Dewberries?

[zilla369]

In the Freezer Phobia thread, fifi mentioned freezing dewberries.

I have some delicious-smelling essential dewberry oil perfume from Bath and Body Works that smells heavenly, sort of "green", like fresh-mown something-or-other. I didn't realize dewberries were edible. Where do they grow? What do you do with them, culinary-wise?

I also don't know much about huckleberries or gooseberries, but i did know those were edible.

Enlighten me, berry aficianados!

Edited August 1, 2003 by zilla369 (log)

[fifi]

Dewberries are a wild berry that grows here on the Gulf Coast. I am not sure of the actual range. They look like blackberries and have a sort of similar flavor, maybe a little more tart, maybe not as aromatic. You scout them out on roadsides and ditches and abandoned farmland when they are blooming then come back later to pick them. First you arm yourself with a snake stick. They make a great cobbler, jam or jelly. Generally speaking, raspberries, blackberries (some varieties) and such do not grow well in our hot humid climate. So... We got dewberries.

[zilla369]

fifi, can you tell me what time of year wild dewberries ripen? I was rollerblading down Louisville's Riverwalk with a friend in the spring a couple years ago when i came upon him eating what he thought were blackberries. I made him stop immediately because the berries, which resembled blackberries were: 1) growing on a bush without thorns, and 2) ripe in the spring, when wild blackberries around here ripen in the fall.

[fifi]

Our dewberries have a lot of thorns. They usually ripen about sometime in May to June though that is variable depending upon weather.

Edited August 1, 2003 by fifi (log)

[Ladybug]

fifi, can you tell me what time of year wild dewberries ripen?  I was rollerblading down Louisville's Riverwalk with a friend in the spring a couple years ago when i came upon him eating what he thought were blackberries.  I made him stop immediately because the berries, which resembled blackberries were: 1) growing on a bush without thorns, and 2) ripe in the spring, when wild blackberries around here ripen in the fall.

Might it have been mulberries? They look like blackberries and they grow on trees with no thorns. A small tree might look like a bush. They grow here in NC and ripen in the spring. My Dad says they grow in Michigan as well, so I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't grow in Louisville.

[NeroW]

First you arm yourself with a snake stick.

Yes. A "snake stick." That's mise en place for you right there.

What the heck is a snake stick?

[fifi]

Well, a snake stick is a long stout stick that you carry with you into dewberry country. That is because dewberry country is also a favorite hang out for the nastier species of our native reptiles. You try to avoid the whacking scenario -- think of the old fat broad in the B.C. comic strip that is always whacking the poor snake (hey, that is kind of like me!) -- by extending the stick ahead of you to warn any lurking reptiles that you are invading their territory. Copperheads are usually cooperative and will exit stage right. Water mocassins are a bit more problematic. They can be rather belligerent and you may have to resort to whacking. Rattlesnakes are pretty stubborn and may just sit there and rattle at you. If that occurs, the best course of action is to find another dewberry bramble.

The snake stick is also handy for pushing the thorny canes out of the way. One of the rules of dewberry production is that the biggest and juiciest berries are always down under the thorniest canes. Of course, this does not work very well and, when you return home with your hoard of berries, the first course of action is to apply alcohol to all of your scratches and apply tweezers to imbedded thorns. You should do this before you get in the shower and scrub vigorously to remove any chiggers that got past the Deep Woods Off.

Only now can you proceed to make that cobbler, jam, or jelly. When you have done that you conclude that it probably wasn't worth the trouble and you vow that you will never do this again. Then spring comes and you see the drifts of white blossoms and declare "Look! Dewberries! It's gonna be a good crop this year."

[zilla369]

fifi, can you tell me what time of year wild dewberries ripen?  I was rollerblading down Louisville's Riverwalk with a friend in the spring a couple years ago when i came upon him eating what he thought were blackberries.  I made him stop immediately because the berries, which resembled blackberries were: 1) growing on a bush without thorns, and 2) ripe in the spring, when wild blackberries around here ripen in the fall.

Might it have been mulberries? They look like blackberries and they grow on trees with no thorns. A small tree might look like a bush. They grow here in NC and ripen in the spring. My Dad says they grow in Michigan as well, so I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't grow in Louisville.

mmmm....i don't think so. I actually live on "Mulberry Street" and have what i was told was a mulberry tree in my yard - but i have to say the fruit of that tree looks nothing at all like blackberries, so, maybe i don't know what a mulberry looks like, either? Definitely a possibility. Now i'm dying to know!

Edited August 3, 2003 by zilla369 (log)

[Foam Pants]

This snake stick thing is creeping me out. Do they make Mountain Dew out of these things?

Edited for spelling

Edited August 3, 2003 by Foam Pants (log)

[fifi]

This snake stick thing is creeping me out. Do they make Mountain Dew out of these things?

Ummm... They don't make Mountain Dew out of sticks, silly.

If the whole idea is creeping you out you are obviously an urban animal or, when you are outdoors, you just aren't noticing the critters around you.

[NeroW]

fifi,

Great story. Thank you!

[Ladybug]

I've been googling for a picture of mulberries and finally found a good close up here. There are many variations, of course. The first time I saw a mulberry, I thought it was a blackberry. When I looked more closely, I could see that it wasn't, but there definitely are similarities.

[Richard Kilgore]

Great story, fifi. Thanks.