Sparkling Blackberry Limeade

Sparkling Blackberry Limeade!  I have a love/hate relationship with blackberries.  Anyone who has ever lived in the Pacific Northwest knows what I mean.  Blackberries grow wild everywhere, you could almost say they are the unofficial Washington state weed.  They pop up everywhere, kill our trees, eat our fences alive, and punish us with their thorns if we ever try to pull them, and yet….for about 2 weeks of the year they make me glad I was lazy and didn’t weed my yard earlier in the year. 

This year I decided to make peace with the noxious weed and make something good out of them! And I think it’s going to become a new tradition. This Blackberry Limeade goes especially well with the Layered Bean Dip I posted last week. That sweet, savory combination gets me every time!

Here’s how it’s made!

The Blackberries

Start by finding an annoying blackberry bush that is growing where it shouldn’t be – haha – and pick 3 cups of blackberries from it. Or…you could just buy a 12 ounce container of them at the grocery store.

Place the blackberries in a strainer, placed over a bowl, and smash the blackberries until all you’re left with is the beautiful dark red juice.

Sometimes I find that blackberries from the grocery store are a little tough to smash and in that case, just chop them a little before putting them in the strainer. This will make your job a lot easier.

The Lime Juice

After taking the time to smash all the blackberries by hand, I like the convenience of pulling out a bottle of this key lime juice to add to my limeade. I don’t however, recommend the little lime shaped bottles in the produce section in the grocery store. That juice tends to be a little pungent. If you can’t find the bottled key lime juice, just take a few minutes and juice a couple of limes from the produce section.

Combine the simple syrup (more on that in the recipe below), blackberry juice, and lime juice together and store in the fridge until chilled.

Serving the Sparkling Blackberry Limeade

Just before serving the limeade, add 1 (12 ounce) can of Ginger Ale to the chilled mixture. Then add another 2 – 4 cups of water, to taste.

This drink is full of flavor. The people in my family with a sweet tooth like it at full strength and some of us like ours watered down a little more. Taste and adjust to your own preferences!

Fill a cup with ice and pour the Sparkling Blackberry Limeade to the top.

As I mentioned earlier, I love this drink with savory foods like the Layered Bean Dip I posted last week or any type of savory sandwich.

When life hands you blackberries, make blackberry limeade!

(Keep scrolling past the recipe if you want to see a few pictures of a 25’ tree my daughter and I spent an hour cutting free of blackberry brambles this spring!)

Blackberry Limeade

1 cup granulated or turbinado sugar
1 cup water
Zest of 1 lime
12 ounces (3 cups) fresh blackberries, pressed through strainer
1/2 cup bottled key lime juice
1 (12 ounce can) ginger ale
2-4 cups water
Lots of ice

Directions

1. Make blackberry juice: press 3 cups of blackberries through a fine mesh strainer. If the blackberries are difficult to press, chop them slightly first. Keep the juice and discard the seeds left in the strainer.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, 1 cup of water, and lime zest. Boil until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has become syrupy (2-3 minutes).
3. To the simple syrup, add the blackberry juice and key lime juice. Refrigerate until chilled.
4. Right before serving add the can of Ginger Ale and 2 cups of water. Taste and add up to 2 cups more water.
5. For serving: Fill a cup with ice and add Sparkling Blackberry Limeade. Eat with a favorite summer dip or sandwich.

This drink is full of flavor. The people in my family with a sweet tooth liked it at full strength and some of us liked ours watered down a little more. Taste and adjust to your own preferences!

Serving Suggestion:

Layered Bean Dip

Blackberry Bushes…Friends or Foes?

Earlier this spring, my daughter and I noticed a fir tree at the park was being eaten alive by blackberry brambles, so we spent an hour or so cutting it free. This is a huge tree! It’s at least 25 feet tall, but the blackberries brambles would have completely killed it if we wouldn’t have taken the time to cut it free.

But I can’t hate blackberry bushes for too long, because everywhere I look this time of the year (parking lots, freeways, parks) is bursting with free blackberries!

And they really are so delicious!!