Today, I am going to attempt, for the first time, a clafoutis. I first heard of them last summer, but never attempted one. I'll blog about my experience later in the week. Right now, onward to the picking.
Yesterday, I went blueberry picking with my spouse.
It was bright and sunny and the sky was blueberry blue (of course). The owner greeted us - she recognized us even with our masks on. She said the Patriot blueberry crop was excellent this year and she was right. Some years, the Patriots don't taste as good as later berries. These were wonderful.
These are Patriot blueberries, the earliest this U-pick stand has. By the end of next week, she may have Bluerays, a more mid-early season berry, ready. Here, the blueberry season lasts for about a month. Most of these berries are not ripe yet, but we found the picking, overall, easy and quick this time.
How do you know which berries to pick?
The blueberries, when ripe, are a lighter blue (darker blue isn't totally ripe), and are covered in a whitish dust called "bloom". This helps protect the berry while on the plant, and is not at all harmful to people. It will make your fingers feel a bit waxy after you are picking for a while, but (to me) it doesn't feel unpleasant. Of course, you should wash the berries, but wait until you are ready to use them.
I did promise some blueberry recipes, so here you go:
Here are some of my previous blueberry posts.
This one has a recipe for blueberry muffins made with cashew almond milk.
Dump Cake made with blueberries
A slightly different dump cake made with blueberries
Since I'm writing this post while waiting for my clafoutis to finish baking, how about a little background on this dessert?
Clafoutis is a tart made of fruit, typically black cherries, baked in a sweet batter. The variation I found in a magazine, used small curd cottage cheese and cherries. The article also said berries could be used. It gave me an idea - why not freshly picked blueberries?
Either it's going to be great, or it will be what I like to call a "train wreck". I hope the former, because I will be watching my weight for the rest of my life (I've been a WW lifetime member for almost a year, now) and this should be somewhat low on points.
If you want to know how the experiment turned out, you'll have to come back in a couple of days, and I'll share the recipe with you.
...I just made some blueberry jam to enjoy this winter!
ReplyDeleteCan't waitc to hear how your clafoutis came out! Dean and DeLuca used to carry cherry clafoutis - absolutely delicious.
ReplyDeleteMaking blueberry muffins tomorrow. Blueberries looked so good in the store.
ReplyDeleteYes, blue berry jam sounds so good! Thanks Tom
ReplyDeleteI've been watching a lot of Good Eats lately, and I could have sworn he made a clafoutis at some point... Quick internet search, and yes, he did. I hope yours turned out well.
ReplyDeleteI know when my blueberries are ripe by how they just roll off. I gently put one between my thumb and forefinger and sort of roll it into the container. They fall right off when ripe.
ReplyDeleteMy blueberries are almost done. Draper was the best this year. Jelly Bean was taken out of a container and into a raised bed, and it did well. Bluecrop is later, and didn't have a pollinator near it, so not many berries, but I moved it for next year.
When my daughter was here a few weeks ago she made a blueberry pie. Her last morning I made muffins.
I expect your clafoutis will be delicious! You can't go wrong with fresh blueberries!
Blueberry picking is such fun. Thank you for sharing your recipes. The muffins look scrumptious.
ReplyDeleteNot sure when our blueberries will be ready to pick.
ReplyDeleteHi Alana - for some reason I've never been fond of blueberries ... but so pleased you enjoyed collecting yours and I'm looking forward to your clafoutis post ... always a good desert. Take care - Hilary
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