Berry Time

On the left in the picture are domestic Jewel Black raspberries grown in my garden, and on the right wild blackberries, which I was pleasantly surprised to find growing in my back yard this year (we didn't bush-hog last year, and they bear on second-year canes). What's the difference, and what (besides devouring them while you pick them) are they good for?

The two are not the same; the easiest way to tell the difference is that raspberries have a hollow core and when you pick them they leave a white cone on the plant.  Blackberries are a solid cluster.  You can see that the raspberries are just a little bit more reddish than the blackberries.  Taste test wise, the raspberries are a little sweeter and the blackberries more tart. 

Both of these plants are ripening really early this year; usually the blackberries happen around the end of June/early July here in Tennessee, and the raspberries a few weeks earlier.  The winter was so mild that pretty much everything is coming early this year.  Both start out red and turn black.  You can tell the black raspberries are ripe because they pull off the plant pretty easily; if it gives you a lot of resistance, it's not ready.  To a lesser degree this is true for the blackberries as well.

The blackberries are juuuust starting to turn black, so if you know a spot where wild blackberries grow you might want to get out there in the next week or two.  If you want to make your goodies (whether preserves, or cobbler, or whatever) seedless, you'll need a food mill and someone with a good arm.  Recipe here.

For the black raspberries you'll most likely need to plant your own.  You can do so in the fall.  Pick a place where they can freely re-seed and in a few years you'll have plenty of berries.  If you're a want it now kind of person, I highly recommend checking your local farmer's market, or if you're in Tennessee try picktnproducts.org

Most of the black raspberry recipes I came across called for black raspberry jam or preserves, so you might have to whip up a batch of that.  It's worth it to make some of the awesome recipes I found though, besides the awesomeness of black raspberry jam on its own.  Here's an awesome summer cookout dessert.

Black Raspberry Cream Pie

1 9" graham cracker pie crust
1 egg white, beaten
1 cup whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
10 oz  black raspberry spread (seedless preferred)
fresh raspberries and mint leaves for garnish

Preheat oven 375 degrees.  Brush pie shell with egg white and bake 5 minutes.  Cool on rack.
In mixing bowl beat whipping cream with an electric mixer on medium-high until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.  In another bowl beat cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in raspberry spread on low speed just until combined.  Fold in whipped cream.  Spoon into pie shell , cover and freeze 4-24 hours or until firm.  Garnish with raspberries and mint leaves.  Makes 8 servings.


If you've got the berries, try this with ice cream:

Triple Berry Crisp

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
4 Tablespoons white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Gently toss berries together in a bowl with the sugar.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  press half of mixture into a 9 x 13 pan, cover with berries, then top with the other half of the mixture.  Bake in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

Trust me, you'll need the ice cream.  Yum.  If you don't have all of those berries, I'm sure it'd be just as good with only one or two of them.

And if you pick enough blackberries, you might want to try blackberry wine, which I'm hoping to do this year.

Here's an article on foraging for blackberries in case you don't know how to identify them.  My tips are:  be wary of poison ivy, ticks and chiggers ( the bugs are particularly bad this year), and expect to get some scratches (and purple fingers!).  If none of that's for you, again, you're likely to find some brave soul at the farmer's market who has gone to the trouble for you.