(6/2019) Likely by the time you are reading this, students are out of school for the summer. I like the month of June. It seems to be way less stressful to me than May. College graduations and parties are over, prom is over, band and choral concerts are behind us. End of the school year awards ceremonies have passed. June is just a lazier month. For us as growers of fruits and vegetables, however, things are starting to churn up a bit.

In June, we will be coming down the home stretch on cutting asparagus, but will start picking strawberries – right around Memorial Day in May, and then move on to apricots and blueberries. Our greenhouse has already begun to produce different leafy greens.

I don’t think you have to be a grower, however, to not combine the month of June with strawberries. We see strawberries in our grocery stores year-round, but shortly after Memorial Day, we know that the real strawberries have arrived. Those berries that are grown all around us, picked when perfectly ripe, NOT picked hard and tasteless and shipped in from California and/or Florida – are now readily available! We’re ready to eat real strawberries.

Pennsylvania ranks 5th in strawberry production in the nation, following California, Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin. While production used to be focused around processed strawberries, today most strawberries are grown for eating right out of hand. This beautiful red fruit has its roots in very shallow ground – only 6" – and is often zapped by late spring frosts. Additionally, once a red berry forms, often birds prey on the sweet, juicy fruit. A commercial grower will sometimes net their fields to combat the pesky birds. In an ideal world, each strawberry plant should yield about one pound of berries. This computes in to about one and one half quarts. Strawberries are picked at least three times a week – and there’s no easy way to get to them except by leaning over! A commercial grower will expect only two – to at most three years – of production from a planting. Although the plants are hard to kill, their yield very quickly becomes less – with smaller berries and less berries per plant – making it economically unsavory to keep past three years.

On our farm, we celebrate the advent of strawberries with our annual Strawberry Fest, held this year on June 1 and 2. Chances are good that by the time you read this, the event will be over but rest easy. There are still a lot of real strawberries to be had! That said – get them soon, as they’ll be gone way too early in my opinion. They are truly one of my favorite fruits! I hope you enjoy some of my favorite recipes!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Ingredients:

• 4 C. Fresh, Crushed Strawberries
• 3 C. Sugar
• 1 (1.75 oz.) package dry pectin
• ¾ C. Water

Cooking directions:

Mix crushed strawberries with sugar and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.

Place tops on the containers and leave for 24 hours. Place into the freezer and store frozen until ready to use.

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients:

• ½ C. Powdered Sugar
• 1 ½ C. Flour
• ½ C. Sugar
• ¾ to 1 C. Fruit Juice (Pineapple is good)
• 1 Tsp. Lemon Juice
• ¾ C. Butter, Softened
• 1 8 oz. Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla
• ½ C. Sugar
• 2 T. Corn Starch

Cooking directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix powdered sugar, butter and flour together. Crumble and pat into pizza pan. Bake for 15 minutes and cool.

Mix cream cheese, ½ C. sugar and vanilla and spread on cooled crust. Arrange fresh fruit (I like strawberries, blueberries, peaches and bananas) over top. Prepare the fruit glaze by boiling the fruit juice, ½ C. sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch until thick.

Cool and pour glaze on top of the fruit and spread it out Refrigerate.

Any assortment of fruits can be used in this pizza. Consider kiwi, peaches, mandarin oranges and/or cherries – whatever might be in season!

Fresas Con Crema (Strawberries with Cream)

Our bakery manager is a young Latino woman who often mixes up this yummy dessert during strawberry season. Super fast, easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. Container Sour Cream
• ½ C. Sugar
• 2 C. Fresh Strawberries

Cooking directions:

Mix sour cream and sugar together. Add sliced, capped berries and put in parfait cups. Top with whipped topping and enjoy! This super easy delicacy will last 3 to 4 days in your refrigerator.

Strawberry Meringue Pie

Ingredients:

• 3 Egg Whites
• 1 Tsp. Almond Extract (opt.)
• ½ Tsp. Baking Powder
• ¾ C. Semisweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/3 C. Pecans, Chopped Fine
• ¾ C. Sugar
• 1 C. Round Crackers – like a Ritz Cracker – about 23
• 1 C. Whipping Cream
• 2 T. Powdered Sugar
• ½ Tsp. Vanilla
• 2 C. Sliced Strawberries

Cooking directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg whites, almond extract and baking powder. Let mixture stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix 2 T. of the chocolate chips with 2 T. of the pecans, reserving for garnish. Coarsely chop remaining chocolate and finely chop the pecans. Combine and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat egg white mixture that you set aside with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 T. at a time, beating on high till very stiff peaks form.

In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate/pecan mixture and the crushed crackers. Fold into the egg whites. Spread into a greased 9" pie plate, building up the sides slightly.

Bake in oven about 25 minutes or till top is golden. Cool completely. In a medium bowl, combine whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat on low speed until soft peaks form. Fold in 1 and ½ cups sliced strawberries, spoon atop cooled meringue. Top with remaining strawberries and reserved chocolate/pecan mixture. Serve immediately or chill up to 24 hours.