British berries

Blissful berries

Not so long ago, berries just meant summer and we loved them for it. Now they are also a 'health food', which is a bonus, but our bodies already knew instinctively that a big bowl of strawberries or raspberries was a good thing. Berries exude joyful beatitude… just don't mention the sinful slick of cream that turns them into delectable summer icons.

Cooking with berries

Nearly all berries are gorgeous eaten just as they are, sweetened if necessary with a little sugar, topped with cream for a spot of indulgence. The exception is blackcurrants whose raw, earthy pungency is softened by heat, and tart green gooseberries.

The summer pudding is the ultimate berry pudding. There are few rules about the mix of berries to include, though I think blackcurrants are essential. Otherwise raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, gooseberries, loganberries and the other blackberry/raspberry crosses, redcurrants and white currants are all good. Some people include a few strawberries but I dislike their sliminess when cooked.

Watch Sophie make Summer pudding in BBC Food's Get Cooking video recipe.

Other berry recipes are legion. Easiest to make are fruit fools, simple blends of crushed fruit (cooked if necessary), folded into whipped cream or thick custard - but home-made sorbets and ice cream are only a little more complicated. A perfect berry tart is a sheer joy - fruit packed into a crisp, sweet pastry case (almond pastry is especially good), filled with a cloud of crème patissière or lightly sweetened mascarpone.

Berry smoothies are swiftly knocked up in a liquidiser. Use berries that can be eaten raw and blitz them with thick Greek-style yoghurt, or thinner yoghurt and half a banana, along with just enough honey to sweeten to taste.

Buying berries

Examine punnets of berries before buying to make sure that the fruit are firm and dry. Glance underneath to see if there are any telltale traces of juice and general sogginess suggesting that hidden layers of fruit are past their best. Bruising and damaged fruit should be avoided, especially when the weather is hot.

Storing

Most berries have a short shelf-life, especially in a wet season when mould can creep in speedily. Don't let them hang around for more than a day or two. Keep them, loosely covered, in the fridge but remember to take them out at least an hour before eating - cold damps down their full flavour.

Currants and gooseberries will last a few days longer as long as they're kept dry. Check daily and remove any fruit that are beginning to soften and rot, and eat or cook within 4-5 days.

Blackberries

Wild blackberries are as good as strawberries and raspberries, and sometimes superior in a good year. Their perfume is quite exotic for something that grows so abundantly and is lifted further when lightly cooked with a touch of sugar. Cultivated blackberries are bigger and duller, but improve when cooked. They add an extra note of taste to a summer pudding mix.

When wild blackberries are in season, harvest a basketful and use them on muesli, in tarts, stewed lightly with apple or pear, in crumbles, cakes, jams and jellies. Try them with game or pork for something more unusual, or cook down into a solid blackberry and apple 'cheese' - divine with ham, game, or a slice of mature Manchego cheese.

Blackcurrants

Blackcurrants have a powerful earthiness. They need to be cooked, with a little sugar and a splash of water, for their full charm to emerge. They bring an essential base note to any collection of berries for a summer pudding, or lightly cooked compote to go with ice creams and meringue. Blackcurrant jam is another favourite. In tarts and turnovers a filling of blackcurrants, sugar and chopped fresh mint is a revelation.

Currants: red and white

Redcurrants are the prettiest of all the berries. Each little globe is a powerhouse of juice and bright, sparkling flavour. White currants are similar, though less showy and can be used in the same way as flashier redcurrants. Use them to decorate cakes and puddings, or dip them in lightly whisked egg white then roll in sugar to frost them.

Redcurrants and white currants, with their high pectin content, make beautiful jellies full of vigour, perfect on toast or with lamb and game, or stirred into gravies and sauces as a finishing touch. Fresh currants are essential in summer pudding, but also marry beautifully with strawberries for a cool, elegant, healthy finish to a meal.

Gooseberries

Gooseberries come in two forms. The smaller, sharp, green gooseberries are the ones to cook while, later in the season, big, fat translucent gold-green or red gooseberries can be sweet and juicy.

