I read this book to third and fourth graders, and asked them what they think might have changed over the years. They came up with great answers, including their clothing and where they got the ingredients. It was much easier for the family in 2010 to go to the store to purchase the berries and cream than it was in 1710, when the mother and her daughter had to pick the berries and milk their cow to make the cream from scratch. The students were very interested to learn that in 1710, they used a whisk created from twigs to stir the cream (which took 15 minutes of heavy stirring). The technology progressed to a metal whisk created by a local blacksmith, to a rotary beater, to finally an electric mixer. And that food processor sure helped in the present day to crush the berries to prepare to strain them! Even storing the dessert changed over the years, from chilling the food in a pit in a hillside chilled with sheets of winter ice to the convenience of a refrigerator right in the kitchen.
A few students even picked up on the fact that it was a mother and daughter who prepared the dessert in the first three generations, and only in 2010 did a father and son make the treat. We talked about how gender roles have changed over the years, and I even had one student notice a man was sitting at the head of the table in each illustration except for the family eating in 2010. Great observation skills! I asked students to raise their hands if their father did most of the cooking or at least cooked an equal amount as their mothers, and it was interesting to see that many hands went up.
View a video of an interview with Jenkins and Blackall on KidLit TV here: http://kidlit.tv/2015/05/emily-jenkins-sophie-blackall-create-a-fine-dessert/. I thought it was so interesting that Blackall used crushed berries to paint the endpapers of this book. According to the author and illustrator's notes at the back of the book, extensive research was required to write the story and create the illustrations accompanying the story. Blackall said she had to figure out when blackberries were in season so she would know how to properly dress the characters. Because there were no photographs to refer to many years ago, she had to read diaries from the time. The blackberry fool sounds delicious, but I think the real treat is this wonderful book these two ladies created.
I promised the students a copy of the recipe which I will hand out to them. It also appears below. If you decide to make the blackberry fool at home, hopefully you can appreciate the convenience of using an electric mixer and/or food processor! And no doubt everyone will want to lick the bowl after the dessert is prepared, which is what everybody who prepared the dessert in the book also did!
1710:
2010:
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Blackberry Fool: A Recipe
2-1/2 cups fresh blackberries (Other berries will do--but the fool won't be such a nice purple color; frozen berries will work, though fresh are nicer.)
1/2 cup sugar, divided in two
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
Find an adult to cook with you.
Mash the berries with a potato masher or a larger fork. If you've got a food processor, you can use that. With clean hands, press the crushed berries through a sieve to remove the seeds. Sprinkle the fruit with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Stir.
In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the vanilla and the cream. Using a whisk or whatever kind of beater you have, whip the mixture until it makes soft peaks, but not stiff ones.
Fold the sugared berries into the whipped cream. Taste it to see if it's sweet enough. Add more sugar if you need it. There should be streaks of white and purple (don't overmix).
Refrigerate for 3 hours or more.
Eat! And don't forget to lick the bowl.
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