries is is that blackberry bushes (or brambles as they are often called) can be incredibly rampant and will spread rapidly if you let them. We have lots and DH always enjoys his blackberry and apple.
DeleteP.S..Your final phrase made me smile as of course here it's still Saturday morning. How very far away you are.
We ate tons of blackberries when we were walking the Pembrokeshire Path in Wales. They were amazing! The problem was, there were blackberry patches everywhere, and we would have to stop ourselves and move along so we would make it to our next stop before dark. Enjoy your harvest!
ReplyDeleteI bet you did. :-) You're lucky they're late this year, or you'd have missed them. There's something about always reaching for just one more that can bring you to a standstill whatever you're meant meant to be doing. DH and I are savouring every one, thanks.
DeleteThe wild blackberries are tiny here this year so no blackberry and apple pie for us I fear.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame. They aren't huge here either, but there are just so many that I can't not pick them.
DeleteWe walked around a stretch of Chichester Harbour, on the edge of Thorney Island, with the dogs, on THursday, and there were masses of bramble bushes laden with blackberries, but most of them on the wrong side from the path, down a very steep bank - and we didn't have anything to put them in either even if we'd collected the accessible ones!! Grrrrrrr...... I'd have loved to have at least some to use for crumbles or pies! I suppose, thinking about it, we could have used a dog-detritus bag (unused previously, of course) had we thought about it!! Prinsted, where we started, is a charming village, but possibly prone to flooding at exceptionally high tides, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteWe hope & pray that DH's BP is responding to medication - it took quite a while to get mine sorted, but it's fine now. My mother's BP was astronomic for years - whenever she saw a consultant for anything else they were amazed that she was still alive, I think (240/180 is not by any stretch of the imagination normal - but she lived to be almost 91, with all her mental faculties very much intact - although physically she wasn't too good, and 11 years previously had suffered what they at first thought was a stroke, but discovered to be an aneurism deep in the brain that hadn't burst, but was pressing on the junction of 3 major nerve paths, about which they could do nothing because of it's location, but even that didn't finish her! Those oldies were a tough lot (her mother lived to almost 95, and Grandma's father was 97!) Not sure where that leaves me, if I've inherited their longevity genes rather than my father's (he was only 79 - & I'm 75 next week!!)
Love to you both.
What a shame you couldn't take advantage of the glut of blackberries. They are super this year. We've just had some stewed blackberry and apple with custard for supper and it was gorgeous. I've got several small pots of it waiting to go in the freezer.
DeleteHow on earth your mother lived to the age of 90 with such astronomical BP readings I can't imagine. I know BP rsied with age, but those figures must be truly exceptional. DH has only been taking the medication for 3 days, so has held off measuring his BP so far to allow the meds time to start to working. He'll be seeing the |GP soon in any case, so at the moment we're trying not to obsess about it and let life get back to what passes for normal up in these here Welsh hills. :-)
I'm unabashedly drooling over your crop of blackberries, Perpetua. What a delight they are to see, and, for you and DH to enjoy. Pottering about with blackened fingers must have been a pleasure, and taken your mind off of your life's most recent medical concerns. I hope DH is doing much better, out and about, and life has returned to some normalcy.
ReplyDeleteConsider those finger you black badge of bramble courage.
The blackberries are well worth being drooled over, Penny, as they are so plentiful and juicy this year. Pottering about is exactly what we're both doing as we try to get back to normal. We're getting out for a gentle walk every afternoon and picked some more blackberries on our way back this afternoon, before they all fall off the bushes. Yum!
DeleteHow I love blackberry and apple! Hope DH enjoys that - and that you and he are feeling much better after a rather traumatic week.
ReplyDeleteAxxx
You too, Annie? it's a perennial autumn favourite, I think, and it would be a crime to waste such a wonderful crop. We're both enjoying a special dessert each evening. We're both still rather tired, but DH is looking better each day and I'm taking very good care of him, even when he doesn't want it. :-)
DeleteGlad to hear it, Perpetua. We have tons of blackberries but the apples in Spain are a big disappointment - indeed, I may have mentioned it before! Axxx
DeleteIn that case try a blackberry fool, Annie.The cream softens the almost too intense taste of the blackberries and it's truly mouthwatering. I know - I made it this evening. :-)
DeleteAren't they wonderful this year! I can't remember such a good year for brambles. We have a glut of apples too, so I have been making blackberry vinegar, apple chutney and blackberry and apple crumbles. Yes, I'm typing with purple fingers too! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's been a fantastic year for many kinds of fruit and, as you say, the bramble crop is phenomenal, which more than makes up for a complete lack of damsons. I'm not making crumbles this year, as both DH and I need to shed a bit of weight, but we are very much enjoying eating the fruit stewed. Mmmm.....
