Cooking & EatingIn August and September it is blackberry season, which means that you can find them in abundance in nature again. Some people go out to pick them. But can you do this risk-free? You should pay attention to this before you start picking.
For blackberries, a small container with an amount of 250 grams is allowed for personal use and at your own risk. Large-scale or commercial picking is regarded by Staatsbosbeheer as theft and damage to its grounds.
Are you going out to get something tasty from nature? Make sure you don’t disturb the environment and the animals that live there. Leave no traces of your visit and leave everything tidy. According to the website of Staatsbosbeheer, it is not the intention that you make up everything. “Pick a small portion and certainly no more than you need for your own use.”
Not unlimited picking
“Blackberries are of course super healthy fruits, full of antioxidants,” says nutrition coach Yvet Noordermeer. She wrote the book together with herbalist and wild picker Leoniek Bontje wild picking. “Officially it falls under the poaching law, but nature is there for everyone, so a small mushroom container per person should be possible. They grow so abundantly in the Netherlands, so why shouldn’t we be able to take advantage of that too?”
That doesn’t mean you can pick unlimited. ,, Of course leave enough for animals and other pickers, so don’t go home with whole crates. Even if the picking itself is really wonderful to do.”
So don’t stand in front of a bush with garbage bags and load it, that is absolutely not allowed
According to culinary writer Yvette van Boven, known for cookbooks such as home made, blackberries are also easy to pick. ,,There are no scary other plants in the vicinity so it is better not to pick them. Blackberries are very invasive, which is why there are so many. In the Netherlands there is very little nature compared to the amount of people, so everyone should be able to enjoy it and be able to pick from it. So do not stand in front of a bush with garbage bags and load them, that is absolutely not allowed. Blackberries hang low and are therefore also very interesting for animals, such as foxes. So you have to leave it at that.”
Watch out for thorns
Blackberries are ripe when they are black. If they don’t release well and you have to pull them off the bush with a little force, they are often still sour and you have to wait another two days. They also have to be a bit soft,” says Van Boven. ,,But be careful when picking, blackberry bushes have thorns and they can really scratch. If you are sensitive to that, you will get all kinds of red stripes on your arm.”
So make sure you dress properly. ,,Put on something with a sturdy sleeve that can get a little dirty, because burrs stain quite a bit. For example, choose overalls or a jacket, in any case something sturdy so that you don’t get caught behind anything. You can just pick with bare hands, then you get purple fingers, but otherwise you won’t feel how big, soft and ripe the berry is,” says Van Boven. “Don’t forget that you can also pick the beautiful young blackberry leaves and use them for tea, that’s very tasty.”
Cleaning blackberries
Cleaning blackberries is a breeze, according to both Noordermeer and Van Boven. “Use your common sense. When you pick blackberries, there are also insects that enjoy them, so rinse them well. Sometimes there are also some rotten blackberries in between,” says Noordermeer.
“I put them in a sieve or colander and rinse them with a little water,” says Van Boven. “If you pick them and a lot of insects come out, you drop them and get another one. Wild raspberries, for example, sometimes contain small worms. What also helps is to just put them in a bowl of water for an afternoon, then it will come out on its own. But it’s just nature, so that’s not so bad. And you know, if you bake them you don’t taste it anymore.”
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