The blackberries are smaller this year, but mighty sweet. Hugo Arnold goes foraging in the hedgerows
Last night I tipped a bowlful of blackberries into an oven-proof dish and scooped sweetened, vanilla-laced mascarpone on top of them. Fifteen minutes later, we pulled the dish from a moderately hot oven and were fighting over the blue-black stained bowl, scooping every last morsel from the corners.
The buckets of fruit we picked last weekend have hit the Arnold production line - emerging as jam and crumbles (for the freezer), as well as coulis, a new departure this year. This liquid puree is a delight drizzled over ice-cream, makes a great smoothie and a fantastic cordial.
Brambles are a plague during summer rambles, but in the past few weeks they have produced some of the best berries. And they are free. When strawberries disappear for another year, and late raspberries climb in price, it's time to hit the hedgerows. Blackberries cost nothing more than a little time and effort, have a striking colour and honest-to-goodness flavours.
While soft fruit generally commands high prices - to be fair, the punnet of blackberries in my local shop is no exception - the picking is there for anyone prepared to walk down a country lane. My children are rarely so keen to walk, although I've yet to work out how to prevent them eating at least half of what they pick.
Jam and jelly makers will tell you that a few red berries help the preserve to set. Apples perform the same function in a jelly; a tip handed on from Jane Grigson's excellent fruit book. I am apt to throw a few berries into a stew as the tart sweetness acts in much the same manner as zest from an orange. A spoonful of jelly will liven up a tart, dramatically altering its colour, which can be a pleasant surprise on a grey, winter day.
Duck with orange may be traditional, but blackberries make a welcome alternative to citrus, and work well with most game.
A recipe for Eaton mess, a heady concoction of meringues, cream and, traditionally, strawberries (although I have it on good authority the pudding was originally made with bananas), is a family favourite. Blackberries make for a striking alternative.
I am sure there are those who can tell what kind of winter we are in for from the size of the berries in the hedgerows. This year, they seem smaller than of late, but with a delightful sweetness, which seems to confirm what the wise weather watchers say: things are getting warmer. Stock up now, so that you can chomp on toast liberally spread with blackberry jam this winter, and be reminded of warm summer days.