Blackberry
. . . the finest of the flavors
This post is a tribute to my favorite flavor: blackberry.
Blackberry jam. Blackberry syrup. Blackberry sauce. Blackberry popsicles. Blackberry cake. Blackberry yogurt. Blackberry bubly.
Blackberry is to me as shrimp was to Bubba in Forrest Gump.
And what follows are some of the reasons why!
BLACKBERRIES IN ART
Image licensed from rawpixel.com
Blackberries in a Vase
Lilly Martin Spencer, 1822 - 1902
There’s nothing like a classically dark still life to make you take things seriously.
And there’s NOTHING more serious than blackberries!
Corny Joke
THE ART OF BLACKBERRY PICKING
Evidently known to some as berrying
Image licensed from rawpixel.com
Blackberrying
George Rowney, 1792–1870
Anyone else not realize that blackberrying was a real word until now?
Judging by the fact that it occurs fewer than .01 times per 1 million words in modern written English, it’s a fairly well-kept secret.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) - a bookmarked page for anyone who REALLY likes etymology - the word blackberrying made its first known appearance in the late 1700s in the writings of T.B. Hazard.
oed.com was also the source of the blackberrying occurrence stats above. In case you actually thought I either: a) made that stat up; or b) took the time to figure it out myself.
BLACKBERRY FUN FACT
The same goes for raspberries. 🤯
The fine folks at Rocky Mountain Soda Co. have compiled a mesmerizing list of blackberry facts HERE.
MIX-TAPE MUST-HAVE
My subtitle, “. . . the finest of the flavors,” comes from this 90s classic.
Although Barenaked Ladies say, “. . . vanilla is the finest of the flavors.” They’re from Canada, so it’s fine.
One Week is a GREAT roadtrip song. You need to add it to your Roadtrip Mix Tape immediately.
One Week is also a GREAT video. You need to watch it.
PALETTE
Bon appétit!
Because this image is nothing more than a visual feast.
NON-PALETTE
Image licensed from pexels.com
I love this image so much that I didn’t want to present it within a palette.
Isn’t it lovely??!
WORD
Drupe is just fun to say.
Kudos to anyone who finds a way to seamlessly use drupe (or any members of its word family) in a sentence.
And no, “Did you know that blackberries are actually drupelets?” doesn’t count.
Unless you’re participating in a berry forum of some kind.
In which case, you probably already knew the drupe part.
BLACKBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Image from butterwithasideofbread.com
One of the MANY reasons I loved living is Seattle is that blackberries grow like weeds. Like literally, we had to cut them back or they would have taken over our back yard.
Seriously. Or at least they did in our neighborhood.
I wouldn’t have minded, but my darn children wanted to play in the yard.
Since I love blackberries so much - but lack the desire to make jelly - I spent a measurable amount of time looking for blackberry recipes.
THIS cake is the best blackberry dessert ever.
Seriously. Or at least I think so.
This particular version from butterwithasideofbread.com is my fave. It calls for a white cake mix - rather than making it from scratch. I’ve tried it both ways, and the cake mix is definitely the way to go.
Get the recipe HERE.
