wineberry rye crumble
westchester's wild brambles
Last weekend I ventured deep into the woods of Westchester county in search of wild brambles: blackberries, raspberries, or even black raspberries. It is just about that season around New York, perhaps a little on the early side. While I did find a few black raspberries fruiting, I found far more wineberries than anything else.
Wineberries are a close cousin to raspberries, but are invasive in the U.S., which is to say they grow absolutely everywhere. It’s an interesting experience when you clue in to the existence of a specific plant, especially one so ubiquitous. I went years never spotting the shrubs, and now, at least in the middle of summer, I see them everywhere I look.
So I spent a sunday afternoon wandering into thickets of poison ivy and thorned bushes in pursuit of these sweet and tart, slightly sticky berries. When ripe, they are a dark ruby red and practically fall off of the bush with the slightest disturbance.
The other great thing about wineberries is, to my knowledge, they have no poisonous look alikes. The biggest mistake you can make is to accidentally eat a raspberry.
I was half-hoping to find enough berries to make a batch of wine (wineberry wine, duh!), and I probably could have had I not had other things to do. My goal is to make at least one wine this year for spring, summer, and fall. Spring is sorted: I have a strawberry knotweed wine in secondary fermentation smelling delicious. I am taking suggestions for summer. Peach perhaps?
Still, I came home with about a pint of beautiful berries to my name, just enough to make a small, two serving crumble. Using rye flour in the crumble topping adds a deep, nutty flavor to contrast the bright, tart filling.
Wineberry Rye Crumble:
1 pint fresh wineberries or similar berry, washed and drained well
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
salt, to taste
For the crumble topping:
2 tablespoons rolled oats
2 tablespoons rye flour
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup softened butter
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch salt
Add the wineberries, lemon juice, sugar, and pinch of salt to a small bowl and stir to combine. If you have time, let the mixture sit for a couple of hours or up to overnight to macerate, but this is not necessary.
To make the crumble topping, add the rolled oats, rye flour, sugar, softened butter, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and mix with your fingers to incorporate into a crumbly mixture.
Add the macerated wineberries to a small gratin dish and cover with the crumble topping. Bake in a preheated 400°F for 30-40 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown on top.
For best results, allow to cool until just over room temperature before serving with vanilla ice cream or chilled creme anglaise. The filling has no thickener so it will be very runny when hot. Personally, I don’t wait but if you prefer a less liquid filling, that’s the ticket.
