Blackberry Apple CrumbleAnne prepared a basil-blackberry crumble that turned out watery. Here are my tips on keeping your berry desserts smooth and not watery.

Your choice of berry will make a difference in the challenge of combating ‘runniness’ in your cobbler or crumble. Generally, blackberries tend to break down further in cooking than blueberries and strawberries. By releasing more juice, your recipes should have a way to thicken or sop-up the juice. Thickeners are the most common way of dealing with juicy, watery berries.

Choosing your Thickener

Several different ingredients can be used as a thickener and although they all work, they also have pros and cons.

Arrowroot. It has no effect on flavor and the sauce is bright and translucent. Additionally, the sauce holds up better if you make extra desserts and freeze them. I prefer arrowroot for berry desserts.

Flour. The most common thickener is probably flour. It’s advantage is most kitchens have flour on hand. On the negative side it produces a cloudy sauce and does affect the flavor of the dessert slightly. Flour is also the weakest thickener of these four and so more flour is required, affecting the taste further.

Cornstarch. Cornstarch is also popular and results in a bright translucent sauce. However, the sauce tends to be somewhat slimy at first and is downright gluey the next day. It too has an affect on the flavor.

Instant Tapioca. Instant tapioca can be used also and like cornstarch produces a bright translucent sauce. I’ve found, though, that it doesn’t adhere well to berries and can accumulate on the bottom. Nevertheless, I prefer it over flour and cornstarch for apples, peachs, plums, and similar fruits.

How to Add and Substitute Thickeners

In general, thickeners should be added to fruit at the same time as the sugar and spices unless you’re cooking the fruit first. In that case mix the thickener with a bit of cold water to form a slurry and stir it into the fruit after removing it from the heat.

For six cups of fruit you’ll need 2 - 3 Tbsp of arrowroot, 3 - 4 Tbsp of instant tapioca, or 4 - 5 Tbsp of cornstarch, or 5 - 6 Tbsp of flour. Berries (with the exception of strawberries) typically need the most thickener while apples and pears require the least. Peaches, strawberries, and plums fall in the middle.

Recipe Review

When using a recipe for pies, crumbles, cobblers, or crisps – look at your list of ingredients. Does your recipe include some sort of starch that will combine with the juice of your berries to make the sauce? The starch in your recipe might be: flour, cornstarch, tapioca, or arrowroot. If your recipe does not include a starch, then you will want to adjust it with a thickener.

Following are the links to two Basil-Blackerry Crumble recipes we found online. To adjust these recipes so they work with your blackberries, mix 2 Tbsp of arrowroot into the berries when you add the sugar. It will come out perfectly this time!

Barbara Kingsolver’s Recipe, from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. A Year of Food Life

Hell’s Kitchen Community Blog Recipe

Chef Kevin