Recipes

Berry Care

Berries are very perishable, and should be refrigerated. When you bring them home, remove them from the container they came in, toss any problem berries, and put the rest in a shallower container which you have lined with a paper towel. Cover loosely and refrigerate. Immediately before using, wash the berries by floating them in a bowl or sink full of water, then gently remove them to a colander to drain.

To freeze berries, you can pre-measure them for the recipes you are likely to use, or “IQF” (individually quick-freeze): spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and lay the pan in the freezer. When they are frozen, package them in rigid containers. These can be taken out just a few at a time for breakfast cereal, smoothies, or baking.

Berries

Fresh Berry Sauce
Easy & delicious sauce to spoon over waffles, ice cream or cake (if you don't eat them all the same day you picked).
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Berry Crisp
Any berry is good in this old-fashioned dessert, but we especially like to use loganberries or blackberries. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
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Summer Pudding
This refreshing English pudding will serve 4 to 6. You’ll need 6 cups of berries altogether, including a few for garnishing, and a 3-cup straight-sided container, like a soufflé dish. Use whatever assortment of berries or other fruit are in season – like our American cobbler, an infinite variety of fruit combinations is possible! Make this the day before you want to serve it.
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Gooseberry Pie
A gooseberry pie is a labor of love. First you pick the berries from the thorny bushes, then you prep the berries by removing the stems and blossom remnants from each. With this recipe you will pre-cook some of the berries so that they will thicken the rest of the filling as the pie bakes. The result is a pie like no other!
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Gooseberries West Union Gardens
Haskap Ice Cream
Our most frequently-used family haskap recipe is a simple ice cream. The use of buttermilk complements the tanginess of the berries -- so refreshing!
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Rhubarb

Rhubarb Custard Pie
Rhubarb is easy to freeze. Just chop or slice it, measure it for your recipes, and freeze in containers!
This recipe is a quick and easy one that we use over and over.
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Pickles

If you are new to canning, we highly recommend doing some reading in principles of home canning; excellent USDA resources are available here.

Another excellent and inexpensive guide with many good recipes is the Ball Blue Book of Canning, which is widely available in the canning supplies section of stores, and at our farmstand. 

Dilly Beans
Dilly beans are a crunchy, tart, salty, spicy, healthy, addicting snack. If you are making these for kids, you may want to use the smaller amount of spices. (Just don't leave out the red pepper flakes entirely.) The spicier version is intense! You could use fresh dill heads, but the dry dill seed works just fine, and takes up less space in the jar.
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Bread & Butter Pickles
We've made these with zucchini as well, although we think the cucumber version is the best. You’ll probably have extra syrup when you’re done. Pour it over some cooked, sliced beets and refrigerate for a couple of days to develop the flavor.
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Fresh-Pack Dill Pickles
The best way to guarantee crisp pickles is to use them as fresh as possible (less than 24hours after picking), and to process them with the low temperature pasteurization method described in the recipe. Rather than boiling the cucumbers in the jars, the temperature remains high enough to kill off bacteria, but low enough to avoid overcooking the pickles. Grape leaves are an old fashioned addition - their tannin helps keep the pickles crisp. However, if you cut off the blossom ends of the cucumbers, you can do without the grape leaves.
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Old-Fashioned Mustard Pickles
These are incredibly full-flavored pub-style mustard pickles. Super easy, can be stored in the refrigerator.
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Jam, Jelly

For recipes where you need to add pectin, we recommend Pomona’s Universal Pectin. It is a citrus-based pectin which can be used with sugar, honey, low-sugar, artificial sweetener or even fruit alone! Pick some up at the farm, or stop by your neighborhood New Seasons Market or Whole Foods.

Another great jam recipe source, using either standard pectin or no pectin: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can7_jam_jelly.html#gsc.tab=0

Garlic

Roasted Garlic
Slow roasting gives garlic a deep, sweet flavor, making it a great condiment for vegetables, good crusty bread, or potatoes.
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Elephant Garlic & Herbs – grilled or sautéed
Use as a side or as a condiment for other grilled food.
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