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Blueberries are ripe for the picking all over Warren County.

Cherry Grove Blueberries is only one of several locations in Warren County where you can pick your own. 

There are several blueberry u-picks in Warren County.  Look for signs on Fox Hill Road in Russell, on 5th Street Extension (about a mile north of the High School), across from Blueberry Hill Golf Club in Scandia, and in the Lottsville area.  U-Pick producers are invited to add their information to our U-Pick Farms directory.

Blueberry Facts, Picking Tips, and Canning Directions (Pickyourown.org website)
Is the freezer getting full already? (Canning tips from Penn State Cooperative Extension)

Blueberries
By SUE CURTIN, The Valley Voice
After work the other day I climbed Bull Hill and turned onto Sorenson Road. My destination was Helinski’s Blueberry Patch in Cherry Grove. It was formerly owned by the Midlick family.

The sky was blue and it was very quiet in the blueberry patch. Mr. Helinski noted that this year he is using natural items to keep the bugs away which allows those who pick the blueberries the luxury of not having to wash them before freezing them. This keeps the blueberries from turning into little blue icicles when they are frozen. The extra water detracts from the flavor and freshness of the berries when they are used from the freezer.

I picked about 5 quarts and brought them home. I had a few peaches in the kitchen so I squashed some blueberries, diced some peaches and made blueberry-peach jam. It is delicious and such a great color. After cleaning up the jam pots and equipment I stirred up Josie Gerardi’s Belgian Waffles. One of Tom’s favorite meals is Belgian waffles topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream. That evening we had waffles, blueberries and whipped cream. It is delicious and tastes like summer.

Don’t wait too long to go pick your own berries. Everything has ripened sooner this year because of the warm spring. The berries are large and very sweet. They are great on cereal, waffles, in pancakes, breads, coffee cakes, and muffins. I freeze them in 1 cup quantities so they are already measured when I want to bake with them.

Take a drive to Cherry Grove, enjoy the quiet, the chickens that keep the bugs down in the patch, and the flavor of summer. The cost of $2.00 per quart is a bargain and they are filled with antioxidants.

RECIPES: Josie Gerardi’s Quick Belgian Waffles | Blueberry Coffee Cake | Blueberry Muffins | Blueberry Pie| Blueberry-Banana Bread |Blueberry Pudding Cake | Blueberry Sour Cream Cake | Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes | Blueberry-Rice Salad

Josie Gerardi’s Quick Belgian Waffles
3 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup melted butter
1 T vanilla
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 T baking powder
2 tsp sugar

Beat until blended. Pour a scant ½ cup of batter in a hot waffle iron and bake until slightly crisp. Top with fresh fruit and whipped cream. Delicious.

Blueberry Coffee Cake
1-1/2 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1-1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup milk
¼ cup melted butter

Topping:
¼ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 T flour
¼ cup walnuts

Mix coffee cake ingredients and pour into an 8 x 8 pan. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix topping ingredients together until crumbly and sprinkle over the cake. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Blueberry Muffins
2 cups flour
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup milk
1 cup berries

Beat butter, sugar and eggs and vanilla for 5 minutes. On low speed, mix in flour with milk in thirds. Beat until smooth. Fold in berries. Fill cups ¼ full. Bake 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 20 to 25 muffins. These freeze very well.

Blueberry Pie
4 cups blueberries
1 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
Dash of salt
1 T butter
1 unbaked pie shell
½ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup butter

Place 1 cup of blueberries, the sugar, cornstarch and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan. Simmer until thickened and clear. Stir in remaining berries and butter. Stir to blend and coat all the berries with the sauce. Pour into the pie shell.
Take remaining ingredients and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over the pie. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly. Can be made with any fresh fruit. I sometimes mix peaches and blueberries. I use the blueberries in the sauce and then coat the peach slices.

Is the freezer getting full already?
Contributed By PHYLLIS WRIGHT

Blueberries are easy to freeze, but also easy to can because they are a high acid fruit, and can be processed in a boiling water bath.

To raw pack berries, place washed drained berries in jars leaving a ½  inch head space. Cover the berries with you choice of boiling water (thus adding no sugar) or a light syrup. The light syrup is a mixture of 1 ¼ cups of sugar to 10 ½ cups of water heated to dissolve the sugar. It you wish it to be sweeter, add more sugar but this is already a sweet fruit.

Remember to have a ½ inch head space, wipe the jar edge clean and add the two piece lid. Place jars in canner filled halfway with water preheated to 140 F. The water should be 1 inch above the jars. After the canner water boils, continue boiling 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts. Let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes, remove them to a cooling rack.

Blueberry syrup is another great treat for the winter --- delicious over ice cream, pancakes, pound cake etc. Next winter, cornstarch or flour can be added to the berries to make pies, cobblers and other desserts. For further information go to http://foodsafety.psu.edu/preserve.html and click on “Let’s Preserve” then blueberries.

Source – Penn State Cooperative Extension, College of Agricultural Sciences “Let’s Preserve Fact Sheets”

Blueberry-Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter
2 eggs
½ tsp baking soda
3 mashed bananas
1 cup blueberries

Combine all and mix well. Pour into a 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Blueberry Pudding Cake
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup milk
3 T margarine, melted

Topping:
¾ cup sugar
1 T cornstarch
1 cup boiling water

Toss blueberries with cinnamon and lemon juice; place in a grease 8 x 8 pan. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Then stir in milk and butter. Spoon over berries. Combine sugar and cornstarch; sprinkle over the berries. Slowly pour boiling water over all. Do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until cake tests done.

Blueberry Sour Cream Cake
½ cup soft margarine
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups blueberries
½ cup brown sugar

Cream margarine and white sugar, add eggs and beat well. Sift dry ingredient together, add gradually to creamed mixture alternating with sour cream. Stir in vanilla. Fold in 1 cup blueberries. Pour ½ batter into greased and floured 9 x 13 pan. Cover with remaining berries, sprin-kle with brown sugar. Add rest of batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. Serve with whipped cream.