I don’t know if you’ve tried this, but TIllamook Oregon Strawberry ice cream…it’s realllly good…
http://www.tillamookcheese.com/OurProducts/IceCream/Oregon_Strawberry.aspx
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Oregon blues The blueberry crop in Oregon got started about a week late, but by early July, production was gathering steam, said Doug Perkins, sales director, Hurst’s Berry Farm Inc., Sheridan, Ore. He said it looked like the early-variety duke crop would not have its typical sharp peak in volume, but volumes would instead be spread throughout the harvest period. Hurst’s is marketing 4.4-, 6- and 11-ounce packs of Grande Blues, packed with blueberries that measure 18 millimeters and larger. About two years ago, the company identified certain varieties that produced larger berries and began packing them separately and marketing them as Grande Blues, Perkins said. “The biggest challenge is being consistent with finding the right size of fruit,” he said. “We’ve been able to identify certain varieties to pretty much have a consistent supply of large-size fruit.” Grande Blues are available from late April through September, during the California and Oregon blueberry seasons. Hurst’s mixes larger berries into its regular packs, too, Perkins said. Hurst’s, a year-round blueberry shipper, expects to pick Oregon blueberries into September. The late-season crop is expected to be put into controlled atmosphere storage to maintain a supply of high- quality Oregon berries for the market until Argentinean and Chilean blueberries take over in about late September. Hurst’s also ships blueberries from Canada, where good volumes were expected to be available by late July. Early blueberry harvest at Oregon Berry Packing Co., Hillsboro, Ore., got under way July 1, said Brian Malensky, vice president of domestic sales. The crop was good quality and the weather was good for producing large berries. Malensky said he expected a big crop of duke variety blueberries. He expected mid-season blueberries would be ready for harvest by about July 20, with late season berries ready about Aug. 15. In August, consumers should be impressed with some of the newer varieties of blueberries that are expected to be sweet and large, Malensky said. He said he thinks the industry hasn’t yet reached its production potential in August and September, but that some newer varieties will help increase late summer volumes. Among Oregon Berry’s newer varieties are liberty, aurora, legacy and ochlockonee. They offer more flavor and are firmer, Malensky said. “Our feeling is that in the future, berries will be promoted more by variety, like the bing cherry,” Malensky said. “The superior buyers will want to know what varieties they’re buying.” Oregon Berry can harvest blueberries into October. It has controlled atmosphere storage, where it can hold some varieties of blueberries for about six weeks. Malensky said the company holds and ships berries until the Argentinean deal begins in the fall. He said he did not have estimates for the number of trays it was expected to ship, but said the company produces about 10% of the state’s blueberries. “Elderberries are fountain-shaped deciduous shrubs or small trees that produce lacy clusters of creamy to pinkish flowers during May or June. Although most red-fruit types, such as Sambucus racemosa (a Northwest native) are inedible or unpalatable, there are also edible varieties bearing blue-black or purple-black fruit” http://blog.oregonlive.com/homesandgardens/2010/07/elderberries_offer_graceful_sh.html From the LA times, interesting stuff on Berry Families Kotata: A cross of Pacific x Boysen with Jenner-1 x Eldorado, originated by George F. Waldo of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Corvallis, Ore., introduced in 1984. The plant is more winter-hardy and the fruit is firmer than Marion, and the season is later. It’s the third most important hybrid blackberry in the Northwest (600 acres, 3.1 million pounds). There are just a few scattered plantings in California, where the fruit is not very well adapted, but the flavor from well-ripened fruit can be startlingly intense. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/27/food/la-fo-boysenberry-box-20100527 “A special blueberry drink fortified by processing it with bacteria that naturally occur on the fruit’s skin proved effective at preventing the development of obesity and diabetes in mice predisposed to the conditions, in a study conducted by researchers from the University of Montreal, the Institut Armand-Frappier and the Université de Moncton, and published in the International Journal of Obesity.” This is an interesting excerpt from SuperMarket News, a B2B publication for Grocery Retailers. “Positive health news, year-round availability and larger pack sizes have made berries the No. 1 category in produce…” New Year’s Resolution Sale! 70% off at Botanic Choice. expires 1/10/10 Fresh raspberries are one of the great joys of summer. Sweet, tender ruby raspberries are perfect for eating out of your hand, piled in a bowl of ice cream, heaped onto shortcake biscuits with a dollop of whipped cream, or turned into the famous Melba sauce (to drizzle over grilled peach halves) or jarfuls of jam. On the savory side, raspberries can be paired with chicken and pork or tossed into salads. From boston.com http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2009/09/02/berry_time_slightly_delayed/ This is a great articlefrom the New York Times on Prolonging the life of Berries…love it! “ONE of summer’s great pleasures is eating berries of all kinds by the basketful. One of summer’s great frustrations is having baskets of berries go moldy overnight, or even by nightfall….” Olallieberries, which were developed in Oregon but are widely grown in California, are a combination of blackberry and raspberry. Marionberries are a highly flavored old American cross between two varieties of blackberries. Cool story: http://www.kdvr.com/la-fo-mixed-berries-s,0,783797.story It is that time of year, fun berry festivals in the Monterrey – Santa Cruz Area |
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