Blackberry Stem Candies is a traditional British recipe for a preserve of bramble shoot pieces preserved in sugar syrup and cooked in a moderate oven until dry. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Blackberry Stem Candies.
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I first came across these under the name 'star capers' when I was looking to see if there were any other uses for brambles apart from eating the fruit (blackberries) and flowers. Now, I often add the young leaves of blackberry plants (when the spines have not fully developed) in early spring salads or as additions to mixed greens for use in saag and West African style dishes. I thought that bramble tips were probably edible and out of curiosity I picked some young ones, stripped off the leaves and spines and started chewing. They weren't bad and what surprised me was a mild coconut flavour rather than the blackberry flavour I expected. A little googling later and I found out that bramble tips could be used in stir-fries, as asparagus substitutes and they could be pickled, candied and preserved in syrup.
For this recipe, you're looking for fairly stout but still flexible so the final candies are fairly stout and are clearly star-shaped.
Ingredients:
4 Fresh Bramble Shoots, with the spikes scraped off and finely chopped
40 bramble leaves
200ml boiling water
200g caster sugar
Method:
Combine the bramble leaves and boiling water in a pan and boil, covered with the pan lid, for 15 minutes.
Pour through a sieve to remove the leaves. Stir the sugar into the hot strained liquid until fully dissolved.
Cut the bramble stems into about 1cm lengths and add to the sugar syrup. Cover with a lid and set aside to absorb the syrup for 3 days.
At the end of this time, remove the stems from the syrup, boil the syrup and store for future use. Place the stem pieces on a baking tray covered with baking parchment. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 160°C and cook, with the door open, for 1-2 hours or until the bramble pieces are fully dry.
They will be non-sticky and crunchy when ready. Store in an air tight jar and use in deserts and even in salads to give a sweet slightly coconutty crunch. They're also great added to trail mix or served with nuts.
