Sweet and juicy

Vendange (harvest) has begun for some growers already, others are waiting just a few more days. We decided to make our own vendange and go blackberry picking, as we had been given a top tip by our local Champagne producer on where to go and pick some murs (blackberries) . So this afternoon we headed up to where he had suggested and sure enough, tucked away behind the vines, there were some very prickly brambles with some sweet and juicy blackberries.

We picked around 1.8kg, which is a good quantity to make some jam and a crumble for dinner. I have mixed 1.5kg of fruit with 1kg of sugar and one lemon, and that is now in the fridge. I’m letting the sugar dissolve into the juice which helps cut down on the cooking time. Blackberries have quite a high pectin content, and are generally quite sweet, hence why I am not using quite as much sugar as I would for some other fruits. Tomorrow I will cook the fruit and sugar mixture for about 10 minutes before filling some jars. Blackberry jam is such a delicious topping on fresh crusty bread, it really does conjure up beautiful memories of blackberry picking with my mum and nan when I was little. I have definitely inherited my love of jam and jam making from my mum.

The blackberry crumble I made for pudding tonight was oozing with delicious sweet juice, just breaking through the topping to give it a sticky chewy edge. What better way to enjoy a Sunday. Oh, and don’t forget the dollop of fresh cold thick cream - delicious.