Orchard Talk

Hey there! It’s Megan, Betsy and John’s niece. I’m going to be taking over the blog a little, along with Courtney and a few of the other “fruit stand girls”, so stay tuned to know what’s fresh at King Orchards.

Today is our first day for U-Pick raspberries! I’m definitely excited, they’re one of my favorite fruits to eat here. They look beautiful, and taste great. Bring the family and get out here! Our raspberries should last all summer, with short 1-2 week breaks in between “batches”.

If you’re wondering about when we’re getting our own sweet cherries into the market and u-pick, John says they’ll be in full-swing for the weekend. Until then, we have some delicious cherries from Grand Rapids, MI. Be sure to come in and get them while they’re fresh! -Megan K.

Tags: Cherries, market, News, raspberries

What a glorious morning! If you’re out and about enjoying this gorgeous sunny day, be sure to stop in the M-88 market and say hello.

King Orchards M-88 Market. We're Open!

We’ll be sampling:

Cheerful Cherry Yogurt Parfaits: A little bit of homemade granola layered with dried fruit (including cherries), tart cherries (thawed from IQF),  and lowfat yogurt.  So yummy you’ll forget it’s good for you.

Slices of Cherry Pie: If you haven’t ever tried one of Rose’s famous cherry pies, you have to stop in and see what you’re missing. Rumor has it a certain Croc wearing celebrity chef was spotted leaving the Kewadin bakery last summer with the Balaton version in hand.  Molto yummy.

3 Varieties of Dried Tart Cherries

Dried Tart Cherries: Try a few apple juice sweetened or traditional sugar infused dried cherries, and let us know which you prefer. We have lots of recipes to share, too.

Tart Cherry Juice: Naturally, you’ll want to try our signature product, King Orchards Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate. If you want, we can give a dissertation on all the healthful properties of Montmorency tart  cherries.  But only if you want.

Frozen Tart Cherries: Both Balaton and Montmorency cherries, thawed from IQF. This is your opportunity to see and taste both varieties and see what you think. We love both, but for different reasons.

Talking Shop

Lively Conversation: It must be the sunshine. Everyone’s in a great mood, happily chatting about truck & equipment building, jeeps, winches and what-not.

Time to stock up on spicy-sweet Balaton cherry salsa.

Don’t forget to pick up a little cherry treat to enjoy at home. Betsy has Everything Cherry on sale through February.

Betsy & Alice enjoying a visit.

Happy Free Pie Friday!

Stop by the M-88 Market this Friday, February 19th, between 9 and 5, and enjoy a free slice of cherry pie. Happy National Cherry Month!

Tags: cherry pie, national cherry month, Powered by Red

I know it’s past Thanksgiving, but I couldn’t resist sharing my first real pumpkin pie recipe experience. Hard to believe that during all my tenure at King Orchards, I’ve never taken a pie pumpkin home and made a real old-fashioned pumpkin pie, but after tasting the results, I don’t think I’ll ever use canned pumpkin again!

I started with the recipe at pickyourown.org, which has excellent tips and visual references for preparing and cooking the pumpkin. I chose to halve mine the way we usually do squash, and baked it in the oven until tender. Piece of cake. The cooked pumpkin came out of the shell easily with an ice cream scoop.  Then I used combination potato masher and hand mixer to get the gloop good and smooth.

Here is the recipe from PickYourOwn:

Ingredients

• a pie pumpkin
• 1 cup sugar
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups pumpkin glop (ok… “sieved, cooked pumpkin”)
• 1.5 cans (12oz each) of evaporated milk

I had been researching online and talking to my baking relatives, so I used a few of the tips I found to adapt the basic recipe.

