Berry and Fruit Picking Tips & Tricks

BERRY PICKING
When you pick berries that have thorns, wear long stockings with the feet whacked off--not nylons--or some similar heavy protection on your arms so you won't get too badly scratched. A leather belt around your waist with a half gallon can hanging on it is handy, and then you can empty the berries into a big bucket when the little one is full. Don't worry about leaves and such when you're picking. You can put the berries in water when you get home, and leaves will float to the top; you can just scoop them away.

SECRETS OF FRUIT PICKING
1. Pick on a dry day because damp fruit is more likely to spoil.
2. Store fruit in a cool place soon after it is picked.
3. For safety's sake, pick into something that leaves your hands free. This could be a bucket hanging from your belt, or a fruit-bag that fastens around your waist and hangs like an apron down your front.
4. For least bruising and best condition, pick each fruit by hand.
5. Bend the fruit upward. Twist gently to fee it from the branch. A ripe fruit should easily separate. Keep the stem in the fruit. If pulled out, rot can develop in the hole.

PRE-TREATMENT FOR FREEZING FRUIT
Fruit can be packed for freezing without a sweetener or liquid. Fruits that will be eaten raw or used for pies or jams after thawing will be fine without a sweetener. Just slice or crush them in their own juice, or even freeze them whole.

["Berry Picking" and "Secrets of Fruit Picking" excerpted from Chapter 6: Tree, Vine, Bush and Bramble. Illustration copyright 1994 by Cindy Davis. "Pre-Treatment for Freezing Fruit" excerpted from Chapter 7: Food Preservation.]

Celebrate July 4th with Homemade Popsicles

If you're expecting a sunny 4th of July, you'll need some cool treats to help you celebrate until the evening's fireworks.  Carla Emery shares her recipes for easy and delicious homemade popsicles.

These are cheap, easy, and even more fun for children than going to the store. Children like strong, sweet juices like grape and cranberry for popsicles—but when kids are hot, anything will do. My little ones enjoy goat’s milk popsicles. Popsicle making is a nice way to use leftover juices from canned fruit, too.

OF HANDLES AND MOLDS

You can use wooden sticks for handles and sturdy small bowls or cans for containers—work up a collection. Or buy popsicle molds; Tupperware and Back to Basics carry them. If you have a big family or lots of small friends, I recommend getting at least 2 molds so you can have one freezing while they are consuming the other. You can even make parfait popsicles by freezing a layer of one color and then a layer of another color. My plastic holders soon got lost or fell apart, but then we substituted sticks in a bowl or can and were fine. Fill the molds not quite full, insert your holder, and freeze.

UNMOLDING

Don’t let the gremlins pull the holders until you’re sure the center of the popsicle is solidly frozen and you have loosened the sides by running hot water over the back of the mold. Otherwise they might pull out the holder prematurely, leaving a hole that it won’t freeze back into. You don’t have to unmold all the popsicles at once. Just loosen as many as you need. Refill the emptied units and return to the freezer.

BASIC FRUIT POPSICLES

Puree 1 cup any kind of fruit or a mixture of fruit and mix with 1 cup water. Pour into your ice cube tray. When they are starting to freeze, add a wooden stick or toothpick to each section. 

PUDDING POPSICLES

Susan Staley was in Germany when she sent me this recipe. She said, “If your children love the Fudgsicle-type popsicle, you can easily make them. Just make up a batch of pudding and freeze it in your popsicle molds. They’re delicious and you can make different kinds beside chocolate. Butterscotch is very good. In fact, any flavor of pudding your children love hot, they’re bound to like cold in hot summer weather.”

ANY FRUIT ICE

You could juice pomegranates or barberries or red currants, or cook and strain quinces, or grate pineapple, or boil and pulp apples or rhubarb—whatever you have. Sweeten to taste, add lemon juice if the flavor needs it, and freeze.

GINGER ALE JUICE

Combine ¾ cup sugar and 2 cups water. Heat and boil 5 minutes. Cool. Add 1 cup orange juice, ½ cup lemon juice, and 2 bottles ginger ale. Freeze.

Cool Down with Homemade Popsicles

These are cheap, easy, and even more fun for children than going to the store. Children like strong, sweet juices like grape and cranberry for popsicles—but when kids are hot, anything will do. My little ones enjoy goat’s milk popsicles. Popsicle making is a nice way to use leftover juices from canned fruit, too.

OF HANDLES AND MOLDS

You can use wooden sticks for handles and sturdy small bowls or cans for containers—work up a collection. Or buy popsicle molds; Tupperware and Back to Basics carry them. If you have a big family or lots of small friends, I recommend getting at least 2 molds so you can have one freezing while they are consuming the other. You can even make parfait popsicles by freezing a layer of one color and then a layer of another color. My plastic holders soon got lost or fell apart, but then we substituted sticks in a bowl or can and were fine. Fill the molds not quite full, insert your holder, and freeze.

