Exclusively Evergreen

Day 303: In western Washington, non-native blackberries are regarded in two conflicting lights. Property owners consider them a scourge because they overrun everything else and create monocultures which can completely envelop small buildings or form impenetrable thickets, earning them the nickname of "the kudzu of the north." On the other hand, home canners love the rich flavour of jams and jellies made with them, as do the people who receive the preserved products as gifts. Most of us have our favourite spots to pick, e.g., places where property owners have neglected to control them and have allowed them to create monocultures with more or less easy access. Boon or burden? Hard to decide.

I've done my part this year to limit the spread of the two non-natives (at least by seed), and yesterday came across a fencerow mound which was exclusively Evergreen (as opposed to Himalayan). In my opinion, this slightly drier berry produces a tastier jam, although you may have to pick a few more to obtain the required amount of juice. I managed to fill my berry bucket in 20 minutes, nibbling as I picked only the plumpest berries. One gallon of berries produced four cups of juice when processed, exactly the amount called for in my recipe. Since I did not filter the juice to clarify it but only removed the seeds, the end result qualifies as jam rather than jelly. The final yield was nine half-pints and "leftovers" sufficient for this morning's toast.

Evergreen Blackberry (Rubus lacinatus) is recognizable by its deeply incised, lacy leaves consisting of five leaflets which persist through winter. Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius, formerly Rubus discolor) bears a toothed oval leaf having three to five leaflets. The two species often occur together.