Woo-hue!

Crop of local blueberries tempts those who choose to pick their own

Blueberries are producing a bumper crop this year, said grower Larry Secor.

He’s opening his pick-it-yourself blueberry field on July 14, as pickers still are harvesting red raspberries from another of his berry fields.

Both berries are perfect ingredients for today’s recipe, an English Summer Pudding that sometimes puzzles home cooks because it doesn’t look like pudding at all. To the British, however, puddings include a wide range of dishes that are sweet and savory, including those that are steamed or molded like this one.

“Blueberries are much easier to pick than many other berries,” Secor said. “Ours are high-bush blueberries, so you pick them standing up. They aren’t as fragile as strawberries, and they last a long time.”

The farm has its entire acre of blueberries under a net because otherwise voracious birds would devour them.

“We have a door on the end for pickers to enter,” he said. “It’s just like walking into a house.”

Secor’s, at 4940 North Ridge Road (Route 20) in Perry, is a third-generation farm. Pickers can come between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., but the farm market is open an hour longer. Those picking their own pay $3.49 per pound, while pre-picked berries are $2.95 per pint.

Secor’s doesn’t take credit cards, so bring cash when you come.

Tina and Larry Klco have just begun taking their Rainbow Farms blueberries to the six farmers markets where they are vendors. Rainbow Farms, 2464 Townline Road in Madison, supplies many area restaurants with its produce, including Pastina in Mentor, Sara’s Place in Gates Mills, and The Flying Fig in Cleveland, to name a few.

Rainbow Farms will be among a handful of vendors represented when Painesville begins a pilot program for a new evening market to coincide with its Wednesday Gazebo Concerts. Produce will be available on Veterans Square from 6 to 8 p.m Wednesdays through Aug. 29.

“We had many requests for an evening market from those who can’t make it to our regular Thursday-afternoon farmers’ markets,” said Cathy Bieterman, the city’s economic development director.

As far as blueberries are concerned, Rainbow Farms opened just this week for those wishing to pick their own from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

“We’re alternating days because we want to make sure to have plenty of ripe berries to pick,” Tina said. “When picking, you should look at the entire berry to make sure it’s purple all the way around. You can

still eat them when they are a lighter purple on one side, but they’ll be a little more tart.”

Rainbow Farms is putting up poles from which to string netting to protect their blueberry field, but as of now it uses a squawker that screeches out enemy bird calls.

“The birds hear it and fly away,” she said. “They get used to it, though, and it doesn’t work as well. We tell our pickers to feel free to shoo the birds away.”

Pickers like blueberries because they freeze well and are just as good when defrosted in February as they are when eaten fresh in July.

Although the Klcos provide quart baskets for picking, pickers are welcome to bring their own containers, she said.

“Just be sure to have them weighed at our market before you begin to pick so you’re only paying for blueberries,” she said.

For those picking their own, Rainbow Farms charges $2.75 per pound while selling alreadypicked berries in their market for $5 per pint.

Blueberries are great eaten out of hand — or cooked after being tossed in pancake, muffin, biscuit or scone mixtures. Try adding them to salads, frozen custard or ice cream. Toss a pound blueberries with two cups sugar, add a split vanilla bean and let sit for an hour. Add lemon juice and a half cup water and boil then strain and cool for a delicious blueberry syrup.