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Luscious Berries
Mississippi's berries are in abundance and ready to eat...or drink
By Emily Hines Burgess| Photography by Greg Campbell
Back in the old days, which for me is somewhere around the 1960’s, the only way you could get your hands on a few delicious blackberries was to find your way to someone’s grandparent’s house that had sweet blackberry bushes growing along a prickly barbed wire fence. I was one of the lucky ones who had a pal or two with grandparents of such nature. I remember visiting and going out early in the cool of the morning to avoid the sweltering mid-day sun and pesky mosquitoes. We would walk barefoot through wet grass, complaining all the way about stepping on stickers. Once we found our treasure, we plucked relentlessly at the deep-purple berries until our fingers were sore. Our faces would turn rosy-red from the summertime heat and humidity that we all love and cherish in Mississippi. Even after an hour or so of furiously picking, eating, swatting, and sweating, the most we could hope for was enough for a juicy cobbler. Then we would race back to the house covered in bites, thorn scratches, and blackberry-stained lips and barrel into the kitchen with our harvest. Later that evening, we would enjoy a buttery pie, glistening with sugar and a big dollop of freshly whipped cream or homemade ice cream.
I think of these times when I am at the local grocery store, amazed at the absolutely gorgeous blackberries right at my fingertips in the produce department. I am astonished that they are so available and so affordable. Even the elusive and fragile raspberry is incredibly plump, ruby-red, or golden in color, and will last several days in the refrigerator.
Blackberries should also be handled carefully by storing them in the refrigerator until needed. They only need a gentle rinsing before use. When shopping, look for deep, even-colored berries that are plump and full with a nice sheen. Berries should be free from dents or broken bumps, which add to the breakdown of the berries. Keep the berries in their original package as close to 34-degrees and high humidity as possible for optimal freshness.
Strawberries and blueberries are available year -round, but I always look forward to the Louisiana strawberries, which are particularly sweet and delicious. Some of the best berries can be found in fruit stands along the roadside of Highway 49 beginning in March and April. Even the glamorous, long-stemmed giant strawberries are available in some grocery stores and are perfect for dipping in melted white or dark chocolate for a spectacular sweet specialty.
If you can’t find the perfect berry in the produce section, frozen produce works well in most recipes. Now, berries are frozen whole, with little or no sugar, and they hold up remarkably well when thawed. They are perfect for cobblers, pies, smoothies, and teas. All of these berries come with a wealth of health benefits as they contain high concentrations of anthocyanins or antioxidants, which give them their deep red, blue, and black colors. They have anti-aging and cancer-preventative effects, as well as protection from heart disease and mental decline. The darker berries have the highest concentration of antioxidants.
Berries are delicious, healthy, and so much easier to come by than they were in the old days. They are as close as your grocery store, and you don’t have to worry about the heat, the mosquitoes, or the snakes. However, I do think it might be nice to visit a blackberry thicket for fun sometimes and eat a tasty cobbler with ice-cream that someone’s grandmother made. Enjoy these recipes and relish the good old days!
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