S/O U-Pick...

[mpatry]

What is your favourite fruit to pick at u-pick farms, and what do you make with all that fruit!

I haven't been to a u-pick farm since I was a kid. This year I'm hoping to take my 5yr old to a farm to pick strawberries, and maybe even pick some apples next month. But I'm wondering what to do with all the fruit I'm hoping to pick...lol. I'm figuring on making jam with the strawberries and applesauce with the apples, but what else can I make that will freeze well or have a decent shelf life?

[MichaelsMomJo]

you can freeze the strawberries as is and use them throughout the year to make smoothies, or to slice while frozen and sprinkle over cereal (yum!), or bake with. Lots of possibilities for strawberries. Apples I don't have much in the way of ideas because I'm not a big fan of cooked apples. I just like biting into a fresh, sweet, crunchy, juicy apple!

[jessica31876]

you can make apple butter, apple sauce, apple juice, apple cobbler, apple crisp...strawberries I love strawberry muffins and strawberry shortcake and jam!!

I only really have strawberries and oranges around here. I have not been to the strawberry place because it is more expensive then the grocery store. The orange place we go to we dont actually pick off the tree...they are already picked and in a big bin you just fill your bag up. We were paying 5 bucks for around 30 navel oranges

[scrapperjade]

One year my MIL and I made an assembly line and filled our freezers with homemade apple pies! We just made the pastry, filled them with sliced apples & cinnamon & sugar (use a recipe), and froze them that way. We made 12 each and they were SO yummy!

I've also seen canning recipes for apple pie filling on the internet, so you might have some luck with that. Apple butter is another popular one.

For strawberries:
Strawberry jam / freezer jam
freeze them whole
freeze them cut up & juicy (for ice cream topping)
fruit leather

[jessica31876]

what is fruit leather and how do you make it?

One year my MIL and I made an assembly line and filled our freezers with homemade apple pies! We just made the pastry, filled them with sliced apples & cinnamon & sugar (use a recipe), and froze them that way. We made 12 each and they were SO yummy!

I've also seen canning recipes for apple pie filling on the internet, so you might have some luck with that. Apple butter is another popular one.

For strawberries:
Strawberry jam / freezer jam
freeze them whole
freeze them cut up & juicy (for ice cream topping)
fruit leather

[Darcy Baldwin]

You can also dehydrate the fruit to use in oatmeal or baked goods! Even without a dehydrator - see here (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5912487412723519389#)!

FRUIT LEATHER (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_fruit_leather/)

We didn't do u-pick for strawberries this year, but everytime the grocery store would have them for $1-$1.50, we'd grab quite a few, hull them (http://aslansavz.wordpress.com/?s=strawberry), and freeze them whole or even sliced. Turns out to work really, really well. We throw them in smoothies all the time.

[mummytothree]

Well I grew up working on a u-pick strawberry farm, hours on end were spent cutting buds, weeding and picking strawberries (for like festivals and stuff) you would think that I would hate them but I love them and they are probably my favorite fruit!!! We never did anything with them but eat them!!! :D

We also u-picked apples in the fall too!!! Again all we did was eat them!!!

[lovely1m]

We don't have any U-pick places here. I think that would be fun though.

[amandabarugh]

Last summer, I discovered the most amazing u-pick blueberry farms. They followed organic practices, but they weren't certified, and you could pick 5 lbs for half the price you could get them at the store. They were huge, plump, and sweet. We had fresh blueberries all summer. I made pancakes, waffles, muffins, cobbler, fruit salads, smoothies, etc. It was awesome.

[kim21673]

We went to a U-pick apple orchard last year and the boys had a BLAST! We ate most of the apples but did make a few apple pies and other apple desserts.

We have timeline going of what is happening until Christmas and going again is on the list! The boys have talked about it ALL year long...every week they want to run through the list so see what we can mark off...next up are Thomas the Train, Seth's Birthday and then the apple orchard!! They even know when Baby Derek is going to arrive on our list! LOL

I would REALLY like to find a place around here to pick sweet corn...I know, not fruit... but I am afraid we may have to go down to my parent's house to do that. My 4 year old is obsessed with corn on the cob right now! I would also like to pick strawberries with the boys sometime but that's out of season now and there weren't too many places around here to do it.

[DawnMarch]

I love apple picking! We used to go when I was a kid and my parents had a huge apple press that we'd use to make cider.

[Misty Cato]

We went blueberry picking a few weeks ago, made blueberry scones (http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/breads/blueberry-buttermilk-scones/). Yummy!

http://jaminandmya.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/071510-hightea-036.jpg?w=450&h=300

We had a 'tea party' in our yard.


http://jaminandmya.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/071510-hightea-067.jpg?w=450&h=300