What Are Blackberries and How Can I Use Them?
Blackberries is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store them, what to substitute, and 70 recipes to get you started.
What are blackberries?
The blackberry is an oblong, conical fruit composed of many small fruits called drupelets. Blackberries are also called brambles, since they are the fruit of various brambles of the Flubus genus.
When the ripe fruit is picked, the stem or receptacle holding it remains part of the shrub. Ripe blackberries are a lustrous purple-black in color. As for the unripened fruit, what seems like a paradox puts it this way: blackberries are red when they
are green. They may be wild or cultivated.
They are one of the finest and most abundant wild crops of America and well worth gathering. They have long been popular in England where until recently, every farmer’s wife went “blackberrying” in September, to turn her crop into puddings, pies, jams, and even homemade wine.
Blackberries and their close relative, dewberries, can be used in dozens of ways. They are delicious as fresh fruit with sugar and cream, they make fine jams and jellies, and their juice, squeezed from the raw crushed berries, tastes wonderfully good when mixed in equal quantities with lemonade.
Blackberry wine and cordial used to be a precious homemade drink and the pride of a housewife. Blackberries and apples, stewed separately and then mixed, or baked together into a deep-dish pie are a particularly delightful combination.
Availability
Season is in May, June, July and August with a peak season in June. Major sources in the US are New Jersey and California. Canned blackberries are also available.
Purchasing Guide
Select berries that are bright, fresh, plump, well shaped and solid in color. The should be free of dirt and moisture with no adhering caps; caps may indicate immature fruit.
Avoid shriveled, wet, or leaky berries. A stained container often indicate overripe or damaged berries.
Sold by ½ pint, pint and quart.
1 pint = 2 cups
Storage
Sort berries and keep them in the refrigerator. Do not cover and wash. Use as soon as possible.
Fresh, refrigerator shelf: 1 to 2 days
Fresh, refrigerator-freezer, prepared for freezing: 1 month
Fresh, deep freezer, prepared for freezing: 9 to 12 months
Canned, kitchen shelf: 1 year
Canned, refrigerator shelf, opened and covered: 1 to 2 days
Basic Preparation
Wash berries just before they are to be used. Run water over the berries gently, do not allow the fruit to soak in water.
Sprinkle with sugar and serve plain or with ice cream. Add to fruit cups and salads. Use in puddings, gelatin dishes, pies, tarts, jams and sherbets.
To Freeze
Wash berries in cold water; use hands to lift berries out of the water to avoid crushing. Pack berries in a sugar syrup (3 cups sugar to 4 cups water), or dry pack without sugar, or pack them in sugar, adding ¾ cup of sugar for every 4 cups of berries. Freeze with ½ inch of head-space in the container.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup (144g)Where found
Blackberries are usually found in the fruit section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
Food group
Blackberries are a member of the Fruits and Fruit Juices US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
How much do blackberries weigh?
| Amount | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | 144 grams |
Related
Fruits and Fruit Juices
| In Chinese: | 黑莓 | |
| British (UK) term: | ||
| en français: | mûres | |
| en español: | moras |
Recipes using blackberries
There are 70 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Swedish Pancakes with Berry-Cardamom Topping
First time to make Swedish pancakes, it was so much fun to watch this petite pancakes being browned and puffed in the pan. I made a blueberry sauce that tasted fruity, refreshing and delicious with these warm pancakes. With a cup of orange juice, our breakfast was well served.
Blackberries Crumb Bars
Blackberry crumb bars, a buttery lemon-scented dough that doubles as crust and crumble, layered with a juicy cornstarch-thickened blackberry filling. Like portable blackberry pie, baked and cut into squares.
Apple Blackberry Pie
Classic lattice-topped apple blackberry pie with tart apples and juicy berries in a cornstarch-thickened filling for beautiful summer-to-fall fruit dessert.
Mom's Breakfast Berry Muffins
Mom's breakfast berry muffins with blackberries (or blueberries) tossed in flour to keep them suspended. A bakery-style butter-and-egg base produces tender, golden muffins. Makes 16 for the freezer.
