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SI THE HI JuucIT STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER Getting the best from By BRIAN Herald Special For three to five weeks beginning the middle of June hundreds of anxious dessert lovers can be seen on all fours crouching over rows of carefully selecting the very beat Yea Its that time year again farms have doubled to in On strawberry picking season The Pick Your Own strawberry One popular strawberry operation business is and well in southern in the Hills area Is A Fern Ontario Last year Canada largest and Sons Apple and Strawberry Strawberry producing province farm on Heritage Road north of harvested over million of Steclcs Avenue the little red berries Seventy per Mr has been farming his Cent of that was harvested through land since the early He cur pick operations according renlly farms between to 15 acres an Ontario government report of strawberries every year While the pick your own Pick started in the strawberry industry has United States about years since its rapid growth In the Mr says it was mostly value of last years harvest was formers wives and locals nicking berries then Strawberries lead all fruits and took about ten years but word of Vegetables in the pick yourown mouth proved to be the catalyst in business since the number of the growth of the stawberry in he said As the years went by every Tom Dick and Harry got Into the act and it became a cut throat business he says But he was quick to odd farming business it a way of life Mr ex pec his wherries will be ready to pick by June 15 The recent warm weather has speeded things up he says Hi has been watering his strawberries frequent ly to keep them cooler In the hotter weather Canadian strawberries Mr says art juicier and sweeter than their more common California cousins The California berries often found in most super markets are drier Mr Because Canadian berries are juicier they won t last as long as California berries says Mr Ferri That s why supermarkets tend to go with the drier berries hi says Local strawberry farmers sell picked berries to roadside markets for approximately IS a pound he says you better for sale at these roadside markets because they got directly from farmers he says People like fresh berries he main tains They re like fish and chips When you cat them the store they re great Bring them home and after an hour they taste like rub he the fries Most of the people who pick strawberries at his farm are froth Toronto and tend to be middle aged with a family Mr Many are ethnic minority groups he soys If it I for them wed be out or business he says Families of minorities will spend money on food while others will go to a Blue Jay game and spend money on beer he says He believes marrlod couples with families are usually more quality conscious about their food That why picking strawberries is more popular with that age group hi rows of red berries pick berries go for proximately a pound at the Al Farm Most leave the farm with between 15 pounds or the little red rult Mr It costs Mr about cents a quart to pick the strawberries himself and those costs arc passed on at supermarket chains he says Because no Canadians want to work at picking straw berries Tor the wages offered Mr flies workers up from Trinidad for the picking reason and houses them on Ills farm One reason there are so many strawberry farms west of Toronto there are listed in the Pick Your Own manual issued by the Pro vincial government is because soil dose to lake Ontario is good quality Mr says But the main reason strawberry farmers the region is the ac cess to huge markets Toronto is Just down the road providing over two million potential buyers he says Berries harvested this June were planted in May of They are sprayed and groomed all year he says In the winter tbo strawberries arc covered with layers of straw to protect them from freezing In contrast California berries are planted in October and harvested in February he says For would be berry pickers a weekly Pick report Is available throughout the growing season beginning June The report covers produce availability in areas from London to Weekly in formation Is available hours a day by dialing The information is updated every Thursday at 30 Dessertlovers flood the fields VERY BERRY Glen Dexter the Head Chef of the frigate Inn In Milton displays one of till creation chocolate meringue a strawberry celebration at Farm In Milton June Strawberry season has arrived at most farms southern Ontario and the pick business has mushroomed Into Ihc major harvesting method or strawberries In Ontario Bui strawberry loicn tunc to hurry It they want to in on the goods The season In Ontario lasts only a few weeks Herald photo by Brian MacLeod Try a tasty recipe Strawberry Rhubarb Conserve pints strawberries orange washed 2 cups finely chopped rhubarb 1 cup raisins A cup lemon juice Sugar I cup coarsely chopped pecans optional Fill boiling water with hot water Place in half pint mason jars in over high heat Rinse strawberries in cold water Drain pat dry remove cap Cut strawberries in half Quarter orange chop finely by hand or in food processor measure strawberries orange barb raisin and lemon juice into a large heavy Stir in cup sugar for each fruit to prevent sticking Continue boiling uncovered stirring occasionally until mixture is thick mounds on a spoon 30 to minutes Place Bcrnardin Snap Litis in boil water boil minutes to soften scaling compound If using nuts stir them into thick fruit mixture boil 1 