Blackcurrant pie!

I used to love my mum's homemade bilberry pie- bilberries seem impossible to come by but I once went in a pub on the east Yorkshire coast that served it. Not as good as my mum's though...

Where did she get those fresh bilberries I wonder?

I raided a friend’s blackcurrant bush as she doesn’t pick them. I make her a crumble too. A long playlist is useful as topping and tailing is tedious, but worth it as the results are 😋. Still plenty left on the bush for the birds as well. Blueberries just don’t have the same flavour imo though I’ve never cooked them.

Moorland for bilberries keepingquiet so very near the Yorkshire coast.

I used to pick bilberries/winberries to make pies.
Nothing beats the taste.
They are wild and cannot be cultivated, there whereabouts are often closely guarded secrets!

justwokeup

Moorland for bilberries keepingquiet so very near the Yorkshire coast.

That’s right. I was brought up mainly on the North York Moors very near the coast and my mam’s bilberry pie was a regular treat. My mouth’s watering now at the very thought!

I’ve never had blackcurrant pie though. I must look out for that.

It's a good year for blackberries here. I picked a couple of pounds very easily from the hedgerow.

My mother used to pick bilberries in Yorkshire as a girl and always complained that blueberries were a poor substitute.

Wortleberries in the south west - Dartmoor.

I always think blueberries to be most tasteless of fruit, but DH loves them.

Now
Blackcurrant tart with clotted cream.

Yum.

Blueberries are transformed when cooked. Stewed gently in fresh lime juice for preference.

Ooh, bilberries. It’s a long time since I tasted those.

I used to pick bilberries on Otley Chevin. Not sure I could be bothered now.

I had so many blackcurrants in the freezer of various vintages that I decided to make blackcurrant jelly. Put the cooked blackcurrants into a muslin bag, let the juice drip overnight then DH accidentally knocked the jug 😯
Most of it went all over the worktop and floor. I allowed him to clean it up. There was enough for just three small jars.

My mother used to send me off bilberry picking - make sure you get enough for a pie, she'd say.

Whitewavemark2

Wortleberries in the south west - Dartmoor.

I always think blueberries to be most tasteless of fruit, but DH loves them.

Now
Blackcurrant tart with clotted cream.

Yum.

Blueberries are ok if they're not sweet but not a patch on blackcurrants or blueberries.

I have never had bilberries, nor seen them for sale but you are making them sound delicious. Not keen on blackcurrants, maybe because we had so many when I was a child. I do like blueberries though, but not raw, when they seem tasteless. I cook them with no added liquid and they are rich and luscious, especially on top of natural yoghurt, or as an ingredient in a summer pudding.

Dare i mention damsons? Here in Cornwall they have made an early appearance in my local greengrocer's.
Utterly delicious, but not to everyone's taste.

Oh damson jam ! Tastiest of all !

We were given a big bowlful of damsons, the first time I'd tasted any for years.

Allira

Whitewavemark2

Wortleberries in the south west - Dartmoor.

I always think blueberries to be most tasteless of fruit, but DH loves them.

Now
Blackcurrant tart with clotted cream.

Yum.

Blueberries are ok if they're not sweet but not a patch on blackcurrants or blueberries.

Not a patch on bilberries, not blueberries!

Autocorrect doesn't like bilberries even if we do.

Maggiemaybe

justwokeup

Moorland for bilberries keepingquiet so very near the Yorkshire coast.

That’s right. I was brought up mainly on the North York Moors very near the coast and my mam’s bilberry pie was a regular treat. My mouth’s watering now at the very thought!

I’ve never had blackcurrant pie though. I must look out for that.

Oooh-maybe I should go on a recce and see if they can be grown further inland?

Anyone never tasted billberry pie you have really missed out!

I may be gone some time on my search...!

keepingquiet

I used to love my mum's homemade bilberry pie- bilberries seem impossible to come by but I once went in a pub on the east Yorkshire coast that served it. Not as good as my mum's though...

Where did she get those fresh bilberries I wonder?

We used to pick bilberries in N England, for |Mum to make into pies. They are very small and fiddly to pick (much harder than picking black currants.).

They also grow wild here in woods in Scotland, pick them with the GC. Ex-Dil has an amazing Scandinavian billbery picker that just scoops them off the bushes by the pie-full. A revelation! they only costs a few pounds.

I grow and handpick black currants ( terrific crop this year) and blueberries on my allotment.

keepingquiet

Maggiemaybe

justwokeup

Moorland for bilberries keepingquiet so very near the Yorkshire coast.

That’s right. I was brought up mainly on the North York Moors very near the coast and my mam’s bilberry pie was a regular treat. My mouth’s watering now at the very thought!

I’ve never had blackcurrant pie though. I must look out for that.

Oooh-maybe I should go on a recce and see if they can be grown further inland?

Anyone never tasted billberry pie you have really missed out!

I may be gone some time on my search...!

Oooh-maybe I should go on a recce and see if they can be grown further inland?

Cannock Chase, The Blorenge, Dartmoor

leeds22

I used to pick bilberries on Otley Chevin. Not sure I could be bothered now.

you would have to be up at dawn- they are always stripped when we are up there

butterandjam

keepingquiet

I used to love my mum's homemade bilberry pie- bilberries seem impossible to come by but I once went in a pub on the east Yorkshire coast that served it. Not as good as my mum's though...

Where did she get those fresh bilberries I wonder?

We used to pick bilberries in N England, for |Mum to make into pies. They are very small and fiddly to pick (much harder than picking black currants.).

They also grow wild here in woods in Scotland, pick them with the GC. Ex-Dil has an amazing Scandinavian billbery picker that just scoops them off the bushes by the pie-full. A revelation! they only costs a few pounds.

I grow and handpick black currants ( terrific crop this year) and blueberries on my allotment.

I saw a Youtube video of a guy with one of those! He made it look so easy...

I have also seen bilberries for sale on line but I suspect they are just blueberries... and so expensive.

A few years ago you could buy them in jars from Poland in supermarkets- the time to pick them fresh is apparently end of July into August- about now really.

There's a lot of secrecy about where bilberries can be found, which adds to the fun...