If you’re a blueberry or strawberry person (or, ahem, your kid is!) it’s almost easy to forget that the berry season stretches right through September in much of the country.
You simply need to consider the vast gamut of berries. There are olallieberries, widely available on the West Coast, which are like sweeter, slightly longer blackberries. Huckleberries are a delight when sugared up and baked. And, of course, there are raspberries and blackberries as far as the eye can see. So when you’re perusing the peaches and thunking melons at the market, do look to see if there’s a new-to-you berry that might just be your new favorite. Here are a few ways to take advantage of these late-summer beauties.
It’s August. Keep it simple. Think: galettes. This blackberry lemon specimen showcases the open-faced tart at its finest and simplest. Swap in any summer berry, add lemon zest and juice, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. (Get it?!) No ice cream? Whip cream… or coconut cream, in a pinch!
There’s something almost cooling about the look of this raspberry tart, right? A delicate lemon curd and raspberry jam keep this beauty from being too tart. Dust it with a flurry of confectioners’ sugar if you want to add sweetness and lyricism to the vignette. Or keep it pure, crisp crimson if you want to imply freshness and vigor.
3. Gingered Peach-Blackberry Pie
There’s something about stone fruits like peaches and nectarines and blue and black berries. Nearly any combo works: blueberries and nectarines; peaches and blackberries. This pie puts the latter combo to epic use. Pro tip: Even if you’re riffing on conjoining these two, you almost always need lemon juice. Otherwise, you’re piling sweet on sweet much of the time. This recipe, with a bit of cornstarch in the filling for an extra-voluptuous texture, nails it.
A classic custard base is necessary to make blackberries sing in ice cream. Silky egg yolk balances any tartness beautifully. This is the recipe you want, in which the pesky seeds are left behind, the blackberry juice is pure and purple, and you can tweak the amount of juice slightly if you like a blackberry-er ice cream! For a topping, consider chopped blackberries mingling with superfine sugar and lime juice.
How refreshing does this ruby-hued mojito look? It’s a snap to make in one of our best blenders, just mint and lime juice, agave and ice, raspberries and blackberries. Oh, and don’t forget the silver rum! We love how forgiving this recipe is; store-bought strawberries can be subbed in in a pinch!
6. Raspberry-Mascarpone Parfaits
At breakfast, lunch or dessert, let there be parfaits! We’re the sort to eat cold peach pie for breakfast, so we certainly wouldn’t stop you from adding crushed amaretti cookies to your breakfast berry parfait, as seen here. (There’s also, if we’re being entirely honest with you, white chocolate in there, but who decided what “breakfast” is or isn’t, anyways?) It’s berry season. It’s brief. Live it up!
1 comment
Hmmmm, the Raspberry Heart Tart looks awesome. Thank you for the list and the recipes.