Blackberries

[Wendy DeBord]

I inherited a box with my job and I'm not a huge blackberry fan. Everytime I attempt to make something with them the seeds just drive me nuts and I can't sell an item with blackberry seeds still in it. So, I do know of a million and one things I could do with this puree-but I've never done any matching with it.

What other fruits, nuts, flavors etc.... do you like with blackberry? And do you sweeten to taste or leave it tart?

I turned what I had into puree and need to pair it with other items to use it up. Any suggestions?

Tommarow I'm doing a blackberry fool with shortbread cookies (the vanilla shortbreads from Claudia Flemmings book is to die for) for a ladies luncheon. But thats a safe combo. What pairs/matches well with blackberries that isn't quite so safe?

Thanks in advance

[Richard Kilgore]

Not that I've tried it, but what about pairing it with...pears.

Blackberry, pear, walnut.

[carp]

I love blackberries and vanilla ice cream/custard variants (anglaise, brulee, etc). I know this is a pretty safe combination, but I sure love it. I like to macerate them with grand marnier and sugar regardless of their ultimate use. So, yes, I sweeten to taste.

[ludja]

as a sauce (no seeds)

with rose geranium flavored panna cotta or

with a cantaloupe cream (in addition, a beautiful color contrast)

with peach ice cream

I wonder if the puree could be used as part of a peach shortcake?

doesn't help with the puree but I also like peaches and blackberries together in a galettes, pies and cobblers (When added as an accent to the peaches one gets the pleasant aciidity but not a mouthful of seeds!)

edited to add: blackberry ice cream with sauce inside a split vanilla meringue and topped with whipped cream...

Edited July 8, 2004 by ludja (log)

[beans]

Yes, blackberries and peaches are quite nice.

[hillvalley]

Cook them down into a sauce with sugar and a touch of lemon juice and zest. Use as a sauce for strawberry shortcake or ice cream.

[Richard Kilgore]

To clarify, I was imagining a poached pear with the blackberry puree drizzled on the pear and around the plate with crushed walnuts sprinkled on top.

[KarenS]

Blackberries pair with: plums, peaches, hazelnuts, almonds,walnuts, nectarines, zinnfandel, cabernet, pinot noir, champagne, vanilla, pluots, apricots. I love them- where I grew up in Northern CA they grew wild all over. Funny that you are bothered by the seeds- do you like raspberries?

[bloviatrix]

There's always blackberry sorbet. Or how about a blackberry-lime curd like the one in Sherry Yard's book?

[chromedome]

I like them with rum, myself. Not a standard combination, but it appeals to me. Personally I like them tart, but I'll sweeten them depending what I put them with.

I'm not a summer person (I detest hot weather, and I avoid the sun) but to me there's nothing better than the smell of a blackberry patch under a hot August sun (they're an August thing anywhere I've lived. Maybe the very end of July, in a good year).

[cbarre02]

Currently on our tasting menut i'm running a dessert with sweet corn finanacier, blackberry-thyme sorbet, apricot reduction, and "Smoked" Caramel. The Blackberry goes very nicely with the thyme, and all of the other elements... especialy the smoke and sweet corn.

[YKL]

this is probably too simple an answer but for me - an apple and blackberry crumble is one of the greatest home made puddings in the world. It just makes the fruit part wonderfully jammy as well as tart and zingy from the apples.

Have no idea if it is apple season in the US right now - but berries will freeze really well.

[Anna N]

this is probably too simple an answer but for me - an apple and blackberry crumble is one of the greatest home made puddings in the world. It just makes the fruit part wonderfully jammy as well as tart and zingy from the apples.

Have no idea if it is apple season in the US right now - but berries will freeze really well.

Just have to agree with this! I adore apple/blackberry crumble so long as there are no oats in the crumble topping.

[YKL]

but nibbed hazlenuts can be a nice addition to the crumble topping - honest!

someone has already mentioned turning the berries into a sauce - would think it would go well with rich meats like duck, venison or such like.

and also a blackberry fool would be lovely for summer. Think Bill Granger has a recipe for blackberry butter which could be a bit different? try this link blackberry butter

Cheers

Yin

[Anna N]

but nibbed hazlenuts can be a nice addition to the crumble topping - honest!

...

So can lightly toasted slivered almonds... BUT no oats!

[jdogginla]

There is a gr8 book out there called "Culinary Artistry". While it is much more useful from a savory point of view, it is still helpful on the pastry side. It lists the item you want to use and all the possible matchings and pairings that go well with it. Can't remember the author. I'll look at when i get home tonight.

[achevres]

I was just looking at this book on Amazon the other day...

Culinary Artistry, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.

It looked interesting--is it worth it?

[bloviatrix]

I was just looking at this book on Amazon the other day...

Culinary Artistry, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.

It looked interesting--is it worth it?

If you google eG you'll discover that this is a favorite book among many of us. It's a fabulous reference book.

[Abra]

The current issue of Fine Cooking (which for some bizarre reason is the September issue) has a beautiful-looking raspberry/blackberry mousse that I'm dying to make.

Not that I've done any of these, but I think I'd also pair a blackberry sauce with blueberry/creme de cassis ice cream, or layered in a parfait with a key-lime-type custard, or with crepes filled with something creamy, or a vanilla panna cotta in a pool of blackberry sauce. Blackberries are delicious with sage, so if you want to go a bit further afield, maybe a brown sugar and sage pound cake with blackberry sauce.

As always, my Not a Pastry Chef disclaimer applies here.

[Flossie]

I like blackberries paired with apples in a tart (and I echo Abra's disclaimer!) Or what about a blackberry bavarois?

[petite tête de chou]

Blackberries are one of my all time favorite foods!

Blackberry cheese blintzes, Sweet/spicy BBQ sauce (especially good on pork chops and meatballs!), blackberry dumplings (basic dumpling recipe- add to simmering apple juice and blackberries- crushed nuts on top), blackberry cinnamon rolls, creme brulee w/ blackberries, blackberry fudge, truffles, milkshakes or daiquiris.

[TrishCT]

My blackberries in the pen are still green, can't wait till the end of this month...

I love the bramble flavor.

Besides jelly, a Black and Blue Pie is nice...half blackberries half blueberries...

Also, blackberry sauce (blackberries cooked and strained then the juice is sweetened and thickened with cornstarch slurry) is great on pancakes and french toast.

[Abra]

Blackberry cinnamon rolls, and blackberry fudge??? Now I've discovered two more recipes I can't live without!

[Wendy DeBord]

Thanks everyone, you've given me some really good ideas to work with! I do need to try Sherry Yards curd.

No one else hates the seeds?

The seeds in raspberries pass, but the ones in the blackberries we get are impossible, you can't chew them at all. I've never been a huge fan of them because I've never gotten any that were sweet, they are always tart as heck-with huge seeds-not my favorite fruit.

Anyway I discovered that their tartness balanced really well against whipped cream in my fools. So I'm rethinking my dislike for these berries..........if only they had a seedless variety. But thank-you I now have several dirrections to explore!

[BettyK]

but nibbed hazlenuts can be a nice addition to the crumble topping - honest!

...

So can lightly toasted slivered almonds... BUT no oats!

I am so with you on the no oats thing. Can't stand cookies with oats either. But I will eat oatmeal with milk once in a great while, specially when I'm sick.