Last year we discovered a whole row of wineberries filling the brush line at the back edge of our yard. Conveniently, they ripen in the week between my daughter’s birthday and the fourth of July so I will always remember when to go foraging! This afternoon the girls and I (along with puppy… because you know she just might make an appearance in every blog post from now on… lol 😉 ) went to see if they had ripened and we picked a good amount. Tonight my husband and I went back out and sure enough got at least another 2 cups more! Whether I missed them the first time due to the heat and distraction or whether they ripened in the hours between picking we’re not sure. But I would say we got a good 3 cups today with many more set to ripen in the days to come!
There she is… happy to be out running – but it was a little bit hot out there so we didn’t stay out too long!
Wineberries are often called “Wild Raspberries.” They are not the easiest fruit to pick because they are VERY prickly… even more prickles than regular raspberries (OUCH!)… and they are considered an invasive species. But they are an invasive species that I’m pleased has invaded my yard. 🙂 Oh – and there are some wild blackberries in there too… found a few bushes popping up in our vegetable garden that we thought were raspberries so we let them be… then the fruit turned black. They’re not black raspberries though – pretty sure we have blackberries on our hands.
I started a pinboard of wineberry recipes on my pinterest account. In the next day or two we’re going to have to add some yummy wineberry treats to our blueberry treats!
I love summer!