UNMOLDING

Don’t let the gremlins pull the holders until you’re sure the center of the popsicle is solidly frozen and you have loosened the sides by running hot water over the back of the mold. Otherwise they might pull out the holder prematurely, leaving a hole that it won’t freeze back into. You don’t have to unmold all the popsicles at once. Just loosen as many as you need. Refill the emptied units and return to the freezer.

BASIC FRUIT POPSICLES

Puree 1 cup any kind of fruit or a mixture of fruit and mix with 1 cup water. Pour into your ice cube tray. When they are starting to freeze, add a wooden stick or toothpick to each section. 

PUDDING POPSICLES

Susan Staley was in Germany when she sent me this recipe. She said, “If your children love the Fudgsicle-type popsicle, you can easily make them. Just make up a batch of pudding and freeze it in your popsicle molds. They’re delicious and you can make different kinds beside chocolate. Butterscotch is very good. In fact, any flavor of pudding your children love hot, they’re bound to like cold in hot summer weather.”

ANY FRUIT ICE

You could juice pomegranates or barberries or red currants, or cook and strain quinces, or grate pineapple, or boil and pulp apples or rhubarb—whatever you have. Sweeten to taste, add lemon juice if the flavor needs it, and freeze.

GINGER ALE JUICE

Combine ¾ cup sugar and 2 cups water. Heat and boil 5 minutes. Cool. Add 1 cup orange juice, ½ cup lemon juice, and 2 bottles ginger ale. Freeze.

[Excerpted from the “Sugaring and Fruit Preservation” section in Chapter 7: Food Preservation. Additional recipes include: Root Beer Ice, Strawberry or Raspberry Ice, Frozen Fruits. Illustration copyright 1994 by Cindy Davis.]

Sweet Summer Delights

It looks like the Pacific Northwest is beginning to embrace the concept of summer a little bit (knock on wood), and I say we had all better take advantage of the glorious sunshine while we can! But in what way should we express our appreciation of this generous dose of Vitamin D? Carla Emery suggests homemade popsicles for a refreshing treat on a warm day—a favorite for both the young and old!

Homemade popsicles are great because they are “cheap, easy, and even more fun for the children than going to the store. Children like strong, sweet juices like grape and cranberry for popsicles—but when kids are hot anything will do,” even popsicles made from puddings or soda pop! You can buy do-it-yourself popsicle molds from Tupperware and Back to Basics (I actually have a small one from Target, and I’ve been using it all summer, even on the cooler days) or you can make your own from regular household items. Use small sturdy bowls or cans for containers—or even the ice cube tray in your freezer—and wooden sticks or toothpicks for handles.

Using whatever popsicle-making container you prefer, pour your favorite juice into the molds without filling completely, insert your handle, and freeze. (Extra tip: if your containers and handles are makeshift rather than store-bought, you might have trouble keeping your handles completely upright. If you allow your liquid to freeze partially before you insert your handle, you’ll have a more solid consistency to hold the handle up straight.) Obviously, freezing time will vary quite a bit depending on the size and shape of your molds and the temperature of your freezer, but don’t pull on the handles “until you’re sure the center of the popsicle is solidly frozen and you have loosened the sides by running hot water over the back of the mold. Otherwise they might pull out of the container prematurely, leaving a hole that it won’t freeze back into. You don’t have to unmold all the popsicles at once. Just loosen as many as you need. Refill the emptied units and return to the freezer.”

You can use any kind of fruit juice you like for your homemade popsicles (lemonade works great and is particularly refreshing on a warm day), but of course Carla Emery has a couple of recipes working from scratch.

Basic Fruit Popsicles

Puree 1 c. any kind of fruit or a mixture of fruit, and mix with 1 c. water. Pour into your ice cube tray. When they are starting to freeze, add a wooden stick or toothpick to each section.

Pudding Popsicles

Susan Staley was in Germany when she sent me this recipe. She said, “If your children love the Fudgsicle-type popsicle, you can easily make them. Just make up a batch of pudding and freeze it in your popsicle molds. They’re delicious and you can make different kinds besides chocolate. Butterscotch is very good. In fact, any flavor of pudding your children love hot, they’re bound to like cold in hot summer weather.”

Any Fruit Ice

You could juice pomegranates or barberries or red currants, or cook and strain quinces, or grate pineapple, or boil and pulp apples or rhubarb — whatever you have. Sweeten to taste, add lemon juice if the flavor needs it, and freeze.