Hedgerow Jewels
HEDGEROW JEWELS | 27.08.2026
BLACKBERRY TIME
I’ve really noticed the speedy gear change into autumn this year, predominately by the familiar birdsong in the evening as the earth sighs and rests. I’ve also noticed that the hedgerows are bursting with ripe fruit and until very recently I have had to turn a blind eye as I couldn’t dedicate the time to making any jam. I had a moment earlier this week where my work was up to date, except tackling that wretched MTD accounts programme, which I keep pushing out of my mind. I finally had a morning earlier this week to slow down our walk and enjoy picking these beautiful fruits in the sunshine. My compostable bag became rather weighty so I crossed my fingers that the handles didn’t break and we could make it back home without any spillages along the way.
A delicious haul from the hedgerows, quite a few had already rotted so I knew I wasn’t depriving any other soul.
I left them outside for about 1 hour to allow any little creatures to escape.
My well loved Reader’s Digest book. I love this traditional font, I used the recipe as a guide, as I did not pick 6lbs of blackberries!
I divided my haul into 2 batches as this incredibly heavy pot has been known to boil over if I overfill it. When this molten lava is boiling away you definitely do not want to try mopping up a sticky hot mess!
I softened the blackberries in a splash of water and a squeeze of half a lemon. Once softened I put them through my Moulineaux, a bit laborious but worth it to get out the woody pips.
Then I popped it back in the pot, added the sugar and brought it to a rolling boil. The setting part is always a bit hit and miss with me, so I put a plate in the freezer and kept testing it once it had reached temperature (with my Nanna’s well worn thermometer). I’m not a fan of really set jam, I prefer it a bit runny, delicious!
A few fine jars of local blackberry jam, if I have time over the bank holiday I might make a little more as all three of thee are already spoken for.
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