• I used half brown and half white sugar. Feedback at pickyourown.org said it adds flavor to the pie.
• I lightly whipped the eggs with a whisk prior to adding them. Read that somewhere, too.
• I used 1 can of evaporated milk and 6 ounces of half and half. My sister in law said they used half and half in their pumpkin pie, and that it made for a richer pie than evaporated milk. It also saves from opening the second can of evaporated milk only to use half of it.
• I added an extra smidgen of all the spices except the clove. Just cause I love cinnamon and ginger.
• I totally cheated on the crust and used frozen deep dish pie shells. Baby baking steps.
• The King Orchards pie pumpkin (that’s what we call them, some say sugar pumpkin) made lots of extra “goo,” so I went ahead and added oh… an extra few cups of pumpkin and maybe 1/4 cup more brown sugar to the filling. Figured the filling could take it, since it called for 4 eggs. Even after filling two deep dish pie shells, I had quite a lot of filling left over.  More on that in a sec.

I filled the shells up to about 1/8 ” from the top of the shells, then followed the instructions for baking:

• Bake at 425 F (210 C ) for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F  ( 175 C ) and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

The result was quite possibly the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had. It was spicy and creamy and rich, yet light at the same time.

It was so good that I bought some pre-made refrigerated pie crust over the weekend just so I could use the last 4 cups or so of leftover filling. We cut the crusts into about 3 1/4″ circles using the rim of a glass, then gently laid the rounds into muffin tins so they made 12 mini pie crusts.  Filled each one to the top of the crust with a few tablespoons of filling, baked as above and Holy Cow! They were amazing. My husband enjoyed the pumpkin tarts even more than the traditional pie, and they were a huge hit at our family game night.

Wishing everyone a blessed holiday season; May your homes and your hearts be filled with warmth and laughter and love,
Patty

p.s. We  have a small pile of pie pumpkins left in the market, so there’s still time to give this recipe a sample run. I’ve heard you can use squash too, and that it’s pretty darned delicious.

King Orchards is proud to have been named in USA Today’s 10 Great Places to Pick Your Own Apples!

“Enjoy the recreation playground of northern Michigan when you pick apples here,” said Todd Hultquist, spokesman for the U.S. Apple Association.  Indeed, the sparkling waters of Torch Lake and Grand Traverse Bay are just moments from our orchards. We’re close to plenty of great dining, camping, hiking, fishing, shopping and golfing. Plus, Michigan grows some of the best tasting, most flavorful fruit in all the world.

The 2009 apple season has begun with Paula Reds (nice for snacking and back-to-school lunches) and Ginger Golds (keep ‘em refrigerated for optimal crunchy-sweet goodness).

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring McIntosh, Galas, Jonagolds, Cortlands, Empires and Honeycrisp.  Mutsu (also known as Crispin), Golden Delicious, Northern Spy and Ida Red apples ripen in October.

Can’t make it to the orchards in person?  Keep an eye on our online store; We’ll begin apple gift box shipping later this month!

Tags: apple picking, apple shipping, honey crisp, honeycrisp, michigan apples, pick your own, usa today

Red Haven peaches

RED HAVEN PEACHES: Red Haven is the all-time favorite of peach lovers for both canning and eating fresh. They are freestone, which means that the fruit comes free from the stone when peeled. Other areas of the country may grow more peaches than we do, but Michigan peaches are renowned for their rich flavor and juiciness.

Market price 99 cents per pound; $15.00 per 1/2 bushel.
U-Pick $13.00 per 1/2 bushel.

We’re having a close-out sale on Garnet Beauty (semi-cling) peaches.  $8.00 per 1/2 bushel.

APRICOTS:
Market price $4.00 per quart; $9.00 per 1/2 peck; $15.00 for 10 pounds; $24.00 per lug
U-Pick price $1.25 per pound. Pick 20 pounds or more for $1.00 per pound.

NECTARINES:
Market price 99 cents per pound; $4.50 per ½ peck; $7.50 per peck; $15.00 per ½ bushel.
U-pick price $7.00 per peck, $13.00 per 1/2 bushel.

CUCUMBER SPECIAL:
$5.00 per 1/2 bushel for our delicious slicing cukes

Tags: canning peaches, michigan peaches, peach orchards, peaches, red haven peaches

Help! We’re being overrun by cucumbers!!!

