Dewberry Time

Meet Tom, a roadside produce vendor with a lovely hat who sold me my first dewberries of the season. His pick-up truck was parked near an Exxon station on the southbound side of Route 6 south of Navasota. Tom had some big berries that were still too red and too tart, but he also had some little ones that were dark black and very sweet.

When I got home, I put the berries in the blender and turned them into dewberry juice, which I used to make smoothies, sweeten plain yogurt and just drink. Here’s the recipe:

Dewberry Juice

Any amount of ripe dewberries or blackberries Spring water or purified water Cane sugar or sweetener to taste

Combine a small amount of berries and an equal amount of spring water in a blender and puree. Strain the juice to remove the seeds. Continue processing berries in batches to make desired amount of juice. Combine some sugar with a little water in a pan and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sugar syrup to the juice until it reaches the desired sweetness. Chill. Will keep for several days in the fridge. -- Robb Walsh