So I bought some blackberries at the Farmer''s Market on Monday.

[April20]

I just opened the package and they are HUGE. As in the biggest I have ever seen. I normally buy the Driscoll Farms brand, which are your typical cultivated blackberry. These are from Guatemala. I''m really wondering what labratory these sprung from. I''m a dork and took photos. Check them out!! For the record, they didn''t taste that good.

 

[April20]

Pic with the ruler for scale

 

[April20]

Vertical measurement

 

[Haven]

You''re too funny with the ruler! Ha, I love it!

We''ve had some huge blackberries from farmer''s markets, too. It''s a shame they aren''t delicious, maybe you can make them into a pie? We always toss our berries with a bit of sugar and let them sit in a bowl for about half an hour, that pulls out the flavor. It''s worth a try!

 

[cellentani]

Those berries need digital calipers!

Now I want some blackberry crumble...

 

[D&T]

lol...too funny! they look delicious,,, too bad they don''t taste yummy..

 

[dragonfly411]

april - sorry they didn''t taste good, but how crazy. I had always thought of farmers markets as local growers, at least that''s how it is here where I live.

 

[April20]

Date: 9/9/2009 12:35:35 PM
Author: dragonfly411
april - sorry they didn''t taste good, but how crazy. I had always thought of farmers markets as local growers, at least that''s how it is here where I live.

The farmer''s market in my area is actually an international market and less of a local grower''s. It''s HUGE and is actually a tourist attraction here!

 

[April20]

Date: 9/9/2009 12:07:18 PM
Author: Haven
You''re too funny with the ruler! Ha, I love it!

We''ve had some huge blackberries from farmer''s markets, too. It''s a shame they aren''t delicious, maybe you can make them into a pie? We always toss our berries with a bit of sugar and let them sit in a bowl for about half an hour, that pulls out the flavor. It''s worth a try!

I''d make it into a cobbler, but there were only like 8 berries in the package thanks to their largess. I ate four- a couple were sweeter than others. They had a weird center thing- almost like a pit, but soft. I didn''t take a picture of that, too gross.

 

[Steel]

I live in rural Ireland and my hedgerow is full of giant blackberries. The biggest I have ever seen in my life and they still taste great. I am not boasting here (

) just wondering why the crop this year is so large?

Hmmmmm.

 

[tlh]

and how did the taste!!! other than the pit!

yumm! beautiful color!

 

[HopeDream]

Those look like Himalayan Blackberries (Rubus discolor) - a great man-eating asian variety of blackberry which takes over almost anywhere. Native blackberries are usually much smaller. (I studied plant species at school).

They are an invasive species to North America (and now South America?) and spread via bird-droppings.

They seem to have been picked at a rather unripe stage - the whole berry should be black, plump and vaugely yeilding to the touch (like a ripe pear).

They grow that big and bigger on the coast of BC - yum!

 

[April20]

Date: 9/9/2009 5:34:17 PM
Author: HopeDream
Those look like Himalayan Blackberries (Rubus discolor) - a great man-eating asian variety of blackberry which takes over almost anywhere. Native blackberries are usually much smaller. (I studied plant species at school).

They are an invasive species to North America (and now South America?) and spread via bird-droppings.

They seem to have been picked at a rather unripe stage - the whole berry should be black, plump and vaugely yeilding to the touch (like a ripe pear).

They grow that big and bigger on the coast of BC - yum!

Interesting! So you''re telling me I''m not eating growth hormones, right?

It''s funny you say that they may have been picked at an unripe stage. Wouldn''t surprise me in the least since they were shipped up from Guatemala. Do they continue to ripen once they are picked? I ask because one I ate almost seemed overripe.

 

[zoebartlett]

I love blackberries! I used to call them black raspberries and I never knew until a few years ago that they''re the same thing.

 

[HopeDream]

I''m sorry April20, blackberries won''t continue to ripen once picked - but they will slowly turn into moosh.

The only way to save sour blackberries (That I know of)is to cook them in the microwave with sugar and mash them until they become a syrup, and use it on pancakes.

(The pith in the middle of ripe blackberries becomes soft and unnoticable, whereas the pith in the middle of unripe blackberries is kinda crunchy).

Blackberry stains can be removed by pouring hot boiling water over the afffected area from a distance of one foot(or so)untill the stain is bearly there and light grey - then it should be spot washed with soap.

That''s pretty much all I know about blackberries

 

[Steel]

Date: 9/9/2009 11:24:59 PM
Author: HopeDream
I''m sorry April20, blackberries won''t continue to ripen once picked - but they will slowly turn into moosh.

The only way to save sour blackberries (That I know of)is to cook them in the microwave with sugar and mash them until they become a syrup, and use it on pancakes.

(The pith in the middle of ripe blackberries becomes soft and unnoticable, whereas the pith in the middle of unripe blackberries is kinda crunchy).

Blackberry stains can be removed by pouring hot boiling water over the afffected area from a distance of one foot(or so)untill the stain is bearly there and light grey - then it should be spot washed with soap.

That''s pretty much all I know about blackberries

I freeze my fresh fruit & berries every Summer to be used later in the year! No need to do anything to them if you are in a rush just bung ''em in a freezer bag and Bob is your Uncle!

 

[yssie]

Goodness yes, farmers market fruit...

 

[litebrite]

Date: 9/9/2009 12:19:41 PM
Author: cellentani
Those berries need digital calipers!


Now I want some blackberry crumble...

I was thinking the exact same thing on digital calipers and then you wrote it.