Top and tail green gooseberries before tossing into a pan (unless you're going to sieve the cooked gooseberries) and add a head of elderflower at the beginning of the season (in June) for a sweet Muscat-like scent. Add sugar to taste and just a splash of water to prevent burning. Cover and cook for a few minutes, then once the juices begin to bubble, uncover and cook until tenderly bursting.

In a rainy season, gooseberries exude more liquid, so you may have to boil it down if you want to make that classic June dish, a gooseberry fool. Cool the cooked gooseberries, then fold into thick custard mixed with lightly whipped cream. For a gooseberry crumble, use raw gooseberries under a duvet of crumble.

Cooked green gooseberries, enriched with a knob of butter, make a superb sauce for oily fish such as mackerel, herring or salmon, or mix them with fried onions, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and chopped parsley to make a stuffing for salmon.

Raspberries

There are two types: the summer raspberries, and the autumn-fruiting raspberries, which mean you can eat home-grown fruit through the summer into the early autumn. As well as red-pink, raspberries also come in gold, white and black.

A raspberry coulis is a classic accompaniment to hot and cold puddings. To make it, rub raspberries through a sieve, then stir in a squeeze of lemon (to emphasise their flavour and keep their colour bright) and sifted icing sugar to taste.

Raspberries and chocolate are happy soulmates. You could fill a chocolate cake with raspberries and whipped cream, or partner raspberries with warm chocolate brownies and vanilla ice cream to make a fantastic pudding. To make a quick modern-style peach melba, halve and stone peaches, dredge cut sides with caster sugar and place under a hot grill until browned and bubbling, then serve with raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream.

Watch Sophie make Caramelised peach melba with raspberry coulis in BBC Food's Get Cooking video recipe.

Tayberries, loganberries, boysenberries and more

These are all raspberry and/or blackberry crosses. The loganberry (a raspberry and blackberry cross) was first discovered in the garden of a Dr Logan in the US in 1880, while tayberries and tummelberries are originally from Scotland.

Boysenberries are a loganberry and dewberry cross, but look like a darker tayberry. Youngberries are parented by blackberries and dewberries. Although they're rare these days, a dewberry/raspberry cross is known as a Nessberry, while the charmingly named Olallieberry is a cross of loganberry and Youngberry.

Don't let this plethora of names put you off. They all have an enticing fragrance and an extra lash of tartness. Most of these fruits are larger and longer than the average raspberry and wild blackberry. Choose fruits that are dark and full and in good condition. They can be used in the same way as their parents, and are excellent in summer pudding, tarts and jams, as well as with a dousing of cream and a little sugar if required.

Recipes

The jewel-like colours of ripe summer berries are beautiful to behold, but even better to eat. Use them to their best advantage in these recipes:

• Individual summer puddings with summer berries by Emma Crowhurst
• Alastair Little's summer pudding by Alastair Little
• Mixed berry gratin with basil sabayon by James Martin
• Blackberry and lemon fool by James Martin
• Speedy summerberry jam by Jo' Pratt
• Blackberry muffins by Good Food Magazine
• Lamb chop with wilted chard and blackcurrant sauce by Tony Tobin
• Sweet couscous with blackcurrants and yoghurt by Tony Tobin
• Delice au cassis by James Martin
• Redcurrant soufflé by Paul Rankin
• Redcurrant sauce by Jo' Pratt
• Alastair Little's summer pudding by Alastair Little
• Gooseberry and elderflower tart by Antony Worrall Thompson
• Grilled mackerel with gooseberry sauce, new potatoes and salad leaves by James Martin
• Gooseberry and elderflower fool by Emma Crowhurst
• Raspberry mousse cake by Simon Rimmer
• Tipsy laird by James Martin
• Raspberry zabaglione by Antony Worrall Thompson
• Hot raspberry soufflé with honey and oatmeal ice cream by Nick Nairn
• Macerated Scottish berries with mascarpone sorbet by Neil Forbes
• Summer berries and red wine jelly by Curtis Stone