Blackberry Preserve Ideas?
 

Our blackberries are ripe and I'm looking for ways to use them or preserve them. Last year I made jam, but we eat so little jam it more seems a waste than a preserve. My DH suggested just freezing them and then using them throughout the year in smoothies or crumbles/crisps. Sounds fine and easy to me. I just don't want to waste them. And other ideas? Thanks!

Freeze them for sure.

You can use them in so many different ways
pies, crisps, crumbles, cobblers, muffins, cheesecake topping, jam, jellies, smoothies, pancakes/waffles (in or as a topping), with green salads, mixed fruit salads, with yogurt .................. the list is endless!

Really, anywhere that you use other berries, just substitute.

I bet there are even blackberry wine recipes, if that is of interest to you.

I wish we had Blackberry patches on our side of the mountains.

I love Blackberry preserves and Blackberry wine. :) Too bad you didn't live closer I would buy some of your preserves and blackberries from you.

I make wine. So far, the best wine that I've made is my blackberry. Usually wine ages in the bottle for 6-12 months to reach it's peak flavor. My blackberry was ready to drink when we bottled it. Having a hard time waiting 4 months, let alone 6-12 months. I bought my blackberries from a grocery store, wine made from your home grown berries would be even better.

I have wild 'mulberry' trees (or large bushes). Would all these suggestions work for them? I usually just let them fall to the ground.

I have used blackberry jelly in Oriental Dishes instead of sweet & sour sauce and sometimes with. I put a little bit in a bowl. Stir it good and see if I like it.

Be sure to wash them (gently) first, to let the Japanese Beetles float to the surface. The little boogers are hard to see on blackberries. I grow a 50 foot row of these wonderful fruits and they can take up a lot of freezer/container space. I like the smoothe idea to condense them. My grandkids have been making smoothe popcycles with the sour cherries and now the black raspberries and soon the blackberries. Its magic at Meme's house where snacks grow on trees!

Mulberries make great pies. And wine.

I like that method. Thanks! That way I don't need to defrost more than needed; perfect!

I love frozen berries, eat them like popcorn

Blackberry gin or vodka is also very, very nice. I try to make some every year.

I just love this post, Jane! Can picture their happy faces.:)
I've been watching some red raspberry patches along Hwy 122 for the day they are ripe enough for me to stop and pick. Of course, it'll probably be the day I have to move!!
I've not forgotten our "date", by the way; soon!

Jan in VA

My DH and daughters love frozen blackberries and raspberries just to eat as a snack. We have to buy them here - but I place them in a quart size ziplock bag - they are one layer only so they don't freeze together. I have no idea how long they will last because they never say in the freezer longer than 2 weeks. When they are in season and a good price I will freeze them by the amount I want in a pie or cobbler.

My friend told me she used to do it to their peaches when her girls were little - so last summer my DH went away for a week leaving me with several boxes of berries - way more than I could ever eat before they would rot, so I did the freezer thing. Little did I know I was creating a new treat for them.

This made me think of my neighbour. They would pick their raspberries (which they let grow wild - no pruning for them or spraying either) and just freeze the berries. They picked out the beetles when they ate them or made jam. I only got berries from them once!

We grow blackberries at our place. Wow...yours are further along that ours. Our patch won't be ready for another 2-3 weeks. When they are ready, we'll be looking at bushels and bushels of them all at once. I try to make jam, juice and syrup with them, but freezing usually works well for all of the left overs. Wash, drain, when dry, put into freezer bags and pop them into the freezer. The frozen berries are great for smoothies.

Also, when we make jam, we use Pomona's Universal Pectin. It's a little more expensive, but it comes with a packet of
monocalcium phosphate, which really helps make the jam, or jelly set nicely....no more failures. (We obviously don't have enough calcium in our water and soil. I have to add calcium to my tomato plants as well.)

~ C

My garden is sans pesticides and commercial fertiliers, but I've had no trouble with Japanese beetles...knock on wood. Gosh...maybe I just ate them and didn't know it. :D

~ C

We have black berries ripening outside our back door. My dad's apple tree is full of apples, so when they start falling I will get me a bunch of those to prepare for my freezer.

This is what I do.My husband needs to eat a lot of fiber.I pretty much keep frozen berries....all kinds & other stone fruits,plums,peaches & cherries.A cup to 0ne & 1/2C in his shakes.The frozen fruit including banana chunks keeps the shake thick & no sweetener needed.

Freezing sounds like a good idea. You can put them on pancakes...

......... even better, when IN the pancakes!

And better still .... poached in some maple syrup, to top those pancakes while warm!

I mix frozen blackberries in my pancake mix. DH loves them in pancakes.

can them like jam, but don't take the temp to 215degrees jam requires. leave them a little "looser" in the canned jar (at a lower temp and using less pectin) and then they are great for pancake syrup, smoothy additions, pour over ice cream, mix with yogurt etc. I'm not a jelly.jam fan either, and I cut back on the sugar too. We are in the height of berry season here in Virginia, and my daughter made me a blackberry pie for my birthday today. wowzers, it was good.

Are they thornless or thorn blackberries? Thornless blackberries can be a little more tart which makes them great when adding the sugar for jams and jellies. I prefer jams but strain out the seeds. One of my favorite jams is the typical jam but adding cloves,nutmeg and cinnamon. I use it as a glaze. It's great on hams. I also use as a barque sauce on chicken.

berryberry, ours are thornless in the garden, thorny in the woods. But barbecue on chicken? glaze on hams? Now that's a hit! I knew I did not have enough put up yet!