Silly amounts of strawberries.....

[British Red]

We are into "no-one can eat that many strawberries" season on the homestead

I had to process twice this number today

Strawberries by British Red, on Flickr

It gives an interesting insight into a homesteader. Many think of this as a time of ease and plenty. Nothing could be further from the truth. These times of "more than I need" are times of "preserve like crazy for when the abundance is over"

So out with the dehydrator

Excalibur Dehydrator filled with strawberries by British Red, on Flickr

Its whirring away right now. Dehydrating fruit has the huge advantage of lowering bulk. When you remove the water there are just little "flavour explosions" of concentrated sugar left. If I ground the dried fruit to a powder there would be hardly anything - maybe 250ml instead of 9l of fruit?

But I like the little fruit "crisps"...so in the morning I will jar them up with some oxygen absorbers - a tiny little packet of pleasure for the coming dark times. The next batch will go in a monster canned batch of strawberry & rhubarb I think - always welcome in the Winter.

How are your harvests?

 

[Toddy]

Nowhere near as forward as yours
The rhubarb is sending up a second flush; and I have jam made and laid bye from the first one. Blackcurrants, rasps, rowans and and apples are all looking bountiful to be, but nowhere near cropping yet.
Elderflowers are just opening, so I'll make cordial and syrups from those this week, and use screw top bottles this year rather than the fuss and bother of the wired ones.
I have been drying herbs though; sage (always better as it ages) thyme, melissa, heartsease, rosemary, etc., and I gathered a stash of the little oniony bulbils and have them in vinegar. Masses of petals drying from the Scotch Marigolds two plants overwintered and have really thrived.
Wild strawberries are just in flower this past week.

cheers,
M
The first of my old fashioned deep dark red and heavily scented roses are just coming into bud, but I'll make rosewater from those.

 

[GGTBod]

I'd enjoy a day helping harvest a yield like that, i get the feeling you got a green thumb or two BR nice work

 

[British Red]

Nothing green thumb about it chap - three strawberry beds, each 100 square feet, full netted over. Anyone can do it - cost to me is about a bale of straw a year (which is maybe £1.25 if you have to buy straw). We started off with some "runners" from a neighbour and since then have potted up our own runners, dug out more beds, fertilised them with cow muck and planted them.

Veg Garden by British Red, on Flickr

You can see the two new beds on the right and the original bed at the bottom. No mystery to growing strawberries at all (honestly), plant them , keep the birds off, put some straw under the fruit to stop the fruit touching the ground and rotting. Thats it.

 

[GGTBod]

I used to be a great gardener but about a decade back i moved inner city and high rise due to work needs and the only plants i took with me was my exotic cacti collection, i really miss having a little glasshouse and garden and have plans to get back to it soon. I was gonna upload of few pics of them there but my net speed is comical as i am trying to load a high def video to dailymotion, hearing you and toddy talking strawbs and rooobaarb had me salivating.

Very nice looking garden there, i need out this city pig pen

 

[British Red]

i need out this city pig pen

I know that feeling - Cities are battery farms for humans!

 

[GGTBod]

Truly i literally feel like i have been farmed out to call centres as a beast of burden to be milked of the charms that a Geordie accent can weave for the last decade

 

[Teepee]

The farmers I've spoken to reckon the strawberry crop is going to be the best of the lot. I'm looking forward to filling the dehydrator up with them soon, they dry out so well.

Everything is doing well in the garden so far, already digging potatoes which is early for here.

 

[topknot]

Fresh clotted cream , Fresh clotted cream, Fresh clotted cream .

Topknot

 

[British Red]

...aaaahh you are talking to a Devon boy Andy - cream belongs on scones with strawberry jam

 

[Mesquite]

I don't understand the title of this thread... what is this silly amount of strawberries?

 

[British Red]

Ahhh trust me Steve - at peak last year we were getting the equivalent of 6 large punnets every day. We have more this year . That said however, we are getting better at using wide varieties of storage approaches to ensure we have some "out of season". We are coming around to the thinking that things that are relatively expensive to buy and simple to grow make lots of sense for us

 

[cranmere]

Devon woman here. Strawberry jam, clotted cream, home baked scones (pronounced scones, not scons, straight out of the oven.

 

[British Red]

mmmmm Scones

 

[Toddy]

Strawberry and rhubarb crumble, strawberry strudel (that freezes well if you wrap it close), strawberry vinegar, strawberry syrup (brilliant for ice cream) candied strawberries are superb, and so is the thick strawberry spread made from gently simmered down strained fruit, and it doesn't need any sugar adding. If you do the same, but add some apple juice to draw the strawberry juice first overnight, then it makes a brilliant fruit leather

Summertime....and the living is, well, busy

atb,
M

 

[cranmere]

I yearn for proper sour rhubarb, not the namby pamby stuff they sell now. Toddy, did you know that you can get a good substantive yellow dye from rhubarb roots?

 

[Toddy]

I did, and you can use the leaves as a mordant too.....it's oxalic acid and you have to be careful with it, but it's useful
The roots give a strong enough yellow that if you use another over dye, that's usually a soft green, you can get a decent green out of it Heather for instance, or the ususal combination of leaves and copper.

I bought rhubarb cordial from Ikea last night; it's okaaaay, but it's missing that sour tang of tastiness that real good rhubarb has.
Modern tastebuds seem to be stuck on salty or sweet they miss, bitter, sour, green, real fruit, kind of flavours.

cheers,
M

 

[topknot]

mmmmm Scones

This is just making my mouth water. Atfernoon tea at yours Red? but you are a long way from me so i'm off to tesco .

Andy

 

[Robmc]

We are also getting huge amounts of Strawberries, but we are amazed at the Raspberries we are getting at the moment. Absolutely huge and full of flavour.

Rhubarb and Gooseberries are also coming along nicely.

 

[santaman2000]

Our strawberry season has ended just a couple of weeks ago I did get 6 quarts put away though (fresh strawberries freeze very well) I'm looking forward to strawberry shortcakes later on; even better if topped with home made ice cream!

I need to try this recipe for Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler that I lifted from a local strawberry farm's FB page though:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler

1 stick ( 1/2 cup) butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk...
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 quarts whole strawberries, capped and washed
4 ounces cream cheese, cut in small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, milk, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pour directly over the butter in the baking dish, but do not stir.


Add the strawberries, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Sprinkle cream cheese pieces over strawberries. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling. (Crust rises up and around the fruit, but fruit will still peek out of top.)