If we can’t get to the phones, it’s because we can’t make it through the mountains of pickling and slicing cukes we’ve harvested from our gardens. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to plant 5 acres

Here’s what we’re offering this week:

Veggies: Now available at both markets: good quality slicing cukes (not too fat) and pickling cukes (sand-free). Our sweet corn is here: golden fresh and sweet. We also have lots of our own zucchini and summer squash in the market, plus amazing melons, juicy tomatoes and crisp, tasty peppers direct from Bay City.

Cherries: Last chance for delicious, fresh tart cherries. Get ‘em while you can, most likely through the middle of the week. If you absolutely can’t make it by then, you’re still in luck. We’re now offering frozen pitted tart cherries and sweet cherries as well. So many ways to enjoy this Northern Michigan favorite… What’s yours?

Peaches: Our Early Glo peaches are ready for picking. These are sweet and delicious; great for eating! Just a little while longer for the Red Haven canning peaches, which we’re expecting the last week of August.

Nectarines: They should be ready around the same time as the Red Havens. So far, it’s looking like the last week of August to enjoy these.

Apricots: The apricots are delicious and firm, still going strong. Come and U-Pick or find them ready to go at the market.

Blueberries: Direct from West Olive, we’re got luscious, plump blueberries-great for eating and making desserts.

Flowers: We have big, beautiful sunflowers available to U-Pick and in our market. We also have a plethora of statice: a bright, colorful way to brighten up your home or office.

Tags: apricots, Cherries, cherry orchard, cherry picking, Crop Updates & Orchard Talk, fresh cherries, fresh tart cherries, In the Markets, nectarines, peaches, pick your own, sweet corn, traverse city, u-pick, u-pick apricots, u-pick cherries, u-pick peaches

Dipping Day: From now through the weekend you will be able to come and scoop out as many tart cherries as you wish from our shaking tanks without having to pick them yourself! Only 85 cents/pound, same as U-Pick!

Fresh Pitted Tart Cherries/U-Pick: We will be having these through the weekend until the shaking is done. Give us a call and we will save you some (toll free 877-937-5464). However, you will be able to get frozen pitted tart cherries in the market through the winter.

Peaches: We have all been impatiently waiting for these and we finally got word from Jim that the Early Glo peaches will be ready this weekend! These are semi-cling, better for eating rather than canning. The Red Havens should be following a week or so after.

Nectarines: They should be ready in 2 weeks, but hopefully sooner!

Apricots: Apricots will be going strong throughout the weekend. They are beautiful and we have some amazing U-Pick at the market!

Veggies: We have our own pickling cukes. They are awesome, so get canning those pickles! We also have lots of our own zucchini in the market. Bay City has brought in some amazing sweet corn and melon. We should be getting our own sweet corn soon.

Now that Balaton Cherry season is here, we thought it would be fitting to post some great Balaton Cherry recipes (Montmorency cherries will work, too) for you to try.

Balaton cherries are an excellent choice for recipes calling for Morello cherries. These cherries are very popular in traditional Eastern European cooking. The Balaton is  somewhat firmer than the Montmorency cherry (the traditional pie cherry) and the juice and flesh are both darker. Their firmer texture and “sweet-tart” flavor makes them a favorite of gourmet chefs.

Let us know how they taste and please feel free to share any of your own recipes with us.  Thanks and enjoy!!

Freshly picked Montmorency cherries

Tart Cherries: U-pick has started on tart cherries. Pick-your-own tart cherries for 85 cents per pound. Pitting is a flat $6 charge. Pick $25 worth (2 buckets) and we’ll pit them free!

King Orchards Tubs O' Tarts

We’re also putting up lots of Tubs O’ Tarts (4 cups – perfect for a pie), and 10 pound bags of pitted tart cherries. We’ll have the 10 pound bags of fresh tart cherries in both stores on a first-come-first-serve basis, or you can pre-order by phone (toll-free at 1-877-937-5464).

Sweet Cherries: U-pick is still available through this weekend. There are plenty of beautiful, delicious cherries out there. It just requires some dedication and selectivity to find the gorgeous ones.