I’m a Coupar Angus boy, and I grew up surrounded by the mighty berry fields o’ Blair, says Graeme Pallister, chef patron of 63 Tay Street in Perth.
Picking raspberries as a child was part of being Scottish – you wore your cuts and grazes as a badge of honour.
Now the fields are full of polytunnels and the shops full of new Scottish varieties that have brought us back to the forefront of the global berry market after a period in the 1980s when Spanish berries dominated. It’s hard to believe now that we chose their berries over our own homegrown varieties.
When polytunnels started to appear, our farmers stepped up their game to protect their crop. As a result we have extended berry season beyond its natural harvest months. I don’t think having strawberries in October is a bad thing – as long as they’re Scottish.
I buy berries from May to November and I use them on my menus as long as they are local, tasty and natural. I don’t mind that they are grown in tunnels, as long as they haven’t been injected with chemicals.
So we should do our bit to maintain our berry harvests and ensure future generations spend their summers munching on fruit from down the road rather than across the continent.
The trick is to know where your berries come from. As a chef I’m lucky I can speak to the farmer and find out exactly what he’s doing in order to supply me with berries in October. But it’s not so difficult for you to do a bit research before you buy, especially with farmers markets and pick you own farms all over the country. Just ask a few questions – it will make your berry-munching all the more enjoyable when you know the story behind them.
Chef’s Tip
So you have your fresh berries, now what? Well, for me, very little! Start with a bowl of mixed fresh berries like raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries – the colours alone are so amazing you just want to dive straight in – then simply top them with some crème fraîche, Scottish honey and toasted almonds. Or even easier, but equally as good, top with a dollop of whipped fresh cream and another dollop of quality lemon curd. Yum!
