Table and Kitchen

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23275, 18 February 1939, Page 7 (Supplement)

Table and Kitchen

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Oyer the Hills and Far Away,

r the children at least, and to those of 1 us who even at a more mature age still' love a carefree dress-as-you-please day in the open air, blackberry time means jolly picnics and glorious rambles: over the hills in search of this tempting fruit. Byt there is another side to the picture—the same fruit, if gathered, in any quantity, lias to be turned into ja,m and jelly, quite apart |f;rom the popular pies and tarts for which the family will clamour. Still, it's worth it, isn't it; and here are a few recipes to vary the ways in which you can serve the luscious berries. Blackberry Trifle Stew about a pound of the berries slowly in water barely to cover. Add the sugar when they are almost done. After cooling a little, run the juice through a fine strainer over some sponge lingers in a dish. Top with thick custard, .and put the trifle in the coolest place possible until you are ready to cat it. This is a delicious sweet —few people would - tire of it. Use blackberry juice, too, for flavourinc stowed apples, apple tarts and puddings, adding the unsweetened juice to the raw apples in place of this usual water for cooking. Put in the sugar afterwards "... Bread-and-Butter Pudding This can be prepared the evening before' a busy day. Stew a pound of blackberries, and sweeten to taste. Line a greased brftin with slices of bread and butter fitted closely together. Pour in enough stewed blackberries to fill half the basin, then put in a round of bread and butter, fill up the basin with the rest of the berries, and cover the fruit with another layer of bread and butter. Put a plate or saucer on the top of thfi basin with a weight on the plate. You must bo sure to choose a basin small enough to be filled tightly right to the top, or the pudding will not turn out nicely. Turn it out next day and stive cold with custard. Alternatively, steam the pudding for an hour and serve hot with cream. Seedless Blackberry Jam To 4 pounds of blackberries allow H pounds of sharp apples, J pint of water, and when the pulp is obtained add an equal weight of heated preserving sugar. Put the blackberries in the preserving pan with a little water and extract the juice, then simmer till tender. Rub through a sieve to extract the seeds. Peel, core and slice up the apples, add the rest of the water to them and cook them till tender, then mash .tct a pulp. Add the sieved blackberries, , stir well, weigh the pulp and allot sugar. Put the pulp into the pan, add the heated sugar, bring to the boil, stirring well, and simmer till a little sets when tested on a cold plate. Although this jam is more trouble to make than ordinary blackberry jam it is worth taking the trouble, as the flavour iis delicious, and" it is seedless. Blackberry Vinegar The following recipe fbr a delicious drink, blackberry vinegar, is kindly supplied for last week's inquirer by '"'Janet," who has had it for 35) years and remembers it as one her mother always used. Gather sound ripe berries, being careful, of course, not to pick them in rain. Cover the berries with vinegar in a closely-covered jar, and allow it to stand for 6 days, stirring every day. Then strain the liquor through'muslin, and to every, pint of the liquor add lib. of sugar. Boil for 10 minutes, taking eff the scum as it rises. When it is told, bottle and cork it securely. Another version of this recipe states explicitly to allow a pint of vinegar

Gather Blackberries While You May

to each quart of berries, leave standing for threfi days only bofore straining, tnd finally boil for 20 minutes; after which proceed as before. Blackberry Dumplings These are a change from the apple variety. Make some pastry, roll it out fairly thickly, and fit rounds into deep well-greased round bun tins. Fill the dumplings with apples, cut and quartered, mixed with blackberries and brown sugar. Pinch the pastry together weli, and bake in a fairly hot oven for half an hour.