Blueberry Picking!
The Pastry clan took the early morning off to go pick blueberries, and what condition that orchard was in! Seemed like every time I turned over a few leaves a sight like the one above greeted me. The berries were so thick on the branches that the bushes were literally falling over from the weight:
It’s a night-and-day difference from last year, which was nearly a total loss due to lack of rain. The pickings were so easy we had eight pounds of perfect plump berries in half an hour! It was something of a letdown for Mrs. Pastry, who takes a lot of pride in her ability to ferret out the perfect fruit that’s left in mostly picked-over bushes. This morning plump, ripe berries practically fell into her bucket. It was hardly worth the trip.
Oh well, maybe next year will be better. Blueberry cobbler here I come!
You are very fortunate to be able to go blueberry picking as I have to live with only a distant memory of that blissful experience. Where I grew up in MA there were fields of low-bush blueberries. And where my cousins lived in ME, they all seem to have made summer money raking berries. (We picked with our fingers and were often called “the city cousins” because of that!) Blueberry pie was my mom’s first order of business, followed by blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins. As the season progressd we would get blueberry crumble… but never blueberry cobbler so I’m looking forward to your recipe and good advise on that. Ahhhh.. thanks for the memories and I’m looking forward to extending my family’s old tradition with your cobbler. Unfortunately, though… my blueberry picking will have to happen at the grocery market.
Hey Brian!
The recipe is linked right there in the post. You’ll love it! It works great with store-bought blueberries, which aren’t half bad in season. Let me know what you think!
– Joe
Oooo…blueberries! Don’t forget to make a jar of blueberry compote to keep in the fridge for topping waffles, pancakes, yogurt or ice cream. Two cups of blueberries, 2 tbsp. water, 1/4 cup sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Cook one cup of the blueberries in a med. sauce pan with the sugar and water for 10 minutes. Add the last cup of blueberries and cook 5-10 minutes more. Store in the fridge, warm when ready to use.
Great, Susan! Thanks!
– Joe
Ooops…stir the lemon juice in at the end…to taste!
I’m very lucky to live in Oregon and have berries all around for a very long time each year. Rare we have a bad year that you can’t find them somewhere locally. Strawberries and blueberries have so many varieties that we change the variety but still have the supply. I don’t think we have any wild ones…but maybe. I have my own plants in my yard and I think if the birds don’t beat me I should have a nice little crop if not a huge one. The compote recipe sounds great and I can’t wait for Joe’s cobbler recipe but my favorite use for our fresh ones is a banana-blueberry bread that’s more like a cake than bread but man bananas and blueberries really make a good match! Looks like you had fun, Joe, if not too exciting. Huckleberries are the fun one here. It got so bad with companies coming in and ravaging the plants…people couldn’t find any to pick. They’d even post a guard with a gun to keep people out. Someone told me last year or the year before they now monitor the pickers and everyone is limited to one bucket a day. Berry madness!
Oh, huckleberries. The last time I was in Portland I found a patch near the Burnside Skatepark and picked probably a pint. Those things are wicked good. I think Tillamook’s huckleberry ice cream is my all-time favorite flavor. Pardon me while I have a flashback…
– Joe
Funny side story. I was sitting at home working (luxury for sure!) and looking at my yard and saw some serious action around the blueberry bush. Three robins (yes, 3!) were going after my ripening blueberries like bandits. I wanted to go screaming “NONONONO” but kept working and decided it was ok it being robins and not some domestic animal. HA. Just hope they were tasty! 🙂
Huckleberries are da bomb. I occasionally find them at the farmer’s market but have not picked that many in the wild. I did go up to Battleground State Park in Washington State and we found a bush right beside a walking path and had some fun eating those. Glad I could bring back good memories…I’m not sure if Tillamook still makes that or not. Their strawberry is pretty good and well-loved around the area.
I hate to think of a world without Tillamook huckleberry ice cream in it. I’ll hope you’re wrong! 😉
– Joe
Blueberries are ripening here in Delaware (I’ve got 10 small bushes in the back yard, I’ll probably only end up with a couple of pints total), raspberries as well… and the mulberry tree is too. Mulberry jelly is pretty incredible, used last years remnants in a couple of danishes recently for a church function. Joe, have you ever used mulberries in your creations?
Hi Roger!
No I haven’t. Where I grew up mulberries weren’t especially prized. But I’ll look for some and try them. Thanks Roger!
– Joe
Looks like the world is safe.
http://www.tillamook.com/products/Ice-Cream/Mountain-Huckleberry-61.html
Whew! I was beginning to despair. Thanks Linda!
– Joe
Growing up on Cape Breton, mom always made blueberry grunt. It was so good
Coño Mano, can I come over again this Friday?
Homes, you’re in!