The Weblog
Weblog Entry
Good evening. The Wednesday Market is open. Remember to place your order by 10 p.m. Monday. Orders are ready for pick up Wednesday between 3 and 6 p.m. Please check the website for all of this week’s product selections. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market
Blueberry season has arrived! I wanted to share a blueberry recipe this week to inspire you with ways to use these healthy little berries. A search of the Internet yielded thousands of recipes, and before I knew what happened, I was in over my head trying to choose just one recipe! How about some tips on choosing and handling blueberries, instead?
Blueberry Tips:
- How many cups of blueberries to make a pint? 2 cups.
- Best way to store them when fresh? Keep them unwashed and refrigerated. Wash in cold water before eating. If you wash them before storing in the refrigerator, they can get soggy and waterlogged.
- How to freeze them: Freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet then pack in freezer containers or bags (this way they won’t freeze into a solid mass or block). You can also sugar pack them.
- Baking with frozen berries: Don’t thaw first (unless recipe instructs otherwise), keep them frozen when adding to batter and their color will bleed less in the final baked product. Also add a bit of thickener like flour or tapioca so it will combat any excessive juice the berries provide when thawed as they are being baked (will also help keep juice from boiling over).
- Baking with fresh berries: Toss them in flour first before adding to batter; this will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom during baking.
- Avoid soggy crusts when baking them in pies: Sprinkle the bottom of the crust with flour before adding berries; also, drain off any excess juice before pouring into the pie shell.
- Discoloration in baking: Do you know why blueberries can discolor baking a funky green in the area surrounding them? This is caused by a reaction they have with baking soda.
- What to look for when buying fresh: Look for excessive juice stains around or underneath the packaging, this is an indicator that they are too ripe.
- Are they overripe? Here’s a fix: Arrange them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze for about 20 minutes until they firm up, eat right away or use in baking.
- Removing stains from hands: It never fails that your hands get stained when working with them. Try rubbing hands with a bit of fresh lemon juice before washing with soap and water.
And, now, here is a bonus for those of you who have read all of this post. Check out this link for “100+ Things to Make with Blueberries”: http://tipnut.com/make-blueberries/
Last week was another record-breaking week for The Wednesday Market in terms of sales. We thank our customers for being so loyal, and we thank our growers, producers, and vendors for providing so many quality products to choose from – week in, week out – all year long!
We’ll see you on Wednesday!
Thanks,
Beverly