Blackberry season

It's high blackberry season and there's the most fantastic crop on the Western Hills.

Picking here is a dream. My memories of blackberry picking as a child in suburban Wellington are of all the bushes being well picked over and getting scratched up the arms stretching precariously over the edge of a steep bank to reach the last few. The same was true in Aro Valley where foraging was fashionable among the students. Up here there are masses of bushes dripping with beautifully ripe plump berries. You can saunter along the edge of the road idly picking only the juiciest and popping them in your mouth.

There are so many ripe berries within easy reach that you have to conclude that no-one up here really picks them at all. You're not in Aro Valley now, Compost Girl.

But what could be more frugal and eco-friendly than foraging?  So I was out today with the baby strapped on in the front pack, picking the blackberries down our street.

When I was a kid my Mum used to keep the best berries for blackberry and apple pie or to eat with muesli for breakfast. Any small or somewhat manky ones would go in a jar to make blackberry cordial. I'm doing the same, although I'm not up to pie - I've just made a simple blackberry sauce to go over vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Here's Mum's recipe:

Blackberry cordial

2 cups blackberries
2 cups white wine vinegar
450g sugar
250g honey

Pour vinegar over blackberries and stand one week. Strain and put liquid in a saucepan with the sugar and honey. Bring to the boil then remove from heat and cool. Bottle. Can be used much like Ribena.

Like my Mum I'll be adding blackberries to the jar over several days of pickings.