The blog of photographer Kim Ayres

Bramble Hunting

Each year in the Ayres household, The Great Bramble Hunt takes place.

Brambles (or blackberries as they are known South of the border and in other parts of the world) are ruthlessly hunted down, picked, thrown into plastic tubs and brought triumphantly home for the matriarch to inspect. If she approves some will be turned into Bramble Crumble while the remainder will be frozen, ready for transformation into Bramble Ice Cream at Christmas.


One of the finest fruits in existence

Last year, due to a combination of weather and bad timing, the harvest was poor. We struggled to fill a small tub, and what we did gather didn't have the rich taste we so enjoy and required lots of added sugar to try and make up for it.

However this year my daughter, Meg, and I managed a bumper crop. We headed out with 2 litre, 1 litre and ½ litre tubs and managed to fill all of them, which amounts to about 4 pounds of brambles. Later in the day I managed another ½ pound from the briars in one corner of the garden.


Stained fingers

I am salivating in anticipation...

11 comments

Ms Scarlet said...

Yes, we used to do this too! Mum used to make blackberry jam.
Sx

Anonymous said...

These look wonderful. I remember doing this when I was child when I went to my grandparents farm back east....the stained fingers.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Lucky, lucky you, to be able to pick berries growing wild. These berries are supposed to be good for all kinds of things, eyes and so on.

I sometimes buy bramble berry jam from Scotland, no sugar added. It's quite nice. I will buy some more tomorrow!

Yaya Snaps said...

I used to pick wild blackberries growing by the roadside and when I was a kid we picked wild black berries, blue berries, strawberries and grapes. I haven't lived in an area where wild berries grow for years so no longer enjoyed those delights...how fortunate you are that you do! Enjoy!

hope said...

That's the kind of job I was good at...because I didn't care for blackberries. :) Strawberries on the other hand....

Sounds like you'll have a sliver of summer during the winter months.

Unknown said...

I really liked your post about Bramble Hunting

Pat said...

I do wonder what colour Meg's lips were.
I love the way we bloggers - well some of us - go with the seasons. Almost biblical.

Kim Ayres said...

Scarlet - mmmMMMmmm...blackberry jam...

Allen - They do cause stains that are nigh on impossible to remove, so old clothing must be worn. In fact, the colours stick so well, Maggie is planning on using any left over for dyeing :)

Guyana-Gyal - if ever you make it over to Scotland, try and time it for the end of August/early September and you can pick you very own :)

Theanne - it's an annual tradition - something I've done since I was a kid and have done with my own kids every year since they were old enough :)

Hope - Maggie's bramble ice cream at Christmas is when that really happens :)

Mita - thank you for taking the time to comment, and welcome to my blog :)

Pat - when we've been blogging for so many years (my 9th anniversary was last month), the seasons inevitably find their way into our tales :)

Michelle said...

Ha! We had bramble and apple crumble last weekend. :D One of the best things to come out of Scotland - brambleberries.

From Africa I miss amatangulas. Tricky to make jam of, but delicious eaten right off the hedge.. as long as you remember to dodge the thorns!

Kim Ayres said...

Michelle - I'm sure the brambles just wouldn't taste as good if we hadn't had to cope with briars, gorse, nettles, maggots and spiders to get them :)

Michelle said...

I reminded myself of that while taking thorns out my fingertips. ;-)

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