Summer to me is not sunshine, nor warmth, but berries. Which is lucky, because it means I've had a summer this year while many others have not. The best strawberries that I had were from Cheddar, the best mulberries from my friend Daisy's garden. I ate organic blueberries from Dorset that popped sweetly between my teeth, although the blackberries that I have found so far have been rubbish.

While a bowl of berries to be gobbled with runny cream and a dusting of gritty sugar is a treat that tastes plain strange at any other time of year, frozen berries work as well in the depths of winter as they would today - and now is the time to grab them. Don't bother trying to freeze strawberries; it just doesn't work. Instead, concentrate on raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries and blueberries.

The method: you want them as dry as possible, so don't wash them first (if you think they need washing, do so when you are about to use them). Spread them out on a tray in a single layer, then freeze in the coldest drawer of your freezer. Once they are thoroughly frozen, you can bag or box them up without fear of squashing.

They are best used straight from the freezer, or cooked, rather than eaten defrosted and raw. To use frozen, either blend with cold cream for instant ice-cream or parfait, or with yoghurt and juice to make a bright, vitamin-packed smoothie. My favourite easy pudding method is to drench them, still frozen, with hot white chocolate sauce by melting white buttons into double cream.

To cook, warm gently in a saucepan until they heat through and begin to soften. You may need a little sugar (I like to use fruit sugar, because it feels more natural) but you won't need to add any liquid. Allow them to begin to disintegrate rather than totally fall apart, and eat with ice-cream, rice pudding, bread and butter pudding or simply with some crème fraîche spooned over the top and shortbread on the side. For classic summer pudding, spoon into a white bread or, even better, a brioche-lined basin, cover with another slice, pour over any remaining juices to make sure the bread is stained, and weight it overnight before turning out carefully, for a taste of summer any time.

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