Picking Blackberries

Tis the season to be merry and pick berries! 

I had wanted to go strawberry picking for quite sometime now but since the plan has yet to materialize, I had to content myself picking blackberries kat belakang rumah aje...

However, picking blackberries was not as fun  as picking strawberries as there were big prickly thorns to avoid.  You might want to consider covering yourself from head to toe to avoid being scratched!

As for moi, in the end, hubby did the 'dirty' job... Kui! Kui! Kui!

Blackberries normally grow wild in the bushes.  It flowers in spring and bears fruit in  summer. 

Beginilah rupa blackberry...  If it is purple, red or green in colour, it's not ripe yet.  So, tak payah petik sebab ia tak akan ranum walaupun diperam (ingat pisang ke??).  A sweet ripe blackberry would be deep black, and feels 'plumpily' soft when you squeeze it between your fingers.  Normally it will pull free from the plant with a slight tug. 

Blackberries are normally eaten raw, served with yogurt or desert and often made into jam or jelly.  Nantilah bila senang-senang, boleh cuba buat Blackberry jam (entah bilalah tu...)

Other interesting facts about blackberries:

- The ancient Greeks believed that blackberries could cure diseases of the mouth and throat and prevent many ailments including gout.

- Researches done in several institutions in Ohio found that blackberries contain potent antioxidants to fight cancer.

- According to Culpeper, the English herbalist, blackberry leaves boiled in lye solution made good grey-hair dye.

For more information on the blackberry (the fruit not the phone :P), go to this link.