Green, red, and fully ripe blackberries are often found together on the one stem.
Nature on our doorsteps: Blackberries are green when they are red . . .
Rosaleen Dwyer is the County Heritage Officer at South Dublin County Council – every week she gives us an insight into the natural heritage around us and the beautiful biodiversity of the plants and creatures.
This little riddle refers to blackberry’s ripening process.
Ripe blackberries are coloured deep purple, while unripe berries are red. Unripe fruit is often referred to as being ‘green’, so when blackberries are only developing and are still coloured red, they can be said to be green.
There is another step, however, before blackberry’s red stage.
In early summer when the blackberry flower has been pollinated by the many insects that visit it, the flower’s petals drop away.
The fruit then begins to form as small, hard, green-coloured berries.
As summer progresses, the hard green berries slowly grow and swell. With the right amount of rain, heat, and bright sunshine, the green berries begin to turn red.
The red colour of ripening blackberries is due to the increase of compounds in the fruit called anthocyanins. These give certain types of fruit their red, blue, or purple colours.
The good weather this summer has resulted in a bumper crop of big juicy blackberries.
As the red blackberry continues to ripen and swell, the levels of anthocyanin rise. As these increase, they deepen the colour of the red berries, turning them gradually into blackberry’s typical purple-black colour.
If there has been enough rain, the berries become soft and plump with juice. Plenty of bright sunshine and heat then increases the level of sugars in the fruit, making the juice sweet and tasty.
It can take six to eight weeks for the berries to develop from hard green berries into fully ripe blackberries, but this will depend on the weather.
Too little rain forms dry, hard, blackberries, while too little sunshine results in sharp-tasting fruit.
Blackberries have been collected and eaten by humans for thousands of years, and not just for their taste.
Blackberries are well known to offer health benefits as they contain Vitamins C and K, fibre, and trace amounts of omega-three and protein.
The anthocyanins that give blackberries their colour are also said to be anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds.
These support good gut health and can help boost the immune system.
This is just what we need as the cooler days of autumn approach.
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