Confessions of a berry hoarder

The other night, scrolling through my phone in an attempt to distract myself from various problems I can neither fix nor control, I found something that delighted me: A man who has manufactured a tool that enables him to pick berries more efficiently. It consists of a funnel-like top (constructed, I believe, from a plastic milk carton) that connects to a length of flexible plastic tubing which in turn connects to a large plastic Folgers canister. The canister is attached to his waist; the funnel is strapped to his wrist. Maybe you have to see it to understand it, but once you have, you’ll wonder why this isn’t already being manufactured and sold nationwide. My friend’s father has an invented phrase for these sorts of homemade problem solvers: He calls them “bam chic.”

Weeks ago, I made my own bam chic berry-picking contraption: a plastic bucket suspended from my neck with a shoelace. While less ingenious than the one my fellow inventor created, it fulfills the same goal of keeping both hands free for picking.

Because as my family can attest, when there are ripe berries to be had, on blueberry barrens, on raspberry canes, in blackberry thickets, I cannot, will not rest until I have picked enough to gorge myself, make painterly yogurt bowls topped with lavish handfuls, and stock my freezer with bag after bag that I’ll stir into oatmeal during the Very Long Winter in my home state of Maine. I’m like a dog with a bone, asking anyone who comes near, “Should we just go pick a quick quart?”

Late summer is a magical, bittersweet time. There on the horizon we see the lowering of the academic boom, the shortening of days, the inevitable return of rhythm and routine. But right in front of us — or me, at least — are a lot of berries I need to deal with. One great resource is Camilla Wynne’s terrific first cookbook, Jam Bake; it teaches not only the basics of great jam making but also provides lots of recipes for what to do with all that jam (beyond my clear favorite, which is slathering it on a thick slice of toasted, buttered Sesame Wheat bread). I also have learned so much from Christine Ferber’s 1997 book, Mes Confitures; her blueberry-Pinot Noir jam is legend in our house. (And if you ever find yourself in the Alsatian village of Niedermorschwihr, her patisserie is a must-visit.)

But that’s not the only source for a treasure-trove of berry-forward recipes; the King Arthur archives are loaded, too. There’s Anna Stockwell’s Hot Summer Spoon Cake (a great recipe name and a great recipe, you love to see it); there’s this Sourdough Discard Blueberry Cobbler topped with sugar-dusted biscuits. Or maybe we should all just make this Late Summer Berry Cake, a very simple, buttery one-bowl cake that can be made with any (or all) of the berries we’re hoarding. In the words of poet Mary Oliver, “But berries are berries. They don’t speak any language I can’t understand.”

• While it’s still iced coffee season, I recommend a bottle of this horchata syrup from fellow Vermont-based company Abracadabra, made with pure Vermont maple syrup.

• Queen Ina Garten will be our guest on a holiday episode of Things Bakers Know! Send in all your holiday baking questions!

• Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should: The Crumbl/Flamin’ Hot Cheetos collab.

• A wild story about pink pineapples.