[Sorellina]

Wow, life without a freezer. I can't quite imagine that.

I make a couple different blackberry vinegars. One is spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice (whole or large pieces in a cheesecloth bag). Use 4 cups of berries and 4 cups of white vinegar. Heat together until just bubbling at the edges but not a full boil. Allow to steep for 30 minutes before straining into a large jar. This will keep for months at room temperature, but in our house, we use it daily for a salad dressing base.

The other one I make uses white balsamic vinegar and sprigs of lemon thyme. It's also quite nice and not as sweet. The spiced one is used mostly for fall and winter salads with walnut oil for the dressing. I like it on a baby spinach salad with Asian pear, pomegranate seeds, and blue cheese.

We also have an Oregon Thornless Blackberry that we got 5 years ago as a cutting in a local plant swap. The thing is huge now and covers about 25 feet of fence. I have 6 8 cup tubs of berries in my freezer and I use a LOT of them fresh while they're producing. Freezing is just the only way to keep up with them.

You could also juice them if you wanted to reduce the volume.