summer fruit picking Farm Fresh!

Farm Fresh!
summer fruit picking
Guide
by Stephanie Halinski
s there anything sweeter than biting into a juicy, plump, red strawberry on a hot summer day? The experience is all the more delightful when you select your berries fresh from the field.
Besides the yum factor, when you pick your own fruit, you’re
supporting local, often family-owned farms and you tend to get the
freshest crops available. Kids can learn where their food comes from
in a truly hands-on way.
We asked local farmers what’s available for public picking this
summer and for their tips to select the best crops.
I
Strawberries
Duffield’s Farm (Sewell, NJ)
Fruitwood Orchards Honey Farm
(Monroeville, NJ)
Springdale Farms (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Terhune Orchards (Princeton, NJ)
• Only pick a strawberry that is all red. Never pick one
with a white or green tip.
• Smaller berries taste just as good as the big ones!
• Strawberries bruise and discolor easily, so handle
them gently. Pick from the stem, not the berry.
mid to late July through August
Remember, these dates are approximate and depend on the weather and
demand for the crop. Always call a
farm or visit its website to confirm that
a crop is available before you visit.
For farm locations, Google maps and
contact information, visit
www.metrokids.com/summerfarms.
Mood’s Farm Market (Mullica Hill, NJ)
Terhune Orchards (Princeton, NJ)
Pick blackberries with a dull finish. Blackberries that
are shiny still need another day or half-day to ripen.
Peaches
July/August
Fruitwood Orchards Honey Farm
(Monroeville, NJ)
Johnson’s Corner Farm
(Medford, NJ)
Mood’s Farm Market
(Mullica Hill, NJ)
Terhune Orchards (Princeton, NJ)
Blueberries
Cherries
mid to late June
through mid August
mid June (sweet cherries),
end of June (pie/sour cherries)
Fred + III (Pemberton, NJ)
Haines Berry Farm (Pemberton, NJ)
Johnson’s Corner Farm (Medford, NJ)
Mood’s Farm Market (Mullica Hill, NJ)
Terhune Orchards (Princeton, NJ)
Fruitwood Orchards Honey Farm
(Monroeville, NJ)
Mood’s Farm Market
(Mullica Hill, NJ)
• Bright red sweet cherries are colorful and beautiful but not quite ripe.
Look for a darker sweet cherry, almost black.
• Pick with the stem on. The stem helps keep the
cherry fresh longer when off the tree.
• Look for blueberries that are fully blue and don’t have
any purple or green.
• Once picked, leave the container open so moisture
doesn’t form in the container.
Blueberry Crum
• The ripest peaches have a deep yellow
background color, are firm, and separate from the
branch easily.
• Red does not indicate ripeness. Firm peaches will
often soften if left out in room temperature for a few
days.
• Enjoy your peaches within a week from picking. ◆
b Pie
From Field to Table
Here’s a recipe for blueberry
crumb pie courtesy of Mood’s
Farm Market in Mullica Hill, NJ.
“Our employees make different
treats during the season for all
of us to try, and I have not found
a recipe yet that beats this one,”
says Pamela Mood, whose family owns and operates the farm.
Blackberries
Plan Ahead!
Through mid to late June
t
Unbaked pie crus
r
½ cup suga
vided
1⅓ cups flour, di
on
am
nn
ci
½ tsp
es
4 cups blueberri e
ic
ju
on
1 tbsp. lem
margarine
½ cup butter or
gar
½ cup brown su
r, ⅓ cup flour and
Stir together suga ueberries. Turn
bl
cinnamon. Stir in ust. Sprinkle
cr
e
pi
d
into unbake
Cover pie with
e.
ic
ju
on
with lem
ur, butter and
flo
mixture of 1 cup at 425º for 35ke
brown sugar. Ba
ge of crust with
ed
er
45 min. Cov
last 12-15 min.
aluminum foil the
lly Shaw, M
submitted by Sa
ood’s Farm Marke
More Online!
t
Make more delicious
treats for your family using
fresh-picked fruit. Visit
www.metrokids.com/
recipes to view and print
more recipes submitted
by local farms and to
share your recipes. ❖
Stephanie Halinski is calendar editor of MetroKids.
Fruit photos courtesy of www.pachd.com
26
MetroKids South Jersey
June 2011