Here’s another from the guess-what’s-ripe-along-the-side-of-the-road files.

Now, we have dewberries.

Like everything else this season, the warmer weather is ripening these berries a bit earlier than normal (about a quarter of my father’s front garden is overrun with dewberries ripening in the sun)

The reddish-black berries grow on thorny vines close to the ground (hence the name “dew”) while their cousin, the blackberry grows on upright brambles. Dewberries and blackberries can be used interchangeably in recipes.

When ripe, dewberries are a bit fragile. The deep red juices will stain anything, so be careful when you’re picking not to wipe your hands on your clothing.

I have tried, in the past, to dig up the plants before they took over the garden but have recently ceded a corner just to those vines, figuring that I can enjoy what the birds don’t get.

In my dad’s case, I think the dewberry vines spread through his garden under the cover of swamp daisies and, like those daisies, are proving difficult to weed out. I may have to run up to his house in a couple of days and gather enough berries to make a crumble or pie, as an apology, for Shari and I giving him a single swamp daisy plant a few years ago.

Dewberry dumplings

12 Servings

1 quart dewberries

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

½ stick margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup flour

½ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon Crisco

1 egg

Wash berries. Cook berries with sugar and water in a heavy-bottom saucepan with a lid on medium heat for 45 minutes.

Mix dry ingredients for dumplings; add egg and enough water to make a soft dough. Roll thin and cut into 1 inch squares. Drop on top of cooking berries, cover and cook gently 10 to 12 minutes. Continue until all dumplings are cooked.

As dumplings are cooked, remove from berries and place on a large platter. After all dumplings are cooked, add margarine and vanilla to berries and pour over dumplings. Serve with Cool Whip.

Dewberry cobbler

10 servings

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon. salt

1 cup milk

2 teaspoon. baking powder

1 stick butter

3-5 cups dewberries

Melt butter in 9-by13 inch pan. Mix together the first 5 ingredients. Put half in the pan. Put in dewberries. Add the rest of the batter on top. Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour.

Dewberry sorbet

4 servings

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 quart berries

juice of one lemon

Over medium high, heat water and sugar in a heavy saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Add berries and lemon juice and cook until the berries have reduced down. Strain the liquid to remove seeds.

Pour into a 9-by-13 inch pan, cover and place in freezer. Stir mixture with a fork every 15 minutes until it sets, about two hours.

Dewberry slush

4 servings

1 pint dewberry sorbet

4 tablespoons vodka

Prosecco

In a large bowl, combine sorbet and vodka with about 1/2 cup Prosecco. Slowly whisk, adding more Prosecco as needed to get slush-like consistency. Pour into chilled glasses and garnish with a berry.

From cooks.com