Blackberrying

In the midst of a mighty downpour this morning, I put on my kagoul and popped down the road to the little narrow laneway where I'd spied some juicy looking blackberries the other week.  I thought it best to go picking those particular blackberries when the weather was especially inclement in order to minimise the risk of somebody shouting out 'Oi!  You shouldn't be picking those.'  I'm pretty sure they are wild blackberry bushes, and not the overflow from somebody's garden, but I did feel a bit like a criminal whilst I was picking them.

Mind you, I haven't gone foraging for blackberries for many years.  When we were children it was a regular part of our annual calendar and many a Sunday afternoon in September was spent with my parents and a trusty walking stick (to reach the really juicy ones that were always tantalisingly just out of our grasp), filling Tupperware containers from the hedgerows.  Dad was very fond of blackberry jam and my poor Mum would then have to cook up these pounds and pounds of blackberries to make his jam.  Nobody else was that keen on it but as children we really enjoyed picking in this free food from the hedges, even if we weren't going to eat the final product.  

I doubt there would be enough in the laneway here to make much in the way of jam, but there is plenty enough for a blackberry and apple crumble, and hopefully I'll be able to pick in more again next week.

Comments

[Maureen]

I love your posts as they remind me of home but this one takes me back to childhood. Happy memories, a little enamel dish ( which would have matched your collander) filled with fruits and my tea shirt covered in blackberry juice.....

[Sharon J]

Ohhh... blackberry and apple crumble!

My OH made a lovely blackberry and apple pie last week from foraged blackberries and it was delicious. I really must get out and do some foraging myself.

[Gill]

We always went on a blackberry picking expedition when I was a child, I remember it was quite an occasion! Mum would make blackberry jelly and apple and blackberry crumbles. I haven't been myself for years, every year I promise myself I'll go but never quite get round to it...must try harder.