DeleteBlackberry and apple...a perfect match. I could just eat a blackberry and apple crumble now with lashings of custard...yum!
ReplyDeleteisn;'t it wonderful how perfectly they go together. :-) As I said above, I'm leaving off the crumble topping at the moment, but we've just had stewed blackberry and apple with custard for supper and it was truly delicious.
DeleteThe blackberries certainly are abundant this year and so large too. Blackberry and apple crumble is definitely our favourite and my mouth is watering as we speak. Hope DH is continuing to feel better and you're still in my prayers.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
It's a real embarrassment of riches, though the berries are a bit smaller up at this height. DH and I keep grazing on the remainder as we go for our afternoon constitutional each day. :-) He's feeling better each day, thanks.
DeleteHello Perpetua,
ReplyDeleteOhh. those blackberries look scrumptious ... they are big and healthy ..my mouth was watering while reading.. I love Blackberry and apple..just as Patricia wrote. Its such a great dessert.
As i have been abscent for a while. I am not sure how your DH is. Also yourself and your operation. sending blessings on this last Sunday of September.
xxx val
They're delicious, Val, whether eaten raw or cooked. We'll be having blackberry and apple for dessert again this evening.
DeleteI'm afraid my cataract surgery had to be postponed when DH was taken into hospital the day before it was due. He's home again now and recovering, but it was a big shock to us both. The details are in my two previous posts. My op will be rescheduled when he's well again.
I really must get out and collect some and then make blackberry jelly!
ReplyDeleteI do hope you and husband are feeling more chipper now m'dear x
Thanks, Annie, DH is improving and we're both feeling more settled after a very quiet weekend.
DeleteDon't delay in picking those blackberries. If it rains much this week they'll be over for this year.
Takes me back to my childhood when I went blackberry picking with my parents. For days after, mum would be making blackberry wine and sauces, pies desserts and jams. Sue
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to revisit those days in memory and autumn always seems to me a season of memories.. In my childhood it was my sisters and I who picked the blackberries and my mother who cooked them. Now it's all down to me. :-) I'm assuming that blackberries arrived in Australia thanks to the early migrants?
DeleteFabulous....I'm just about to attack my purple fig tree......I came back from Annie's with 2 jars of her green fig, orange and walnut jam as well as some cherry conserve. I took her some grape jelly from our produce store. It is so good to use what grows, and then to be able to savour those summer flavours late in the year. Hope all is well. Jx
ReplyDeleteMmmm, figs.... Lucky you. :-) Grape jelly sounds scrumptious too.
DeleteIt's been a tremendous year for many kinds of fruit, even though the harvests have been late in a lot of places. We had huge numbers of cherries in mid-July and now an abundance of blackberries at the beginning of October. The apple crop was prettuy good too and I gather there are rather a lot of nuts around this year. Let's hope all this bounty doesn't presage a harsh winter.
What a treat. My mum said her blackberry bushes were laden this year too. She had blackberries coming out of her ears!
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous. It seems like the whole of the UK is reporting and enjoying a bumper crop of blackberries. There must be rather a lot of jam, jelly and crumbles being made. :-)
DeleteOh, boy. YOu took me back to my childhood, picking blackberries for jam and blackberry and apple crumbles made by MMM (MM's Mum). No blackberries here yet, its too early....
ReplyDeleteOoo, so you have that delight to look forward to. :-) I guess the south of France is far too hot for blackberries until late in the autumn. You're probably still eating peaches and figs.......
DeleteIsn’t that strange, just a few miles away from you the bramble bushes are pretty mean this year and a lot of the fruits haven’t ripened at all. All other fruit is plentiful.
ReplyDeleteCuriouser and curiouser, given that we share basically the same landscape and probably even geology. Everything has grown inordinately this year and there were masses and masses of blackberries, though it's definitely not a damson year. Ah well, nature keeps us on our toes.....
DeleteWe are also blessed with beautiful blackberries, enough to gather and enjoy or to pack away in the freezer for those dark days. Love how we all feel compelled to gather such wondrously free gifts of nature, never complaining of the time and energy it takes to bring home a jarful. Something in us rejoices in all this lusciousness.
ReplyDeleteAnd we even put up with the thorns too. :-) I always have to take a needle to my fingers after blackberrying, but it's worth every prickle. I'm glad you have a good crop this year, as there's nothing quite like the intense taste of a blackberry. We had blackberry and apple for dessert last night with DS.
DeleteI stew them gently with gin and lemon juice and then make ice cream with them and yogurt. Wonderful ...
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounds fantastic! I must remember to stock up on gin before next year's blackberry season. :-)
DeleteYou will enjoy those this winter. That is for sure!
ReplyDeleteWe're enjoying them already, Sally, and I'm not sure how many will be left by the time winter comes. :-)
Delete