Help with blackberries.

[THE_HUNTERIAM]

There are an apocalyptic amount of blackberries in the woods this year and I would like to use them but do not like the sour/bitter taste. Thought about making jam with ALOT of sugar in it... Thoughts? Thanks!

[Graybeard]

Let them ripen fully and they should not be bitter.

But yes you can make jelly, jam or wine with them. When I was a boy my family used to can the berries I picked and did add sugar to them. These days I mostly eat them as fast as I pick them. I'll take a bowl down to the orchard and get me some blueberries and blackberries to eat while I watch TV.

[GeneRector]

   Howdy! They make a really good cobler as well!  Always, Gene
 
 

[Old Syko]

"Apocalyptic amounts"?  I never seem to be able to get enough.  We make 40 or 50 pints of jelly a year and freeze as many as I can get to turn into pies or cobbler in the winter.  Wish I could find those great quantities of wild berries here.  BTW we don't care for the tame berries much even though they are usually much larger.     

[trotterlg]

We pick a few gallons, rinse them off, put them in a blender, run the blender for a while, then strain the berries through cheese cloth to get the seeds out.  Now just get a good jelley recepe and make jelly.  Larry

[subdjoe]

Let them ripen fully and they should not be bitter.

But yes you can make jelly, jam or wine with them. When I was a boy my family used to can the berries I picked and did add sugar to them. These days I mostly eat them as fast as I pick them. I'll take a bowl down to the orchard and get me some blueberries and blackberries to eat while I watch TV.

Bingo!  They will almost fall off in your hand when they are ripe. 

[reliquary]

The key is...letting them get ripe.  I have several types of commercial blackberries; some of them seem to only get "sweet" the day before they fall off the cane.  With our recipes for jelly and cobbler, we use a lot of sugar to offset the tartness.  Sometimes we have juice left over from processing the plums and grapes, and just mix it with the berries, which helps to cut out the tart flavor and makes a delicious jelly. 

[lrrice]

The ones here don't get sweet till they are near exploding (soft and squishy) when you touch them and they nearly fall off the cane.

[chefjeff]

SWEET H&R !!!!! The quality of wild blackberries here in central NC is dependent on the rain at the right times.No rain and they are just hard little knots.When well watered the ripen to a great taste not at all sour,but a little tangy.They put up easy and make a mean cobbler.

[briarpatch]

Not been in a berry patch in a long time but the chiggers would eat you up. Use a good repellent and go for it.

[blind ear]

Not been in a berry patch in a long time but the chiggers would eat you up. Use a good repellent and go for it.

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And take a clorox bath when you get home. ear