I used my day off on Friday to drive an hour to my favorite U-pick berry farm. And my morning was filled with disappointment. First, I found the owners had pulled out all the gooseberry and currant plants – which was my major motivation for visiting that specific farm. Second, I usually try to bring home a flat of raspberries, as it’s usually a couple hours’ of easy picking to fill all 8 quarts. Wrong again. After two hours of hunting for berries with the drive and dedication of the Swamp Fox looking for Redcoats (Is that red a ripe berry? No, dang it. The other side of it is orange), I managed two bare quarts, hoping for enough to make homemade jam. And many of the berries I did find were sporting significant damage.
Tag: jam
Jam Session
Last weekend I braved a rather cold, rainy Summer afternoon to go berry picking – because I’d never had honeyberries OR Saskatoon berries and I wanted to give them a try. The season for both is pretty short, and I was afraid I might miss them entirely if I waited another week. That turned out to be a wise decision, since this weekend has been even soggier!
An hour and a half or so of picking got me 5 very full pints of each kind of berry. Also a job offer as a berry-picker. The Saskatoons were much easier picking than the honeyberries. Then, I made jam. And pie.
Since scrolling down for an hour before the recipe/instructions is a blog trope I’m very unfond of, let’s do that part first. And the pretty pictures afterward.