The many ways to use berries:

[FluffyAngel]

I know there are so many ways to use berries but the season is about to be upon us and I will have blueberries out the wazoo. I will be getting some strawberries from a local u-pick berry farm. I am going to list off a few things I've tried in the past. There's the usual preserves, cakes, ice cream, muffins, pancakes, & pies. Then there's Greek salad with strawberries & blue cheese, Cheddar garlic biscuits with extra chunks of Cheddar sauteed & drained onions and blueberries, blueberries in vegetable soup, ground beef pizza with blueberries and bell peppers, stuffed bell peppers with jalopenos & You guessed it - blueberries. Any other ideas on how to incorporate any kind of Berry into savory dishes or any favorite ideas or recipes of any Berry kind welcome. Let's talk berries unlimited

 

[CraigC]

Berry sangria. Strawberry and elderberry wine. Glaze for ham. Just thinking out loud.

 

[merstar]

Blueberry salsa, Blueberry sherbet, Blueberry sauce, Blueberry Fool...

 

[CharlieD]

They freeze well, I have a whole nag still in my freezer from last summer. Defrost and the are as good as new

 

[FluffyAngel]

I still have 5 gallons of blueberries in my freezer from last year. We have a "few" blueberry bushes...ahem... a few dozen or 50 or so. When you come to our house, I'm telling you - it's the Bubba Gump of blueberries, you never know where you'll find a blueberry. I have even put them in chili before - wouldn't recommend that one though. It wasn't bad, but simply a waste of blueberries.

 

[merstar]

Some good ideas to check out here:
Oregon-Grown Blueberries - Varieties

 

[Cerise]

Cream cheese and blueberry stuffed French Toast

blueberry pancakes

muffins

Lemon blueberry poundcake

crepes

blintzes

trifle or individual trifles w/ lemon yogurt or pudding, ladyfingers, poundcake or angel food cake

dump cake

mix them into yogurt

granita

smoothies

ice cream

over waffles

over cereal, oatmeal

jam or preserves

blueberry vinaigrette dressing

blueberry tart w/ puff pastry

blueberry cheesecake bars

Blueberry Pot Pies (w/ sour cream ice cream)
(in a pinch, you could use refrigerated pie dough)

Blueberry Pot Pie with Sour Cream Ice Cream Recipe | MyRecipes.com

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

The Great British Summer Pudding. I use any mix of berries.
Delia's English summer pudding recipe - directors cut - YouTube

 

[CharlieD]

So, Angel, do you make jam/jellies with it?

 

[FluffyAngel]

Oh yes. Every year.

 

[FluffyAngel]

The Great British Summer Pudding. I use any mix of berries.
Delia's English summer pudding recipe - directors cut - YouTube

I might have to quote an insurance company here: that's so easy a caveman could do it! Definitely going to try this one.Thanks.

 

[FluffyAngel]

Some good ideas to check out here:
Oregon-Grown Blueberries - Varieties

Awesome link. I saw a tarragon blue cheese blueberry dressing, blueberry salmon and a blueberry polenta cake I'm interested in. Thanks.

 

[FluffyAngel]

Cream cheese and blueberry stuffed French Toast

blueberry pancakes

muffins

Lemon blueberry poundcake

crepes

blintzes

trifle or individual trifles w/ lemon yogurt or pudding, ladyfingers, poundcake or angel food cake

dump cake

mix them into yogurt

granita

smoothies

ice cream

over waffles

over cereal, oatmeal

jam or preserves

blueberry vinaigrette dressing

blueberry tart w/ puff pastry

blueberry cheesecake bars

Blueberry Pot Pies (w/ sour cream ice cream)
(in a pinch, you could use refrigerated pie dough)

Blueberry Pot Pie with Sour Cream Ice Cream Recipe | MyRecipes.com

Nice list of ideas. I do several variations of trifles every so often. We've done pancakes, muffins, poundcakes, dump cakes, smoothies,mixed in yogurt (that's a staple at our house), ice cream, over waffles, cereal, oatmeal, preserves, & tarts. Haven't done blueberry cheesecake bars, pot pies, granitas, or vinaigrette but would like to.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Berries and the Mediterranean

Lovely postings ...

Though it is still quite early for strawberry season in Spain which is quite a bit later, May - July ...

Black berries, rasberries & blueberries are more or less always available and of course, there are frozen ones --- for berry aficionados ...

This is " Cherry Season " in Spain ... ( March - April )

In Italia, berries are predominately used in Gelatos, icecream making and granitas, syrups for ices and sorbet or sherbert.

I have made Strawberries, called Fresones ( large naturally aromatic and sweet ) ones for a Strawberry Sangría ... Nice for a Shellfish Paella lunch.

