Blackberry sparkling water, three ways
The unsweetened infusion, the syrup, and the ratio that makes the finished drink.
In season: Cultivated from July, wild in August and September. Frozen blackberries lose nothing in a syrup.
Advertisement
Infused, unsweetened
Use
1 cup blackberries per 1 litre of water
Method
Crush half the berries against the side of the jar and leave the rest whole, cover with cold still water, refrigerate.
Time
6 hours for a purple tint and a light flavour, 12 hours at the outside
Sparkling
Still water for the infusion, sparkling in the glass. Use glass for the jar as well, since blackberry stains plastic permanently.
Keeps
2 days refrigerated. Pull the fruit at 12 hours; the seeds turn the water bitter if they sit longer.
The syrup
Ratio
2 cups blackberries : 1 cup sugar : 1/2 cup water
Method
Blackberries carry their own liquid so they need less water than most fruit. Simmer 10 minutes, mash gently with the back of a spoon, steep 20 minutes off the heat. Strain twice, once through a fine sieve and once through a coffee filter.
Keeps
2 weeks refrigerated, 6 months frozen
Note
The second strain is the one that matters. Seed grit settles to the bottom of the bottle and gets you a last mouthful of sand.
The finished soda
1 part syrup to 5 parts sparkling water. Blackberry is stronger than strawberry and takes the extra dilution.
A pinch of salt stirred into the finished syrup pulls the flavour forward.
The shrub version
Blackberry takes vinegar better than any other berry. 2 cups berries and 1 cup sugar, covered in the fridge 2 days, strain, stir in 1 cup red wine vinegar, rest 1 week. 1 tablespoon per 8 oz.
What doesn't work: Straining blackberry syrup through cheesecloth and wringing the bundle out to get the last of it. The wring forces seed fragments and pulp through, and you get a gritty syrup that separates into two layers in the bottle.
Goes with: LemonGinger