What this year's bumper blackberries can do for you

You know autumn's fast on its way when you spot the first blackberries hanging plump from roadside bushes and along woodland walks. With its wet winter and sunny summer, 2014 has so far provided ideal conditions for brambles, resulting in a bumper blackberry crop.

Much like the taste explosion when you bite into them, the sighting of the first few blackberries of the year can be a bittersweet experience - on the one hand their appearance signals the end of long summer days, but on the other all those chilly autumn evenings provide the perfect excuse to curl up with a bowl of homemade blackberry and apple crumble.

Did you know?
As well as being delicious and - if you pick them yourself - free, blackberries are also full of fibre, vitamins (in particular vitamin C) and antioxidants. If you end up picking more blackberries than you know what to do with, simply store them in a container in the freezer, giving yourself instant access to a supply of tasty, healthy snacks all winter long.

Fact of the day: despite their name, blackberries aren't berries at all - each 'berry' is actually composed of many tiny fruits clumped together.