Blackberries
Blackberries are dark, glossy aggregate berries with a deep sweet-tart flavor and larger seeds than their raspberry relatives, used fresh, baked into desserts, or cooked into jams and sauces.
How to buy
Choose plump, deeply colored berries that are uniformly black -- any that still show red or purple tinges are underripe and will taste sour. Check for mold and leaking juice at the bottom of the container, a sign of crushed or overripe fruit. Blackberries don't continue ripening after harvest, so pick the darkest, plumpest ones available.
How to store
Refrigerate blackberries unwashed in a single layer in a breathable container, where they'll keep for about three to five days -- slightly longer than raspberries but still quite perishable. Wash only right before use to avoid speeding up mold growth. They freeze well whole on a tray, which is a good option if they won't be eaten within a few days.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Deep, sweet-tart flavor with a slightly wine-like, earthy undertone and less bright acidity than raspberries. Ripeness varies more noticeably in blackberries than in many berries -- an underripe one can be quite sour and astringent, while a fully ripe one turns rich and jammy.
- Texture
- Juicy flesh built around noticeably larger, harder seeds than raspberries, giving a crunchier bite. Cooking softens them into a thick, dark, seedy sauce unless strained.
- Aroma
- A deep, slightly musky-sweet aroma with wine-like notes that becomes more pronounced and jammy once cooked.
How to prepare
- Eaten fresh — Served whole as a snack or scattered over desserts and salads.
- Puréed and strained — Blended and pushed through a sieve to remove the large seeds, yielding a smooth sauce.
- Baked into pies and crumbles — Used whole in pastry fillings, where their structure holds up well to baking.
- Cooked into jam — Simmered with sugar into a deeply flavored, often seedy preserve.
- Macerated — Tossed with sugar and left to sit until they release their juices, softening slightly for topping desserts.
Classic dishes
American
- Blackberry cobbler — Sweetened blackberries baked under a biscuit topping, a classic Southern dessert.
- Blackberry pie — A double-crust pie filled with sweetened, thickened blackberries.
- Blackberry buckle — A dense cake studded with blackberries and topped with a buttery crumb streusel.
- Blackberry cheesecake — A creamy baked cheesecake topped or swirled with blackberry sauce.
- Blackberry and goat cheese salad — Fresh blackberries tossed into salads with goat cheese, pecans, and a light vinaigrette.
- Blackberry vinaigrette — Puréed blackberries whisked into a tangy-sweet dressing for salads.
French
- Blackberry clafoutis — A baked custard-like dessert studded with blackberries, a variation on the classic cherry version.
- Blackberry galette — A rustic, free-form tart filled with sweetened blackberries.
- Blackberry sauce for game — A savory-sweet reduction used to accompany venison or duck.
British & Irish
- Bramble (blackberry gin cocktail) — A gin-based cocktail sweetened and colored with crushed blackberries and crème de mûre.
- Blackberry fool — Sweetened blackberry purée folded through whipped cream for a light, chilled dessert.
- Blackberry and apple crumble — A classic autumn pairing of tart apples and blackberries under a buttery crumble topping.
- Blackberry jam — Berries cooked down with sugar into a deeply flavored preserve for toast and scones.
- Summer pudding — Bread layered with mixed summer berries, including blackberries, soaked and chilled until set.
- Blackberry mead or wine — Blackberries fermented into a traditional country wine or mead.
Substitutions
- Raspberries — Swap 1:1 in baking or sauces; raspberries are smaller, softer, and more tart with finer seeds.