Blackberry Lemon Ice Cream
Blackberry lemon ice cream made with sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half, and fresh lemon juice. No-cook five-ingredient ice cream maker recipe. Bright, tart, and creamy in equal measure.
Mixed Berry Dutch Baby
A dutch baby is a german pancake that is baked in a skillet. This version adds summer fruits to make a recipe that serves as a dessert as well as a breakfast treat.
Decadent Blackberry Ice Cream
Seedless blackberry ice cream made by straining the berries through cheesecloth, simmering the juice into syrup, and folding into heavy cream. Smooth, intensely fruity, and free of seedy texture.
Decadent Blackberry Ice Cream
Seedless blackberry ice cream made by straining the berries through cheesecloth, simmering the juice into syrup, and folding into heavy cream. Smooth, intensely fruity, and free of seedy texture.
Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce
I've always been a fan of combining sweet fruits with savory spices, it sets up a certain flavor balance that just works so well. Mango with chili pepper, peaches and thyme, rhubarb and rosemary. They're all delicious, so can there be any question that blackberries and rosemary would just be a match made in heaven?
Jumbleberry Pie
Jumbleberry pie loaded with fresh blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries in a double-crust pastry with warm cinnamon and nutmeg. A triple-berry showstopper served with ice cream.
Breakfast Crepes with Warm Berry Sauce
Instead of pancakes, try these delicious crepes with warm berry sauce and a cup of orange juice or coffee for breakfast.
Bisquick Berry Yogurt Muffins
Bisquick berry yogurt muffins made with fresh blackberries, tangy yogurt, and lemon zest. Only 7 ingredients for a tender, fruity breakfast muffin.
Easy Blackberry Preserves
Three-ingredient seedless blackberry preserves with equal parts berries and sugar plus a splash of lemon juice. Old-school maceration method gives deep berry flavor without added pectin.
Swedish Fruit Compote~
Elegant Scandinavian berry compote with fresh blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries in a lightly sweetened maple and cinnamon sauce.
Trota Di Polenta
Italian polenta cake made with cornmeal and buttermilk, topped with a warm raspberry-blackberry sauce spiked with raspberry schnapps. Rustic, golden, and begging for a scoop of gelato.
Turkey Breast- Orange Blackberry Relish
Roasted turkey breast basted with orange juice concentrate, served with a homemade orange-blackberry relish thickened with brown sugar and cornstarch. A stunning, fruity holiday centerpiece that feeds 15.
Fresh Berry Tulip with White Chocolate Ice Cream
Fresh berry tulip with white chocolate ice cream: delicate tuile cookies shaped into edible bowls, filled with mixed fresh berries, whipped cream, and a scoop of white chocolate ice cream. Patisserie-level dessert.
Phaalse Ka Sharbat (Blackberry Downpour)
Phaalse Ka Sharbat is a traditional Indian blackberry summer drink with mashed soaked berries, sugar, and a pinch of salt over crushed ice. Refreshing North Indian sherbet for hot days.
Chicken Blackberry Vinegar
Blackberry vinegar chicken with a rich and flavourful demiglace. Great for a special occasion.
Yogurt & Fruit Parfaits
Very nice and easy, I made it for my kids, once I finished it, my husband and I we both loved it too, so it is a really good.
Atole - Atole De Zarzamora
Traditional Mexican Atole thickened with masa - two recipes in one: wild Blackberry Atole de Zarzamora and Champurrado (chocolate with cinnamon). A warm, nourishing drink served with tamales.
Pineapple Cherry Pie
Double-crust blackberry pie with a flaky shortening pastry and a simple sugar-and-flour-thickened filling. The kind of late-summer fruit pie that lets the berries do the talking.
Blackberry Shrub
Old-fashioned blackberry shrub, a sweet-tart fruit syrup mixed with lemon juice. Serve over ice, top with club soda, or float a scoop of sherbet for a colonial-era refreshing drink.
