Identifying Berries - What's in your bush?

[LordEoin]

I've been slacking for the past few months and not noticed things getting ripe, but pushing the buggy down the road today I noticed that the hedgerows are full of fruit.
Although it wasn't a great year for apples, it seems to be a great year for berries.
So.. out with the camera, so you know what you're picking.
I'll also try to pull the thumb out and get a few 'seasonal treats' posted over the weekend

Blackberries:
If you haven't picked already, get to it. They're at their best right now (here anyway). They're very plentiful and fat this year. Bring a bucket. Don't even bother with jam jars etc..
Great in wine, jam or vodka/whiskey liqueur


Sloes:
The berry of the Blackthorn tree. very tart and will pull the skin over your teeth.
Great in jam or gin liqueur.
Nearly ripe, wait til after the first frost and they're ready


Crabs (crab apples):
Small hard green apples. very tart.
Great as a base for jam (lots of pectin to set it and easy to flavor over) and can be used to balance wine/cider


Rosehip:
The fruit of the rose flower. All of the flesh is just below the skin. Beneath the flesh are seeds that will feel like they're scratching your tongue and throat out.
Wait til after the first frost (which will soften the flesh) and you can suck the flesh off easily. Later on in the winter they'll have fermented a bit and take on a slightly cidery sweet taste.
Aparently they make a great wine, and also great for flavoring jam


Hawthorn Berries (Haws)
Abundant, Bland and mostly ignored, these berries can be used as a base for 'fruit jerky', in jam, and in beer to counter sourness and add a wood profile.


Elderberry:
My favorite wine berry. The flowers have a very refreshing flavor for spring/summer, but the berries are where the gold is.
Fantastic in wine and jam (but the tiny pips and skins need removal for jam)


Damsons:
A member of the plum family. smaller and not as sweet.
make a great dry wine, or nice jam.


There were also some berries that I've never used and don't even knw if they're edible.
If anyone knows what they are, I'd love to know...

Weird tasting:


Disgustingly medicinal, like quinine or paracetemol. lots of juice, few seeds.


Sweet, juicy, lots of seeds

[Will_D]

Those last two look highly suspicious. AFAIK tree fruits are usually Ok but low growing things like thos are to be wary off.

Don't use the pretty black ones ( Deadly Nightshade)

What about the Rowan/Mountain Ash? I believe these are quite "Jammable"

[LordEoin]

which pretty black ones?

I actually didn't see any rowans today. never used them for anything either.
That gives me something to google tomorrow and look out for while blackberry picking

[Will_D]

Any pretty black single berries , low growing are probably a no-no!

Rowan is everywhere: see attatched pic and yes they do do wine - very rich in vitamins as well

[johnrm]

Love all those pics, superb. What camera/phone?

[LordEoin]

@will - i know the ones. maybe i just skipped past the rowans thinking they were hawthorn. My mum always told me they were poisonous when I was young so i never bothered looking at them. I'll have my eyes open.
I generally disregard anything below  my knee, but i'll keep an eye out for these nasties

@john - it's an old-ass nokia 5230. only bought it (about 3 years ago)because it has a built in sat-nav but it's one of my favourite phones ever

[UpsidedownA (Andrew)]

Thanks for posting this. Very handy for southern hemisphere born and raised foreigners like me.

[LordEoin]

Now that you know what to look for, Get your wellies on! 

[Col]

Half a lb. of rowan berries are supposed to give a nice cut to crab apple jam. Wonder would it work for crab apple wine? Hmmm....

[Will_D]

Crab Apples are grown for several reasons:

1: Almost a univsal pollinator to modern apples ( as most are related!)
2: To add pectin to Jams and Jellys
3: To add tannin and acidity to apple wine and ciders

A Crabapple wine may just be a little bit out of balance!

[LordEoin]

indeed. it would be mank! (probably)

[Col]

Crab apples make a very nice, crisp white wine that I have made many times over the last 25 years. For me, home winemaking is about utilising what's available in your garden/hedgerow, and making the best brew you can out of it. If it's imbalanced, then that's what pectolase, acidity testing kits and maturation are for. If one wants perfectly balanced brews without any of the above every time, then maybe one should stick to making it out of grapes from the grape-growing regions - strictly speaking, anything else isn't wine anyway.