Why not take your child blackberry picking this autumn?
It’s great fun, good exercise, healthy food, the children love it and it’s free!
Many of our hedgerows are now prime sites for this traditional family pursuit, but please remember to leave a few for the birds and other wildlife.
Blackberries are delicious eaten fresh or cooked and they are full of Vitamin C. They also contain potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. One cup of blackberries counts as one of our recommended five-a-day of fruit and vegetables. Blackberries freeze well too.
*Please take care that your child understands which berries are safe to eat.
Get them Cooking. Why not try one of these very simple blackberry recipes with your child?
- Fresh fruit salad with blackberries.
- Low sugar blackberry muffins.
- a tasty apple and blackberry pie or crumble.
Blackberry and apple crumble (low sugar)
Ingredients
500g eating apples
100g (approx.) blackberries
60g sugar
To make the crumble topping:
200g plain flour Gluten (wheat)
75g/3oz oats Gluten (oats)
100g sunflower margarine or butter.
60g sugar
Instructions:
* Please don’t forget to wash your hands before you start *
What can the children help with?
The children always love being involved with the counting out the apples and blackberries, in the weighing out of the ingredients, the rubbing in of the fat to the flour with their fingertips, stirring and then spooning out the crumble mix over the fruit.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas Mark 4
Weigh out the ingredients.
Place the plain four and oats in a mixing bowl and add the butter or margarine. Using your fingertips, combine the ingredients until they resemble breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar and stir well.
Peel, core and slice the apples. Place in a heatproof dish. Sprinkle with blackberries. Then cover with the crumble mix.
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 1 hour, until golden brown. Allow to cool.
Serve with custard, plain yoghurt, ice-cream or cream. (all contain Milk)
