THE BLACKBERRY SEASON

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 7 (Supplement)

THE BLACKBERRY SEASON

Hints lor Picking.—The blackberry harvest is not a long one, and we must seize the opportunity while we may to cull the ripe, luscious purple-black fruit. tAt the first frost the berries lose their flavour and juiciness, and the English country folk say "the devil's had his fingers on them." Take a wide basket and put a pudding basin into it to save the fruit juice, which ■would soon soak through paper and the meshes of the basket. Slip on an old pair of kid gloves to gave the hands from scratches and stains. The latter are not easy to remove. Don't wear woollies which catch so easily in the thorns, and put on an old pair of stockings. The brambles are sure to prove fatal to silk ones. Blackberry Vinegar.—ln the country blackberry vinegar vies with that evolved from the raspberry. The blackberries are covered with ordinary vinegar and are allowed to stand for twenty-four hours. The combined liquid is then squeezed out, and to it more blackberries are added. This takes place three times. Afterwards the juice is boiled up with sufficient sugar and bottled. In certain quarters it seems well worth having a cold, so that it may be cured by draughts of blackberry garBlackberries and Apple.—For blackberry tarts and puddings use apple as a yehicle for pips. The pudding has just as much blackberry flavour if, to the foundation of apple, is added the juice, minus the pips, of .the blackberry. This can be stewed out with a little sugar and a dash of water. It does particularly well in pies, being poured all over the cut-up apple. The less water there is the better. Those who have actually, picked the blackberries often prefer them whole as a memento of a golden 'day when they almost dropped off into the hand —or sometimes into the brambles." ' Blackberry Jelly.—Pick the fruit rather onder-ripe, prepare it carefully, and wash if necessary. P.ut it into a preserving pan and pour in cold water to half cover it. Then cook the "berries slowly for one hour or longer, bruising them down with a wooden; spoon to extract all the juice. Now strain all through a jelly-cloth, or through a sieve covered with muslin, and leave to drip all night. Measure the juice, return it to a clean preserving pan and let it boil for 15 minutes . Add 3lb. of sugar (warmed in the oven) to each pint of liquid. Stir until dissolved, then boil all together until the jelly will set. Blackberry Jam.—To lib." blackberries allow Jib. sugar. Pick and wash the black- : berries, put them into a preserving pan and let them heat slowly over-the fire. When the juice begins to flow add tho sugar by degrees, and boil for 20 minutes or longer. Test in the usual way. Half-a-poiind of apples, peeled, ;cored and sliced may be used with each lb. of blackberries, but they should be cooked before the blackberries are added, and an extra £lb. sugar allowed. ' i.. Blackberry and Apple Jam (Seedless). —Equal quantities of blackberries and apples, and sugar as below. First wash the apples, slice them without peeling, and cook them in* a preserving pan with just enough water to keep them from burning. When soft add the blackberries, carefully picked and washed' if necessary, and cook both kinds of fruit together until reduced to a pulp. Then rub the mixture through a sieve, and to each pint of ths puree allow lib., of sugar. Put both into the preserving pan and stir over the heat until ready. This jam is somewhat troublesome to make, but it is worth while, as the seeds in blackberries are objectionably large.