People from other areas of the world find it scandalous that Oregonians take blackberries so for granted. They are practically considered weeds here, what with their impenetrable spiky vines encroaching on roads and taking over any empty field. Very pricey in stores elsewhere, people have to treat them like precious gems. Around here, we are simply greedy blackberry gluttons.
The logging road where we take our daily walk has a veritable wall of blackberries. The road is not used, so there are no impossibly dusty berries here. We picked about three gallons in a couple of hours. 
Yes, the dog got to come.
We are not fond of the seeds so, once home, we put them through a sieve.
Then, the remaining seedy pulp was put through the juicer to extract all the dark deliciousness.
I add a bit (okay, a lot) of sugar and then freeze the blackberry syrup for use throughout the year.I save the biggest, most perfect berries and freeze them on a cookie sheet. Later on, I bag them up to use in desserts along with the syrup.
I was debating whether to give you a recipe for Russian Cream (the premier use of blackberries, in my opinion) or showing you some cool blackberry art-for-daily-life. Maybe later on the dessert...
Irresistibly adorable baby slippers from Ailcia of Willo in the U.K. Awww...
Good heavens, you're up early! So am I, but I'm just now going to bed. I'll have to check out that recipe, if it's the premiere way to prepare blackberries; my parents have a bunch of bushes on their farm, so they come to me quite easily as well. :)
ReplyDeleteNot early, snotty, just still up, like you.
ReplyDeleteI'll get on that russian cream recipe for you; was just feeling too lazy to write it up before.
I remember picking these as a kid. They grew everywhere--all over the city, even (Seattle) so it's not as if you had to go far to find them. My grandmother made jam, too. Memories!
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