THE FARMER’S WIFE GUIDE TO FABULOUS FRUITS AND BERRIES THE FARMER’S WIFE GUIDE TO FABULOUS FRUITS AND BERRIES GROWING, STORING, FREEZING, AND COOKING YOUR OWN 200+ RECIPES AND SERVING IDEAS! WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY Barbara Doyen Copyright © 2002 by Barbara Doyen All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. M. Evans and Company, Inc. 216 East 49th Street New York, New York 10017 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Doyen, Barbara. The farmer’s wife guide to fabulous fruits and berries : growing, storing, freezing, and cooking your own / by Barbara Doyen, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN: 978-0-87131-975-3 1. Fruit-culture. 2. Fruit. 3. Berries. 5. Cookery (Berries) I. Title: Fabulous Fruits and berries. II. Title. SB355.D77 2002 634—dc21 2002020244 Book design by Rik Lain Schell Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Why Raise Fruits and Berries? Garden Notes Kitchen Notes Apples Apricots Blackberries Blueberries Cantaloupe Cherries Elderberries Gooseberries Grapes Kiwi Mulberries Peaches and Nectarines Pears Plums Raspberries Rhubarb Strawberries Watermelon Sources Index To my husband, The Farmer (also known as Bob Doyen), who talked me into becoming The Farmer's Wife. “T HE WEALTH OF MAN STARTS WITH .” FOOD PRODUCED FROM THE SOIL —Arnie Waldstein WHY RAISE FRUITS AND BERRIES? In the old days, farm folk had to be self-sufficient. When times were tough, the only fruit you might have was what you could raise yourself. Today, fruit is available in abundance, nearly year-round. So why raise your own? It’s Satisfying There is something wonderful about stepping out your back door to pick crisp, juicy apples off your very own tree or tangy-sweet raspberries off bushes planted with your own hands, to serve fresh for supper. Or to make your own homegrown fruits and berries into flavorful pies or ice cream to share with friends as you sit and visit on your patio under a grape or kiwi arbor. Home-Raised Fruit Tastes Better You can harvest it at just the right time, at the peak of flavor. Store-bought fruit is often harvested unripe because it ships better that way. Sometimes fruit is altered by processing: for instance, it might be gassed to induce ripeness. Or waxed to prevent moisture loss. Or dyed to look prettier. Your own fruit is the real thing, wholesome in its natural goodness, the way nature intended. You Can Grow Exactly the Varieties You Desire For each fruit type, there are several choices that would be appropriate for your growing conditions. Each one has different attributes and a different flavor—you select what is right for you. Sometimes, the variety you prefer is not available in the store, like the Wealthy apples that were my Grandpa Hartsock’s favorite, so I have planted a tree in my orchard in his memory. Nutrition Is Improved Did you know that strawberries picked on a sunny day have lots more vitamin C than those harvested on a cloudy day? Beyond this, shipping delays, premature harvest, and processing techniques rob the fruit of valuable nutrients. You Have Control of the Pesticides You’re Consuming Fruit, especially when imported from other countries, may have been sprayed with toxic chemicals. By growing your own, you will know exactly what was used on your fruit, and since you have many choices, why not select products that work in cooperation with nature and are not harmful to our bodies? Your Home and Yard Are Beautified Fruited plants provide a landscape that is ever-changing from spring through fall and even into the winter. Your fruit trees, shrubs, vines, and plants will be pleasing from the eagerly awaited first budding in the spring, through the spectacular beauty of full blossoming, to the bright flashes of developing fruit, and even past the harvest when the foliage goes into fall color. The bare branches will add stark accents to your winter landscape as they throw soft shadows from the weaker winter sun; become painted with frost on a crisp, cool morning; or as they are quietly coated with the first snow on a gray November day. Growing Your Own Fruit Is Easy! Once established, it takes little time and minimal effort for great rewards! It’s Good for Your Mental, Spiritual, and Physical Well-Being and Physical Well-Being Raising your own fruits and berries presents you with a built-in opportunity to turn your attention away from your hectic day-to-day existence and tune in to the calming infinity of nature. Just as the fruit is connected and in harmony to the earth via roots and leaves and vital energy, you’ll discover yourself becoming deeply connected and in harmony, too. This connection is not only mental and spiritual, but I believe it to be physical as well. The produce you raise likely has properties that help your body prepare for the conditions of the season to come via the same mechanism that triggers the woolly caterpillars to grow more hair, or wild animals to have thicker pelts and dig deeper holes for hibernation in anticipation of a harsher-than-normal winter. Perhaps eating locally grown fruit is important for your body’s preparation for whatever the next season will bring. I hope this book inspires you to grow fruits and berries, no matter what your situation. You’ll look forward to walking around outside to observe and tend your crops or to caring for your indoor container plants. You’ll find yourself reaping a dual harvest: wholesome fruits and berries for your body, and, as a bonus, nourishing fruits of the spirit for your soul.