Blackberry problems .

[Ivanhoe]

Yesterday me and my grandson walked my dog over some old garage sites opposite my house we noticed plenty of blackberry bushes loaded with fruit .
We have just got back from dog walking and picking some of the fruit and we now have 7 pound of fresh berries on the worktop washed and we have hardly touched the ripe fruit on the bushes .
Has any one got any ideas what i can do with all this fruit before it spoils on the bush .
My wife is going to make pies and crumbles etc but what else can i make or try to make with these blackberry's
This is no exaggeration but there must be 2/3 stone of ripe fruit over on the garages and it seems such a waste to let it spoil on the bushes .
Any ideas would be welcome and we all are prepared to have a go at any thing .

[mrswadders]

Blackberry wine
Blackberry Gin
Blackberry cordial
Jam
Jelly

[Jimny14]

We just freeze ours for making in to crumbles etc over winter. It's easy, spread out in a single layer on a baking tray and place in freezer, once frozen bag up. If you bag before frozen they'll set in a solid block and take forever to defrost.

[chillithyme]

all of the above

Add to smoothies and cook with porridge, can add fresh or frozen
Blackberry summer pudding

[Earthgirl Jen]

Ivanhoe

I can vouch for bramble jelly/seedless blackberry jam... Whatever you want to call it and very easy.

Take whatever quantity of blackberries you want to turn into jam. I picked 3.5lb from my garden the other day.
I plonked them in a stainless steel pan together with approx 5 apples from my own tree, they weren't quite ripe but had fallen to the ground thanks to the pests. I washed them cut into slices (so I could check for pests and rotten bits) I didn't remove the skin ( if you have them they are a great source of pectin to set your jam)
Barely cover the blackberries and sliced apple with water and simmer over a medium heat until soft, approx 30mins.

You don't need anything fancy to get the bramble juice. A deep saucepan, a cake cooling rack, a piece of old white cotton sheet and a plastic colander.

Place the cake cooling rack over the saucepan and sit the plastic colander over this. Sterilise your piece of cotton sheet by pouring boiling water over it in the sink and, when cool enough, wring it out well. Make sure it is big enough to cover the inside of the colander and place inside. (A quick point to mention here is to make sure your colander is not wider than the saucepan you are sitting it over otherwise you will end up with bramble juice all over your worktops!) Then pour your blackberry/apple mix into the colander and wait overnight for the juice to seep through it.

The next day make your jam. For every 500ml of blackberry juice collected I add 12oz of sugar. Boil in a very deep saucepan because when the setting point of jam is reached the mixture rises rapidly (221F or 104c) to double it's depth in the pan.
When this point is reached (and bear in mind you added natural pectin to set your jam in the form of unripe apples) have your sterilised jars and tops ready.

Turn the heat off, give it a minute or 2 to cool (you don't want boiling sugar on you!) and ladle in to your jars, cover with a wax disc or a piece of baking parchment cut to size, put the lid on straight away, and leave to cool over night.

Blackberry jelly is best used within the year for the best flavour. It's excellent as a topping for ice cream or homemade rice pudding, or any other dessert you fancy something sweet on.

[mothhawk]

...Blackberry jelly is best used within the year for the best flavour...

The bramble jelly I'm using right now, made August 2016, tastes equally as good as the batch I made last month, but I use more sugar in mine, a pound of sugar to a pint of juice.

Seedless bramble jam is delicious too. Instead of dripping the fruit overnight, rub it through a sieve so you get a puree of all the fruit except the seeds and skin. Then proportions as above, a pound to a pint.

I also puree a lot of blackberries and freeze in ice cube trays then bag up. Then it's easy to take out half a dozen blackberry cubes and add them to apples for blackberry and apple pie, or for smoothies, or whatever you want.

[Ivanhoe]

Thanks to all of you for giving me plenty of ideas how to use my blackberry's .
Nice day today so been out with my grandson once more and have got another 11 pound of blackberry's . My wife has been busy making pies and crumbles for freezer and we have bagged up some to put straight in the freezer .
We will be having a go at the recipes for alcoholic uses at the weekend as i am getting wine making equipment from my sister and she is going to give me pointers .
I will still keep on going and pick the blackberry's before they spoil but leave certain areas alone for the wild life to take .

[Earthgirl Jen]

Just another pointer Ivanhoe ,You can also freeze the bramble 'juice' to made into jam at a later date as well x

[HoneyChild]

Can anyone tell me if bramble jelly requires pectin or not?

I've picked a few containers of brambles growing locally in hedgerows and have so far boiled them up and they are now straining through a jelly strainer. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe in the gaurdian just had brambles and granulated sugar but on his Youtube video he also has apples and lemons and he said the apples provided the much needed pectin.

I've looked at various other recipes and just can't decide whether to use regular sugar or jam sugar.

Thanks!

[Two_Sheds]

It won’t spoil on the bushes - the birds will eat it. I always leave the highest fruits for the birds

[Scarlet]

Can anyone tell me if bramble jelly requires pectin or not?

I've picked a few containers of brambles growing locally in hedgerows and have so far boiled them up and they are now straining through a jelly strainer. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe in the gaurdian just had brambles and granulated sugar but on his Youtube video he also has apples and lemons and he said the apples provided the much needed pectin.

I've looked at various other recipes and just can't decide whether to use regular sugar or jam sugar.

Thanks!

Ive never used it with blackberries, but I will usually use a couple of fallen apples ( or boil up with the skins) I've never bought jam sugar. Though I also use the same fruit to sugar ratio to Mothhawk as this not only helps with the keeping quality but with setting. I don't use much water either - just enough to stop the fuit from sticking to the pan. If you are hoping to use it up quick you can reduce the sugar.

[HoneyChild]

Ive never used it with blackberries, but I will usually use a couple of fallen apples ( or boil up with the skins) I've never bought jam sugar. Though I also use the same fruit to sugar ratio to Mothhawk as this not only helps with the keeping quality but with setting. I don't use much water either - just enough to stop the fuit from sticking to the pan. If you are hoping to use it up quick you can reduce the sugar.

I ended up just boiling them with a little water and then blended using a stick blender. Put it through the strainer I bought from Lakeland and was dissapointed to find that 24 hrs later I only got 300ml. So I decided to add bioling water to the strainer and got the figure up to 1 litre. I then boiled the liquid with jam sugar and got 4 jars of jelly which set perfectly and tasted yummy.

I then used the pulp with sugar and vodka which is now sitting in a big kilner jar and will strain that out in a couple of weeks time.

[Scarlet]

A good book for jams and jelly recipes is Marguerite Patten’s Basic Basics- it’s been my go to book for years and is well thumbed - it’s really basic, no photos etc but is a great book for preserves - jams, jellies, fruit butters/cheeses, chutneys, pickles and vinegars.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Basics-Pres.../dp/1902304721

[Squingy]

Whatever you do not to make bramble jam in an iron pot. Some reaction occurred and our teeth stained blue. Was funny until we realised the toothbrush couldnt brushing it off. Good thing the man didn't have to work the next day.

[Squingy]

Can anyone tell me if bramble jelly requires pectin or not?

Thanks!

I've never used pectin in it no, and it sets fine.