minute longer Remove from heat Ladle conserve into a hot jar to within A inch of top head space Remove air bubbles by Sliding rubber spatula between glass and food readjust head space to inch Wipe jar removing any stickiness Center Snap Lid on jar apply screw band just until fingertip tight Place jar in Repeat for remaining conserve Covercanner return boil process 10 minutes Remove jars Cool 24 hours Check jar seal Sealed lids curve downward in Clean screw band remove if desired Wipe jars label and store in a cool dark place Makes 8 cups conserve Veterans tie itrawberry picking trade will nerd Utile advice on how best to go about the business of electing nature finest Itut rookie pickers anxious to stuck the rows of red berries may heed some lips Always check that a farm is open for business and that strawberries are available Since harvest dales and yields are subject to weather con dllioni and crops can be picked out sufficient supplies may not yet be available Plan to head Ihe strawberry farm early to get the best selection and beat the heal If a long day li planned take a hat to shield you from the sun Also crucial are or mats for kneeling In the fields It also helps to near comfortable clothing lo make bending and a tret Picking containers may be available some farms or you may be re quired to bring your own Small shallow boxes are best because they pre vent tender berries at the bottom of the basket from being damaged it I pay lo lake deep basket only to find out when you get home all your hard sought after berries at the bottom have had the juice out of them Once you ve eyed the perfect berry the best way lo make 11 yourjvery own Is to pinch the stem your fingernail above the 17th century mystique of strawberry patches By BRIAN Herald Staff The popularity of pick strawberries in the 1980 may have levelled off but the value of strav berries at the pick yourown level was in excess of million Ontario last year That means big business for Ontario growers Why the popularity It be the Juicy sweet taste strawberries In Ihi province have become famous for It could be the cheaper prices at the pick yourown market that encourages strawberry lovers It could even be that one cup of strawberries ml contains on ly S3 calorics and plentiful amounts of vitamin C and Thiamin Whatever the reason for the popularity of stow berries in the HO s ihc diminutive red berry really has quite a history Elegance has always surrounded the mystique of the strawberry As far back as the century strawberries were brought only to tables of royalty In times these berries were saved ex for special dinners The natural red beauty of the strawberry that attracts nature en Ihusiasts today actually repelled the Ancient Greeks All red foods wire taboo to them and many Greeks believed strawberry possessed supernatural powers In contrast Cato a in Rome circa B loved strawberries more than any cuisine He liked them in wine or sprinkled with herbs and spices some 100 years later listed no less than ways to serve ilea In his work Ma Cuisine Strawberries arc stubborn little things Dlffertnt varieties wild strawberries grow in such diverse climates as India and Lapland nor them Scandinavia Like many other foods rics been connected with To dream of is considered a good omen man who docs so will bo blessed with a sweet tempered wife who will him many sons Bavarian pcasinls that elves ore fond of strawberries To beny to free It Fulling strawberries from the bush braises them Once you ve got that berry In your paws don yank the hull off The hull preserve and locks In the berry natural moisture When you arc storing strawberries separate any damaged berries a soon as possible and use them Immediately In recipes where appearance doeio mailer Strawberries will keep for up to three days If refrigerated with the hulls Intact In single layer Us also best to leave them covered wax paper to prevent mould When you are ready to use gently rinse Ihem under cold running water the hulls attacked Berries will absorb water and lose their flavor Is they are allowed soak Preserve strawberries without sugar by placing washed and hulled In a single layer on shallow trays and reeling until Ihey are firm about Package berries in freezer containers and date them before putting them back in the reeier To preserve strawberries with sugar helps maintain flavor and lex lure odd a cup 125 ml sugar to four cups litre of Whole washed and hulled stawbeiVtes appease the fairy folk and ensure prosperous livestock the trymen tic baskets of wild ties to the horns of their cattle Even the leaves of the plant itself have been thought by some to hold special properties At one time strawberry leaves were considered on effective defense against goblins and other nocturnal predator Al various times in its history the strawberry was thought to many different ills mm shortness to sciatica to snake bites The strawberry has always been appreciated as a beauty aide but one of Marie An loincttc ladies In walling went one step further She liked to bathe in strawberry and rasberry juice then was sponged down with milk and perfumes She liked the pink tinge the fruit juices left on her skin The largest shortcake in the world Is baked for the annual Strawberry Festival in Lcbinon Oregon The towers over 12 feet metres and a twoman saw is used to cut it In 1534 Jacques tier recorded in his diary that he had seen vast of strawberries along thi great river the Lawrence and In the woods MILTON GEORGETOWN 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