Of all the foods that indicate how detached we have become from nature’s seasonal bounty, blackberries are surely top of the list. Hedgerow hunting for laden brambles may still be be part of autumnal family fun in the country, but as with all fruit and veg, we have become more accustomed to seeing them, week in, week out, in neat little punnets in the supermarkets. Although soft fruits have been one of British farming’s recent success stories, with supermarket sales of home-grown berries increasing by 130 per cent over the past four years, blackberries are still slouching way behind. While the demand has risen (retail sales virtually doubled to around £5.5 million between 2004 and 2005), most fruit growers only produce a small quantity in comparison to other soft fruits, and only three or four varieties (the most popular is Loch Ness), leaving the rest to come from imports, mostly from Mexico.
Why don’t we grow more blackberries in the uk?
Traditional blackberry crops are known as floricane, which means they are biennial, growing cane during the first year, then fruiting in the next, for a limited 2-3 month season. However, Hargreaves Plants in Spalding, which develops and propagates soft-fruit plants for commercial growers, has signed a deal with the University of Arkansas to help to develop “primocane” blackberries. These bear fruit on new green canes only months after planting – such plants have already been developed for raspberries, which belong to the same rubus family. According to Hargreaves’ blackberry expert, Jamie Petchell, “Because the new plants can grow cane and fruit in the same year, and can be brought on earlier, under protection, there’s the potential to extend the season to the point where we’re growing blackberries in the UK all year round.” The first experimental fruit will be harvested this autumn, though it will still be several years before different varieties have been fully tested and can be released to commercial growers and gardeners. Says Petchell, “We are a long way down the line towards producing varieties that will be bigger, and more pleasing aesthetically and flavourwise, than most wild berries you find in the hedgerows”.
Does this mean more polytunnels?
Most likely. The polytunnel is under threat, as protesters see them as a blight on the countryside. However, fruit farmers argue that if we want more home-grown soft fruit, we will have to put up with them for 3-6 months a year. Ten years ago, the industry argues, the British crop was seen as unreliable, thanks to damage from the weather and related diseases, but the polytunnel has meant that fewer pesticides are required to produce consistently high-quality fruit.
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Readers’ queries
Where can I find cabernet sauvignon vinegar?
Spanish specialist Brindisa imports Forum cabernet sauvignon (and chardonnay) vinegars from Tarragona, from £7.60 for 25cl. It also sells moscatel vinegar, which is made using a cold-acetification method, at £5 for 50cl. Call 020-7713 1666 (www.brindisa.com) for mail-order and other retailers.
If you have a food query, e-mail food.detective@thetimes.co.uk