blackberry worms

[janeyo]

I like to get as many worms out of the blackberries as possible or I can't eat them. Turns my stomach.

I have just deforstedsome to make a rumble with and there are loads of frozen worms mixed in. Have been trying to pick them all out.

The blackberries are all collected wild. Do these ones get more worms? Is it down to the age of the berry? Ie young berries have less?

I might not pick any more of all I get is worms.

I might make the crumble and give it to mum and dad and not tell them it had worms in it lol.

Is there a surefire way of getting rid of them all before freezing?

Thanks

[littlemark]

I knew nothing about this problem until I met the missus, who always insists on soaking the Blackberrys in salted water before use. This drives the worms out apparently..

Mark

[coomber]

same here, always soak them in salted water - the worms/maggots float to the top

[janeyo]

No had it been veggies I would have thought of that myself, but somehow as it was fruit it didn't occur to me!

[Jenegade]

I've never noticed worms in wild ones before, I tend to just pick them and eat them! Maybe I should take a closer look!!

[BarleySugar]

I think some patches are worse than others. I found last year that one patch I tried, all the berries seemed to have maggots, but another was clear. I didn't get any in the garden either.
My mother always used to soak the berries in salt water too, and the maggots floated out. She always sieved the pips out, so any maggots left were well mashed, and we didn't know they were there

[janeyo]

Right it's salt water for me from now on

Thanks

[lynda66]

i've always soaked mine before freezing em too, can't think of anything much worse than maggoty things in something i'm gonna eat yukkkkkkkkkkk

[janeyo]

I do wash them but obviously some slipped through the net. Makes me feal a bit ill...

[littlemark]

I wonder what they're maggots of.....

Mark

[Dottie]

I grow loads of blackberries on my allotment and have eaten lots as I pick them and they have not had any worms. The ones I brought home and froze also showed no obvious signs of worms or maggots.

But now you have me worried, have I eaten loads of worms and just not known? Or is this just a problem with wild berries?

I love my fruit and 60% of my plot is fruit, but now I'm feeling a little sick.

[lynda66]

lol, they burrow deep inside the fruit and you can't always see just by looking *

feels smug, as she's never eaten a blackberry straight off the bush, so therefore has never eaten berry maggots, though have seen many

[Eco-Chic]

Sometimes these forums provide TMI

[lynda66]

Sometimes these forums provide TMI

yeah but you'll never eat another berry straight from the bush will you

[lynda66]

I wonder what they're maggots of.....

Mark

no idea either and a google search for blackberry maggot didn't turn up anything useful either....... though one site did suggest that a bit of protein in your crumble is a good thing