I think we can all agree that our two favourite things about summer in the Sea to Sky are berry season and ice cream treats. Once July and August roll around, the forest is bursting with native thimbleberries, wild blueberries, huckleberries, and salmonberries. However, there is another berry in town… it may be dark, juicy, and delicious, but it’s also extremely invasive!
Himalayan Blackberry finally shows a good side for the month of August as it offers up delicious blackberries – too bad this doesn’t make up for its year-round destruction of natural areas and biodiversity. So, fortunately, alongside our loppers and shovels, we have one more weapon to fight back against invasive blackberries (in some small way) – our stomachs!
While it’s unlikely that foraging will cause a significant decrease in Himalayan Blackberry’s seed bank, heading outside to forage for invasive berries is still a delicious way to make the most of an unfortunate situation.
A general rule of thumb when berry picking is to only go for ones growing above your waist, away from busy roads, and that you are certain have not been sprayed with chemicals (check for signs). For more tips on berry foraging, check out this blog post.
Once you’ve acquired your invasive berries, may we suggest pureeing them into vanilla ice cream for a New Zealand-style ice cream treat? Keep scrolling for the recipe!
Himalayan Blackberry Real-Fruit Ice Cream
Ingredients – Serves 2
- 2 cups (~ 4 scoops) vanilla ice cream/yogurt/coconut milk ice cream
- 1 cup frozen Himalayan Blackberries
- 2 waffle cones (optional)
Steps:
- Head to a local park, public trail, or friend’s backyard and pick 1 cup (or more for snacking) of Himalayan Blackberries
- Rinse the berries in a colander under the tap for 30 seconds
- Lay out the berries on a kitchen towel to dry
- Once dry, put the berries in a reusable container and leave them in the freezer overnight
- Into a food processer, add 2 cups of vanilla ice cream (or alternative of choice) and 1 cup of the frozen blackberries
- Pulse the mixture in the food processor until combined and smooth (you should still be able to see some chunks of the fruit)
- Scoop the blackberry ice cream into waffle cones or dish up into bowls
- Enjoy your sweet, summer treat!
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