Blackberry bounty

How to make the most of a delicious blackberry crop

I love this time of year. Breezy and warm, you can start wearing light knits and dig out your knee high boots... It's also perfect for one of my favourite activities - blackberrying. I heard somewhere that this was a good year for blackberries, and was very pleasantly surprised to find a glut growing along the canal even in my city location. As a country girl by heart, this was very pleasing! I picked nearly a kilogram of them and then set about making some goodies....

Blackberry and Apple Gin

I have infused vodka and gin with fruit in previous years with very good results but haven't tried this particular combination before. After a quick google though I saw that it had good reviews so I thought I would give it a go. I'll update you with some photos and taste reviews in November when it is ready!

Early stages of gin infusion

 For this blackberry and apple gin I used:

225g cooking apple, peeled and cored
225g blackberries (give them a good wash first and let them dry - you don't want to dilute the gin)
150g sugar
600ml gin (decent quality but don't use mega expensive stuff)

I put all the ingredients in a big (1.5l) jar so that it would be easy to shake up over the coming weeks to dissolve the sugar. In a couple of months I'll strain the mixture through muslin and put it in a pretty bottle.

This cost about £10 to make but you could do it cheaper with cheaper gin. I just made a small batch as it was my first try but if it is a success I will be making more next year as they make fab presents and improve with a couple of years' storage.


Two months later....

I passed the gin through a sieve which was enough to remove the bits of fruit and give a lovely coloured clear gin. If there are bits still in there though, strain it through some muslin.

I used some brown card luggage labels and MY NEW STAMP(!!) to label this bottle. This was a present from a good friend who obviously knows me very well. After trying out this stamp I went a bit 'stamp mad' and ordered quite a few things so expect to see more crafts with stamps in my next post!

Blackberry and Apple Jam

Blackberry and apple are a winning flavour combination and this is a great jam to make as apples are high in pectin so you don't need to add any and it sets easily.

Make this jam as for strawberry and rhubarb with half sugar and half fruit. I used half and half apple and blackberry but if you have loads of blackberries you could go up to 70% berries it might just take a bit longer to set.

Ingredients (for 2 large jars)

300g blackberries
300g cooking apples, peeled and cored
half teaspoon vanilla essence (optional)
600g sugar

Method

Stew the apple for a little first with a small quantity of water if needed as it takes a little while to break down, if it needs help when it get a bit soft use a potato masher to break it up. Add the blackberries and sugar and bring to the boil. It will go a fabulous colour!

Jam near setting point

Test the set often (see strawberry and rhubarb jam post) as it will not take long at all once the sugar is added (mine was 15 minutes) and a loose set is preferable to a very firm one. Pour into sterilised jars, cover with a wax disc and seal. Have with toast or crumpets when you need cheering up or give some to a friend!

Jam jar ready to give away - great colour!

And what to do with the rest....

Blackberry and apple compote with yogurt

My Granny has an apple tree in her garden and every year there is a big harvest which she makes into compote and freezes to use the whole year for a simple pudding with yogurt or in pies or crumbles. This is quite a labour of love with apples but is worth it I promise! If you managed to harvest lots of backberries then you can freeze them directly to use in smoothies etc or this year I made some into a blackberry and apple compote with cinnamon. The ratio of blackberry: apple doesn't matter here at all, just stew it up in a pan, add brown sugar to taste and a half teaspoon of cinnamon per 500g fruit. 

Try it with yogurt for a virtuous breakfast (yummy with homemade granola!) or pop it in the freezer for use in a crumble later on. 

Apple and blackberry compote for freezing