W is for wimberrys

W is for wimberry s

My favourite pie as a child and still is now is Wimberry Pie. I can remember the whole family going wimberry picking when I was a child . Up on our Shropshire hills in a secret location in the wood  singing away while we picked to frighten the adders away !!!

Bilberry is a name used for several species of Vaccinium (genus) that bear fruit on low-growing shrubs. The species usually referred to as bilberry is Vaccinium myrtillus, also called the European blueberry. The bilberry has many other names, including blaeberry, whortleberry, whinberry (or winberry), whimberry, wimberry, myrtle blueberry, fraughan and black-hearts.

The whimberry is very similar to the American blueberry and has all the same ‘super food’ credentials. However, unlike the blueberry, you will not find it in the supermarkets so every year people in Shropshire head for the hills in search of whimberries. Whimberry pickers are a secretive bunch and don’t say too much about where the fruit can be found but it is widely acknowledged that Shropshire is a hot-spot. 

Whimberry Pie
By Shirley Jones, Head Chef
Ludlow Food Centre

Ingredients
400g whimberries
250g shortcrust pastry
125g caster sugar
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 large cooking apples
Sugar for sprinkling
4 tablespoons of double cream

Method

1 Core the apples and bake in a medium oven until soft. Allow to cool and scrape out the apple pulp. Mix it with the whimberries and sugar 
2 Roll out the pastry and line a pie plate or tart dish 
Fill with fruit and sugar and cover with pastry. Do not seal 
3 Brush the top with beaten egg white, sprinkle with sugar and bake in a hot oven until golden brown 
4 Before serving, gently lift the lid and pour in the thick double cream