Just rinse and freeze.
You can freeze in a single layer on cookie sheets first if you want so that you can remove part of the contents of bag at a time.
Just ziploc bags and a freezer with provide you with berries for awhile.

Jam is pretty simple. A few jars, pectin, sugar and a big pot that will allow water a couple of inches over the height of the jars.

Come on in......the Harvest water is fine!!

Deanna

If they are fuzzy and have fuzzy stems, they may be wineberries. That should give you an idea, lol!

They're too seedy to do much with--get a food mill. Then do jam or jelly. Fruit leather. Raspberry liqueur. Raspberry syrup. Freeze the stuff if you have canning phobia. But there is absolutely no reason to have a phobia about canning fruit. The worst it will do is mold or discolor and the flavor will fade. All of that you can see. MEAT, which you probably cook every day, is far, far more dangerous. And canning is dead simple--mash up a bunch of fruit, cook it a little bit with sugar and sure jell if you want, put it in a jar and boil it for 10 min. Canning fruit has got to be one of the easiest things going. Now don't get me started on pie, that's a real PITA. I guess if you're a real glutton for punishment, make a raspberry tart, lol!
:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Wineberries article in the Roanoke Times

I must be nuts. I love tarts and pies. Crusts are no problem. I don't know what my issue is with canning. Some kind of mental road block! LOL! I think it's the acquisition of new stuff that's stopping me. I'd hate to spend a fortune on canning things that I might not use more than once a year.

I'm going picking with the kids tomorrow and I'll freeze our bounty!

Thanks for the help.

AM

you might try a batch of these ... couldn't be simplier...

Sugared Berries

Source: Gourmet January '08 Edna Lewis/Scott Peacock
Makes about 1 1/2 pints.
Fresh, intense flavor. Serve spooned on hot bread.

3 cups fresh berries (blackberry, raspberry, strawberry)
3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Mash berries with sugar and salt in a bowl with a potato masher until berries are liquified and sugar has dissolved. Let stand, covered and chilled, 3 days to allow flavors to develop. Stir once a day.

Note: Do not puree berries in a food processor or blender, which will pulverize the seeds and impart a bitter taste.
3/4 pound frozed berries may be substituted.
Sugared berries keep at least one month when chilled. (Scott Peacock says they keep for a year)

Also ... here's a link for uncooked berry jam from Penn State Extension Service ... which uses pectin and a higher ratio of sugar ...

http://solutions.psu.edu/Food_Preparation_Safety_Storage_299.htm

I am green with envy over such a richness of berries!!!!
kay

AM we need to get together. I'll make the preserves and you can make the jam tarts!!

The reason I mention "jam" is that IMHO, wild berries are kinda seedy, but long on flavor, so getting a food mill and making jam is an excellent way to capture the best they have to offer. You can also use a food mill to make great fresh tomato sauce. I resisted getting one for years, but I like mine now!

As for canning needing special equipment--when I started canning I used an old stockpot for the boiling water bath and metal tongs to lift the jars out of the bath. I still do that when I am away from my supplies. You can improvise all the equipment except a food mill. And even in that case, you can mash the berries and strain them through a strainer lined with cheesecloth if you just want to make jelly or syrup. You don't even have to boiling water bath if you're making freezer jam, and you can freeze it in any old kind of container. But if you're not a jam or jelly fan, by all means pass on this advice, lol! There are lots of other options. I myself would love to try raspberry liqueur. And I love raspberry peach pie!! I make mine with frozen raspberries, frozen peaches and frozen pie crust. The whole thing comes together in about 10 min., bake for an hour, and everyone marvels at your homesteading skills! ;)

Best not to try canning anyway--it's addicting.

AM, waterbath canning isn't that expensive but you do have to find space to keep that big canning kettle! A case of jars is $10 or less, a canner with a rack and a jar lifter might be $30 here, I don't know what there. For $50 or less you could be canning, but you still have to find that storage space.

I agree with lpinkmountain, the wild berries are a bit seedy, I usually press them through a sieve to get rid of some of the seeds, then I make jam.

Of course, you could make freezer jam, no canning involved there at all. RobinKate won the national contest last year with this nectarine/raspberry freezer jam. I made it and it's yummy. I don't get many nectarines here but it's just as good with peaches.

Raspberry Nectarine Jam with Cointreau & Drambuie
By Robin B. of Burlington, Vermont
Featuring Ball® Simple Creations® No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin
Makes about 5 (8 oz) half pints

You will need:
ï¯ 1-1/2 cups sugar
ï¯ 1 1.59-oz pkg Ball® Simple Creations® Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin
ï¯ 2 cups peeled and chopped nectarines
ï¯ 2 Tbsp Drambuie
ï¯ 1 Tbsp lemon juice
ï¯ 2 tsp Cointreau
ï¯ 2 cups raspberries
 5 Plastic Ball® (8 oz) Freezer Jars

Directions:
1.) STIR sugar and contents of pectin package in a bowl until well blended.
2.) COMBINE nectarines, Drambuie, lemon juice and Cointreau in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring constantly, until nectarines become soft and transparent, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool 15 minutes.
3.) ADD raspberries to nectarines and mix well. Crush raspberries and nectarines with a potato masher. Add fruit mixture to pectin mixture. Stir 3 minutes.
4.) LADLE jam into clean jars to fill line. Twist on lids. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year.

See, homemade jam and no canning necessary!

Annie

Make freezer jam..that's my favorite way to eat raspberry jam...

and I don't wash before I freeze on cookie sheets..they become mush...

If you're good at crust, definitely make raspberry pie. There's nothing better. Use lots of sugar so the filling is almost like jam. Mmmmm.

And/or make liqueur. That is the easiest possible thing to make and it is very good.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Berry Liqueur