There are wild strawberries called Fresas which are from southern Madrid, in Aranjuez, which is a Designation of Origin, and these are small however, luscious.

I had also watch Bola´s You Tube Video this morning ... the only problem for me was that the woman added an excessive amount of white sugar, which, if the berries were ripe and sweet, is totally unnecessary in my viewpoint. Otherwise, thanks Bola for the recipe however, I would use much less sugar.

Berries even when ripe do have a tendency to have a slight tartness ... especially rasberries, black berries and strawberries ...

*** SANGRÍA and CHEESECAKE ... just a fruit bowl with a variety of colored spiced sugars: curry sugar, chili pepper sugar, chocolate sugar, vanilla sugar, rose petal sugar etcetra ...

Thanks.
Margi.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I had also watch Bola´s You Tube Video this morning ... the only problem for me was that the woman added an excessive amount of white sugar, which, if the berries were ripe and sweet, is totally unnecessary in my viewpoint. Otherwise, thanks Bola for the recipe however, I would use much less sugar.

Berries even when ripe do have a tendency to have a slight tartness ... especially rasberries, black berries and strawberries ...

Margi the woman is Saint Delia Smith.
There are two reasons for the amount of sugar used in this recipe, one is the plain bread which absorbs the syrup, the other is the red berry is very tart think cranberry.
This is last seasons jamming strawb, damson, crabapple, rasberry jams in outhouse picture by Hvar2010 - Photobucket

Ps my wifes fav berry is the wild strawb. The grow like weeds in Serbia and in every market they sell the jam and clotted cream (kaymak) but they dont eat the kaymak with sweet food. I made some scones and introduced them to the delights of a Cornish Cream Tea.

 

[Cerise]

This strawberry and mascarpone crostata is almost too pretty to eat...

Recipe: Strawberry crostata - latimes.com

 

[taxlady]

Margi the woman is Saint Delia Smith.
There are two reasons for the amount of sugar used in this recipe, one is the plain bread which absorbs the syrup, the other is the red berry is very tart think cranberry.
This is last seasons jamming strawb, damson, crabapple, rasberry jams in outhouse picture by Hvar2010 - Photobucket

Ps my wifes fav berry is the wild strawb. The grow like weeds in Serbia and in every market they sell the jam and clotted cream (kaymak) but they dont eat the kaymak with sweet food. I made some scones and introduced them to the delights of a Cornish Cream Tea.

I'm pretty sure there is a third reason. Sugar helps to draw the juice out of the berries. But, I think you need less sugar if you heat the berries, like she does. When I make berry gelatin, I add sugar and let them sit at room temperature for a few hours. That brings out plenty of juice.

Wild strawberries are my favourite berry too.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Sangría with Strawberries

I sometimes make a Sangría with fresh May - June strawberries ... Here is the quick version of my recipe ...

4 cups La Rioja red wine ( I normally use Marqués De Cáceres - La Rioja )
1/8 superfine sugar
2 cups club soda
10 ripened strawberries sliced in quarters
3/4 cup Spanish or French Brandy of choice
1 fresh Lemon diced
1 double skin Israeli type Orange diced

1. mix wine, brandy and sugar stirring to dissolve sugar
2. chill well 2 hours
3. add soda and the fruit, just before serving
4. Just before serving: add 1 cinammon stick, 1 clove and a pinch of allspice

Enjoy. Ciao.
Margi.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

@ Bolas,

Yes, I know that cranberries could be a bit on tart side ... Nice recipe ... I would just change the berries and use alot less White Sugar ...

I am not too familiar with UK Chefs, except for very very very international ones, for example: Heston Blumenthal ( cool dude ), Jaime Oliver ( I have several of his cookbooks ) and Gordon Ramsey who is absolutely a wizard and brilliant even on the business side of restaurateuring ... and have all his cookbks too --- I love his Rôti and papillote cooking techniques ...

Margi.

Have a nice evening.
Margi.

 

[Cerise]

I also like strawberry sangria with white wine. Very similar, but soak the berries in the wine with sugar a few hours in the refrigerator, then place them in a pitcher and add the club soda. The wine-soaked berries are nice served over poundcake with whipped cream. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

I sometimes make a Sangría with fresh May - June strawberries ... Here is the quick version of my recipe ...

4 cups La Rioja red wine ( I normally use Marqués De Cáceres - La Rioja )
1/8 superfine sugar
2 cups club soda
10 ripened strawberries sliced in quarters
3/4 cup Spanish or French Brandy of choice
1 fresh Lemon diced
1 double skin Israeli type Orange diced

1. mix wine, brandy and sugar stirring to dissolve sugar
2. chill well 2 hours
3. add soda and the fruit, just before serving
4. Just before serving: add 1 cinammon stick, 1 clove and a pinch of allspice

Enjoy. Ciao.
Margi.