The Problem With Gooseberries

It was probably our second year on the farm, maybe our third, that we discovered we had a small patch of gooseberries.  They were back against the south shelter belt in a naturalized area, mixed with native dogwood, self-seeded maples and assorted weeds and native flowers.  Gooseberry is not a berry I know much about, although I read in cookbooks and on blogs about 'divine' gooseberry jam or chutney.  The next few years the deer got to them before we did, last year I just completely forgot about them until it was too late!  This year they were absolutely in my sights.  In my reading, I learned that younger, green berries will make a nice tart jam but it's well worth the wait to have some ripen to pink.  The jam will be prettier and a little sweeter.  So, I've been watching and waiting and decided today was the day!

As a newbie gooseberry picker, I soon discovered the problem with gooseberries.  They are low, sprawling, brambles covered in big thorns.  Big nasty thorns!  Really tricky to get to those berries!  I have been poked, prodded, my jeans have been caught and my hands scratched!  To make things even more interesting, I discovered a bit of stinging nettle has grown up among the branches.  Good thing it has been a cool morning and I had long sleeves on.  It is not a berry for commercial picking: they do not ripen all at once, like raspberries.  There were little hard green ones, big plump green berries and some big plump pink ones, all mixed all over the branches.  It wasn't a great harvest, only about a quarter of an ice cream pail.  I'm going to use this recipe here from the blog 'thekitchen' because it is proportional, so I don't have to worry about dividing a recipe, weighing etc.  Fingers crossed I'll get at least two pints of jam! 

Nanking Cherry Jelly Time!

It's good to have extra hands.  So much is ready, all at once, in this odd growing year.  We're still picking and trying to jam raspberries, and the nanking cherries were soooo ready for picking.  So, put the Sisters to work on a lovely summer evening!  Niece Meg was interested in seeing the process of making jam or jelly so the sisters picked and Meg and I dripped the juice and discussed the process.  Too busy with tonights' Friday Night Farmers Market to actually make jelly, so the lovely red juice got frozen for now!  Next, the Evans sour cherries are just about ready for picking and yes, the raspberries are still going!

Strawberry-o-rama-ding-dong!

I'm seeing a little red.  Little red, shiny berries!  Such an amazing amount of strawberries were offered at our two weekend Farmers Markets that I went a little overboard.  At the Friday Night Farmers Market, Mayfair Farms from Portage came with their luscious berries, and at the end of the day offered a wee deal.  I came home with three flats.  Then, at the Saturday morning Farmers Market at Riverbank Discovery Centre, the lovely little family farm Good Earth came from Glenboro with their gorgeous berries and, wanting to support local growers (!) I came home with two more flats.  After my standard Saturday afternoon nap, I rose to a fridge stuffed with berries!  So, time to start the canning for 2011.  Sunday, which we usually take as a day off, was a berry day; 'Strawberry Fields Forever' kept running through my head as I washed, hulled, rinsed, crushed, stirred...well, you get the picture!  As it stands, I have fourteen jars of conventional pectin jam, five jars of honey sweetened jam made with Pomona's, I have two batches of strawberry-balsamic-rosemary jam marinating which I'm about to can and, as I faced the last flat at 9:00 PM last night, I got out the blender and the dehydrator and I have ten sheets of pure strawberry leather currently cooling. Whew!  Now, what if strawberries show up at the Farmers Markets again this coming weekend.......

Raspberry-o-rama!!

It's raspberry season at Aagaard Farms. That means it's nuts around here! People coming and going for U-picking, our little staff picking like crazy Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for CSA and the Farmers' Markets. I've been jammin' and jellin' like a person obsessed - more than ever before. And freezing, don't forget the freezing!! The piglets have had a few treats of the pulp left over from the jelly process - and they've decided they like raspberries, a lot! Even Rocky and The Hens are getting in on the act - they get a little of the leftover berries after the Farmers Markets. Only the doggies are kind of left out on this one - they show absolutely no interest whatsoever. However, they do enjoy all the attention they get from the U-pick people!!

Jammin'!

'Tis the season to be jammin' and cannin'. Now, it's too bad for us market gardeners that jamming season is in the midst of our busy season. But, of course jamming season is in the middle of our busy season 'cause that's when the berries are ready! Our raspberries are just coming on strong; we got a little pick but they will be on full force next week and we'll have u-pick people here. We always find a few surprises in the berry patch - so far this year it's been an awesome little nest of babies, mmmmm, wrens maybe, by the size of the beaks. I haven't seen the mom so I'm not sure.

The jamming started on Sunday with strawberries. I scored some beautiful berries from Sugar 'n Spice at the Farmers' Market at Riverbank Discovery Centre. Rocky and The Hens seemed to enjoy the leftovers and scraps! Today has been our own raspberries, and I'll do more of those - large quantities of jam and jelly, hopefully, for sale at the Farmers Markets!

We're onto something new this year: Pomona's Pectin. We're always looking for something different for the Farmers' Markets. Pomona's Universal Pectin allows for low sugar jams and jellies, and you can even can with honey, stevia or other sugar replacements. I'm loving this product! It is a 100% citrus based pectin that gels with calcium and contains no dextrin, like common pectins. The procedures are simply and you can double or triple a recipe no problem; the product itself has a shelf life, if stored properly, of up to three years! It's a Danish product, which Farmer Man approves of, of course! It's available in Brandon in small packages at Two Farm Kids; I went right to the website to order a larger quantity from the Canadian distributor: check out Pomoma's Universal Pectin!