Many gardeners like to eat blackberries directly from the vines as a sweet and he althy snack. The theme of color has meaning in blackberries on different levels.
What is the significance of the color of blackberries?
The blackberry color varies from green to various shades of red to deep black, depending on the degree of ripeness. Blackberries are wintergreen and the color can also be used as an indicator of harvest time and for coloring food.
Using the color of blackberries for garden design
Many gardeners design the plants in their garden according to very specific ideas regarding the seasonal play of colors. Blackberries offer a changing appearance all year round. As a wintergreen plant, blackberry species usually do not lose their leaves in winter, which is why they are also popular as winter green food for reptiles and insects. After new tendrils sprout in the spring, blackberries produce many deep green leaves with a very rich color. From May onwards, the first blackberry blossoms can be discovered between these in delicate pink and cream tones. As soon as they have gradually lost their fine petals, the fruits initially grow to their final size in a strong green, before they then change over various shades of red to a mostly deep black in a few days.
Harvesting by color
Most blackberry varieties have deep black fruits in various shades of dark when fully ripe. Since the color is basically an indicator of the ripening time of the fruit, you can use it as a rough guide. However, black colored fruits can still be quite sour, which is why sensitivity is required when harvesting. If a blackberry fruit can be pulled off the stem with very gentle pressure, a degree of ripeness with sufficient sweetness has usually been reached.
Using blackberries in the kitchen for coloring
Almost everyone can remember that when they were children, adults warned against staining light-colored clothing with blackberries. In fact, the juice from blackberries has an exceptionally strong and lasting color, which is why older clothing should always be worn when harvesting. This coloring effect can also be used specifically. This means that sauces and liqueurs containing picked and processed blackberries can be refined not only in terms of taste but also in terms of appearance.
Tips & Tricks
Not all blackberry fruits are black when ripe. With its red fruits, the Tayberry is more similar to raspberries, but is actually a cross between raspberries and blackberries.
