Legend has it that wild Blackberries should not be eaten after October 10th because the Devil spits on every bush at this time and they certainly lose flavour and become fly blown as autumn progresses. Roger Phillips in 'Wild Food' (my favourite food book) notes that this choice of date falls around Michaelmas Day (allowing for an 11 day calendar shift in 1752). This feast day celebrates 'the primeval war in which St. Michael the Archangel hurled Lucifer out of Heaven and down to earth' and provides more evidence of how Christianity assimilated folklore for its own ends.

Raspberries and Tayberries are available earlier in the year. These berries are rich in vitamin C and provide a recognised boost to the immune system. The fresh berries are rich in bioflavonoids, fibre and folate. There are also traces of salicylate - a natural aspirin like compound that can trigger allergic reactions in some people. The leaves and roots are also a valuable herb that can help to control diarrhoea. The chewing of blackberry leaves for bleeding gums goes back at least 2000 years.

For this recipe I used about 2 pounds of fresh Tayberries with a quarter pint of water (and a couple of Strawberries thrown in), the juice of 2 lemons and some pectin powder.

Let the berries simmer for a few minutes, add 2 pounds of sugar and stir until it dissolves, then add the pectin and a knob of butter, get it to a rolling boil for a few minutes. Then test the jam for jelling by dripping some on a cold plate to see if it sets. If it does pour the hot jam into sterilised jars, and seal. If the jam isn't setting, give it another rolling boil for a minute and test again.

Try and limit the amount of time the jam spends in a rolling boil to a minimum before it jams as the heat will be destroying both flavour and nutritional content in the fruit.

The Ultimate Guide to Canning and Preserving