What is everyone eating from their orchard today?

I picked two nectaplums today!

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Puget Gold Apricots are ripening.Tasty. Brady


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Currants are really grown for jam, or jelly, due to their tartness. Only the darkest pink of your ‘champagne’ currants will have a hint of sugar. They make the best jelly! I’ll be a harvesting all of mine this week.

My almost 4 year old daughter ate 4 handfuls of ripe black currants fresh today. She kept demanding more, and I have to cajole her to get her to eat a blueberry or two.

To be fair, the black currants are higher brix.

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When I was growing up I used to eat a lot of red currants fresh from a couple large bushes at my grandmothers. I’m not sure if my palate is different, but I just don’t enjoy them the way I used to. And the more of them I have, the lower my opinion of them gets.

I was picking currants for almost 3 hours this afternoon (3.5 quarts of black and another 2 of pink and red- about 2 quarts per hour). I’ll make another batch of white/pink/red currant jam, but each time I’ve done this in the past it hasn’t measured up to the black currants (best jelly ever).

I’m thinking about reclaiming some of the spots from white/red/pink currants, which is a shame now that they are bearing well. I’m tempted to try grafting them over to black currants, but I’ve never heard of anyone doing that before and I probably have enough black currants already. My oldest Consort produced just over 4 quarts so far this year (more than double last year). If all my plants get to that level of production, I would have to hire someone to pick :smile:. It would be over 50 lbs, compared to the ~8 lbs I’ve picked so far this year which feels like a lot.

What are you replacing them with? I’m thinking about getting rid of the Primus white currants and expanding the kiwi trellis in that area. I didn’t really leave enough room for the kiwis when I planted and the are among my favorites. The vines are very vigorous and I’m sure they can take over any additional structure I put up.

The other I’m thinking about is to get rid of a mixed row of red/black currants and the Poorman gooseberry with spots. I can transplant the Poorman and one of the black currants (I’m deeming the other, Laxton’s Giant, a loser and culling it) to a better part of the yard in place of some red/white currants. In their place, I could put in a small row of jujubes.

I’ll second that (along with best sorbet, etc). I confess I don’t even pick the reds many years. Part of the problem is the birds tend to zero in on them and I have them spread out as landscaping making it hard to net them all. Unfortunately I am now seeing a lot of decline in my older black currants.

I have black, red, pink current and gooseberry. current is pretty seedy. When you make black current jelly, do you take the seeds out , or just leave seeds in? if you take the seeds out, how do you do that?

If you pull them, list them for free or $ on Craigslist. Someone else would appreciate them.

I should use a jelly bag, but so far I’ve just made do with a colander and it has worked fine.

Bob, thanks. I will be looking for a jelly bag, or colander

My brother is in the early stages of filling his yard and has offered to take any berries off my hands. He liked the red currants as a kid too, so he’ll probably want to try them too. I’ll try to find takers on anything being removed, though there is only so much digging I’m willing to do.

The main difference between them is that a colander is quick and easy, but lets a bit get through. That can leave a few seeds and make it cloudy(if appearance matters).

Bob, I assume you put berries in blender and blend it first, or just coarsely crushed them? I have never made current jelly before :fearful: , therefore, a lot of details need to be filled in

Bob, you’re right a jelly bag makes very clear jelly. I use a food mill to separate all of the seeds when making my black currant jam which is the best jam ever!!! I agree again. Red, white and pink currants do not have a terribly distinctive flavor but they are great in certain sauces for game, like ‘Cumberland Sauce’. I use red currant jelly for making it. Can’t live without them!

Yes, they are good berries.Here in my zone I’m still waiting. Soon though!

I like them. Sure other berries are better, but they make a great jam, color is divine!
Double Gold and Fall Gold.

Chester Blackberry


Notice the topped primocanes in the middle. They are huge. They make this year’s canes look small. Not the best tasting berry, but excellent for jam.
The only ripe blackberries I got so far are wyeberries and one Columbia Star.

Raspberries are still producing here. Daily harvests are kinda too big!

Wyeberries, slightly underipe for jam.

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Nice berries Drew, I have golden raspberry Ann just start to ripe. I like its flavor very much. Any chance that double gold and Fall Gold has similar flavor to Ann?

mrsg, glad you mentioned food mill , I do have one on hand that I can use. It has been stored for many years ever since blender/food processor got popular.

I don’t use a food mill- I just boil them whole with a bit of water. After it has boiled for a while I use a potato masher on them (while still boiling). Then after a few more minutes (and maybe a bit more mashing), I pour the whole thing through the colander (a big bowl shaped strainer). After this, I give the big pot a quick wash and pour the liquid back in and mix with sugar. I used 5 lbs of sugar with ~5.5 pounds of berries last year.

After all the sugar is dissolved and things have reached the right consistency (I use the cold plate trick to know when), I pour it into jars, close them, then stand the upside down for a few minutes (kill germs on lids with near boiling sauce) before flipping them right side up.

In the last few days I’ve gotten some Newberry and Boysenberries. It is the first time I’ve had Newberry, which are pretty good.

Fall Gold is similar. A little more acidic. Double Gold is like a mild red. A low acid type though. Cascade Gold are as good or better than Anne. The plants are not super hardy. I seem to lose a cane or two every year. But the taste is worth it. The canes that made it are very productive. It is more a solid yellow than a translucent yellow. They are summer bearing.

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