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Pick of the Crop, Supplement of The Canadian Statesman/Independent, July, 1994 11 Pick Your Own Operations Continue to Rise in Ontario At present the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture lists in excess of 375 Pick Your Own operations. The combined combined farmgate value of all Ontario Pick Your Own crops is estimated to be in the range of $25 million annually- annually- History: The first organized OMAF listing of Ontario Pick Your Own venues was assembled slightly more than 20 years ago; it ran to approximately 70 entries. At its peak, around 1985, the annual list hit 400 businesses: numbers numbers dropped noticeably in the years immediately following then, but they have begun to rise once more, a fact some local experts have tied directly to the economy. Certainly consumers are conscious these days of value for money - and there is no doubt pick- Fresh strawberries heaped on freshly-baked sponge cake, slathered slathered with dollops of real whip cream! It sounds like a dessert made in heaven. But this is a real treat waiting waiting for 300 people on Saturday, July 16, during the Bowmanville Business Business Improvement Area's Strawberry Strawberry Social. Imagine 300 servings of the best strawberry dessert you will ever find at any fancy dessert shop. Look for the large marquee-style tent to find the luscious summer treat on Temperance Street, near the town square. B.I.A.'s manager, Garth Gilpin, told The Statesman the strawberry shortcake will be served by the St. John Anglican Church Marthas from 12 noon until 3 p.m. or until the shortcake runs out. While eating is entertainment in itself, the toe-tapping sounds from Herb Knox and his Dixieland Band will also be featured at the downtown downtown festival. Further north will be a show of classic cars from the Sunday Night Cruisers Car Club. Proceeds from the Strawberry Social will be given to local charities, charities, including Memorial Hospital Bowmanville. The fixings for the strawberry shortcake are being provided by Ted 1 Watson Farms and Carter's Bakery, Hints for jam makers CERTO preserving tip When making jam with CERTO Fruit Pectin, always use fully ripe fruit. It gives the best flavor. Use only the best fruit. Bruised or soft, over-ripe fruit will give poor jam results. Use correct measures. Use liquid liquid measures, generally transparent transparent glass or plastic, for fruit. Use dry measures that can be leveled off for sugar. Use a potato masher to crush berries. Crush a small amount of berries at a time. Place a single layer of berries in a pic plate, crush them. Then repeat with next batch. Do not reduce sugar in any recipe using CERTO. If you want a jam or jelly that is less sweet, select a CERTO Light recipe which uses 1/3 less sugar. Or call the CERTO Hot Line at 1-800- 268-6038. ing your own offers good value. But it is also true the consumer today has a considerable appreciation for going right to the source, to be sure of quality quality and freshness and simply because the journey can be such a pleasant one. In the early days the average Pick Your Own enterprise may have been small-scale, low-key, no-frills, concentrating concentrating on the crop and the crop alone. Today, by contrast, there is no longer one predominant style. The understated, simple, one-and two- crop çperations still thrive, but there are many other types of Pick Your Own places too, ranging all the way up to enormous ventures offering baked goodies, pony rides, haunted bams, children's playgrounds, hay- rides and more - something for the two local businesses working together together to bring you the best of the season! whole family, as it's often described. Range of locations: By far the greatest number of Pick Your Own businesses (roughly 173) can be found in the western part of the province, running from the shores of Lake Erie to Windsor and up through Owen Sound, including Kitchener-Waterloo and the Niagara Peninsula. This region is followed equally by the the Central and Eastern regions regions (98 operations each). (Central region extends from Oshawa in the east to Mississauga in the west, up to Thombury and along Georgian Bay to Huntsville and down along the western side of Lake Simcoe. The Eastern region stretches from Port Hope to the Ottawa River and up to Algonquin Park). Even though the Northern region does not hâve the same number of Pick Your Own operations operations as the rest of the province, there are about 5 farms that offer different different commodities but most offer berries - strawberries and-raspberries. Range of crops: Strawberries are the drawing card, first and foremost. In fact, of all the Pick Your Own operations in business, business, some 247 of them feature strawberry strawberry picking, with or without other crops. Sixty percent or so of Onta rio's total strawberry production is harvested in this fashion and for raspberries raspberries the numbers are even higher - 75 to 80 percent of Ontario raspberries raspberries are harvested by the consumer. In fact, the range of Pick Your Own crops goes much wider than just berries. The current OMAF Pick Your Own Guide lists, as Pick Your Own crops, apples, beans, beets, blueberries, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cherries, cherries, com, cucumber, currants, eggplant, eggplant, gooseberries, grapes, onions, peaches, pears, peas, peppers, plums, raspberries, pumpkins, squash, strawberries strawberries and tomatoes. And there are other crops in smaller quantities, in addition to those just listed. Most successful crops, from the consumer's point of view, seem to be those most easily harvested and those that can be seen before they are harvested harvested (tomatoes rather than potatoes; potatoes; raspberries rather than rutabaga, for example). Length of season: A very limited amount of asparagus asparagus is available through Pick Your Own outlets, the first available PYO crop of the growing year, starting sometime in May. After that come strawberries, then peas, raspberries and other midsummer fruits and vegetables vegetables and eventually tomatoes, sweet com and even pumpkins, carrots, carrots, cauliflower and apples, taking the customer all the way through October October in the end. Summer is obviously the first season season one thinks of, in thinking about a Pick Your Own trip, but in recent years, September and October have become increasingly popular months in the business - especially for weekend weekend family trips incorporating apple picking, choosing a pumpkin, maybe even a hayride. Freeze fruit now... % jam later CERTO preserving tip No time to make jam today? Freeze freshly picked or just-pur- chased berries for jam-making another another day. Wash top quality berries under cold water and shake off moisture. Place on a tray in the freezer for 4 to 6 hours or until fro- . zen; seal in an airtight package and return to freezer To use for jam, thaw but do not drain. Crush and measure as for fresh fruit and proceed as directed in CERTO recipe. Picture This Let the Food Guide Pyramid guide your eating. Eat foods from the five main food groups every day. For energy and strength, eat at least the lower number of servings. Compare the two pyramids. 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