Catching Blueberries

The warm summer breeze rustles the mass of blueberry bushes. The lanky branches sway and the berries dance playfully, like toddlers impishly attempting to escape the embrace of a parent. It is a game. Who can be more nimble, who can stay just out of reach? In the end, we know it is inevitable we will collide and collapse in an unruly pile of hugs and giggles. 

It is what I like to call Blueberry Jam Day, that one day in July when the sun is just right, and the blueberries are that perfect shade of ebony blue. I head out early to Patty’s Berries and Bunches on the North Fork of Long Island with basket in tow. My goal is to collect enough berries for jam and baking to last me well into the winter.

Patty’s blueberries are planted in long corridors that seem to stretch on for an eternity. I’m told the best options for picking will be well into the field so I head deep into the heart of blueberry world, with only the palpable whisper of the breeze, the cotton candy clouds, the swishing of the branches, and the chirping of a red wing blackbird to keep me company.

It is a game of skill, attempting to grab these blueberries that hope to elude capture. 

But, I am the blueberry catcher, and within time, I am victorious, with a mountain of blue orbs in hand. Immediately, I return to the kitchen to begin jamming.  

It is such a satisfying thing, capturing that thrilling moment in the field within a quilted glass jar. The sugar, lemon juice and pectin are added and the berries simmer and pop and transform into thick purple syrup. 

Now you can actually taste the sun, the breeze, the sound of the birds and the excitement of the chase.

Slathered on a warm muffin or piping hot slice of toast, my North Fork Blueberry Jam can evoke smiles, giggles and delicious memories of catching blueberries for some time to come.

©2014 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

A Blueberry Jam Session

No, this was not a marathon performance of “Blueberry Hill” but a 12-hour farm-to-kitchen event.

I rise early on a Sunday morning before the heat becomes intense. It is the day of my annual, ritualistic hunt for Long Island blueberries. This year, I’ve got a new twist in mind.  I tune the car radio to “Sunday Baroque” and drive East to the North Fork of Long Island. I park at Patty’s Berries & Bunches in Mattituck and purchase four containers to fill. Conditions should be perfect as Patty’s online “Berry Chart” depicts a little bumblebee buzzing towards “bountiful picking.” 

The blueberry patch is almost deserted, save for a young family with two children who have embraced the adventure completely.  Young Evan hollers, “Dad, I found a BIG one,” or “I picked a WINNER!”   His father must sternly caution Evan not to run, for fear of spilling his prized berries on the ground.  

Beyond Evan’s enthusiastic shouts, there is nothing but the sound of a warm breeze, a passing automobile and the buzz of a few bees.  I get to work, and in due time, I’ve filled four containers.  

The gentle rhythm of picking is so pleasing, that I go back and purchase two more containers to fill.  One can never have too many blueberries for baking.  The blueberries are plump and sweet.   Some are an inky blue-black hue.  

Two hours later, I’m back in my car and heading for home.   Returning to the kitchen, the jam session begins.   I think my fascination with blueberries likely began with family camping trips to Acadia National Park in Maine.  We would pick wild blueberries on the mountain trails and sprinkle them on our cereal in the morning.  Cooking up a batch of jam is one way to preserve that summertime flavor, and I’m determined to keep my new home preserving skills in good working order. 

The recipe for blueberry jam is easier than blueberry pie, and takes about 10 minutes to prepare.  Several options for recipes can be accessed here.    The ingredients are simply blueberries, lemon juice, liquid pectin and sugar – lots of it!   

The first action is to clean and crush the blueberries to start to release the juices. It is a little painful to squash blueberries that just hours before, one selected and plucked so carefully, but that rich purple juice is immediately evident.   Then comes the addition of the sugar – seven cups!    As my friend Lydia points out as I keep her abreast of the project online, that’s just about a cup of sugar per jar of jam!  Well, no one said jam was diet food. 

With the addition of lemon juice, the mixture is heated until it begins to boil.  It looks like an exotic vat of bubbling violet soup cooked up by Oompa-Loompas.  Here, liquid pectin is added to thicken the jam and make it set.

There is a learning curve.  The recipe suggests that after boiling for a minute, you take the mixture off the heat and skim the foam off the top.  Here I find that I’m actually skimming off a lot of tasty blueberry skins in the process that would add chunkiness to the jam.  I’ll have to work on my skimming technique.  

Most of the time invested in home preserving goes to preparing the jars and the cleanup.   Filling the hot jars with hot jam is quickly done, and the covered jars go into a boiling water bath.   A gentle steam swirls through the kitchen, I’ve got iTunes playing and I’m jamming!  

After ten minutes, the jars are removed to cool.  Within minutes, I hear a sharp popping, as the vacuum seal takes effect on each jar.  

The remaining blueberries are frozen, because I can’t let the summer pass without baking my favorite lemon blueberry Bundt cake.  

When the jars are completely cool, all that’s needed is a finishing touch – a specially designed label commemorating a dreamy summer day gathering and preserving the best of blueberries grown on Long Island’s North Fork. 

©2013 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

Shades of Blue at Restoration Farm

Have I stepped into another century?  

I am ambling down the wooded dirt road to Restoration Farm, when I stop abruptly.  Standing some twenty feet in front of me is a blue-coated Union soldier holding a rifle.  A little girl –perhaps 4-years old – dressed in a country smock, her head covered in blonde ringlets, accompanies him.    It is a strange vision.  She says “Good morning.”  He doesn’t seem to notice me, and takes a drink from his canteen.  She wanders over to admire the patch of sunflowers.

Normally I would attribute this scene to the fact that Restoration Farm shares land with a mid-19^th century historic village.   One will often hear the sound of gunshots and encounter reenactors of Civil War history.    Yet, when I turn back for another glance, I don’t see the soldier and child.   Were they apparitions?  Did they disappear into the woods, or bygone days? 

I can’t quite shake the image of the soldier in his dark blue shell jacket as I head for the berry patch.    The blueberries of Restoration Farm have come in.   At one point in my hectic life, the idea of picking blueberries on a Saturday morning might have seemed just as unlikely as the possibility of encountering a Union soldier on a dirt road.   Yet, Restoration Farm reminds us that the simple pleasures in life – like picking a pint of tart, juicy blueberries on a summer morning – are still there for our enjoyment.      

The bushes are thick with clusters of blueberries.   Planted in 2009, this is the first year the blueberries have yielded significant fruit.   Head grower Caroline Fanning is happy that the blueberries are thriving.  Planting the bushes was a grueling project, she recalls.  These blueberries symbolize the kind of patience needed when one believes in seasonality.

The rows of bushes smell of fresh mulch as I stoop to pick the dark blue berries.   Like the encounter with the soldier, the act of foraging for ripe blueberries is a snapshot in time, a moment to remember – a moment to simply be.     

So how might I enjoy Restoration Farm’s first significant harvest of blueberries?    These bright, tart berries should be served in a decidedly old-fashioned way, perhaps in a vessel that the Union soldier might have used to cook over an open hearth.  

Blueberry Dutch Pancakes adapted from Martha Stewart Living, June 2012

Makes two individual pancakes served in mini cast iron skillets

2 large eggs

½ cup whole milk

½ cup all purpose flour

1/8 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

½ cup blueberries plus more for topping

Confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Blend together eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a blender.

Heat two 6 ½ inch cast iron skillets over high heat.  Divide butter among skillets and melt.  Divide batter among skillets and then scatter with berries.  Bake until puffed and cooked through and tops are set, 15 to 18 minutes.  Top with berries and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.  Serve immediately.

©2012 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved