I noticed the blackberry brambles on our first bike trip. It’s hard not to — most of the roadways and trails are covered with berries, and bonus, they’re ready to pick! Baking at an AirBnB can be an undertaking, but cobbler is simple enough to, well, cobble together.
We headed out to the bike trail with yogurt containers and assorted kitchen bowls to gather berries.
Some thoughts on picking blackberries:
- Wear long sleeves. The brambles will fight back.
- Use smaller containers because the berries will start to crush the ones below.
- If you have to work to get a berry loose, it’s not ready. Plus, the vine will whip back at you if you pull too hard.
- Go for the easy berries though not the ones at the very bottom — you don’t know if puppies use areas.
- If you drop a berry, let it go. Trying to recover a berry in a bramble is a bad idea. It’s like dropping a knife — it’s never good to dive after it.
- Blackberry juice looks a lot like blood. Don’t be alarmed.
A few thoughts on cleaning blackberries:
- Ripe blackberries are super delicate. Don’t clean them until you’re ready to use or they’ll fall apart. Store them covered in the fridge.
- To clean, fill a basin with cool water, pour the berries into the water, and siphon off the floating bits before draining the lot in a sieve. Don’t agitate the berries too much and don’t use a faucet or sprayer — they will disintegrate.
- Work in small batches because if you try to do too many, the weight of the berries will start to crush the ones below.
- Don’t use anything that will stain. Clean up with paper towels if you don’t want your washcloth to get ruined. While I’ve heard soaking items in white vinegar works, I’d rather not take the chance.
Because I’m a little limited on resources, I whipped together a combination of two blackberry cobbler recipes. I used Serious Eats cobbler filler, subbing in blueberries instead of raspberries. The addition of baking soda and cinnamon makes a difference. And I used this topping from All Recipes. The cake-like texture was a little more appealing than a crumble, but if we get more berries, I might change my mind and go full Stella Parks on my next attempt.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. And if you remember to save a few showstopper berries for presentation? Well, Paul & Mary would be proud.
Update: We’ve seen people using step-ladders and tongs to grab branches. I’m pleased to see people trying to make this easier. Ha!