STRAWBERRY SEASON IN FAYETTEVILLE: TIPS + TWO RECIPES

Today is officially "National Pick Strawberries Day!" This past weekend, anticipating that I could celebrate on my blog, Jonathan and I headed to Gillis Hill Farm Produce in Fayetteville, N.C. to pick local strawberries that we turned into jam and an amazing strawberry cheese cake!

Keep reading for strawberry picking tips

STRAWBERRY PICKING TIPS

1. Look for RIPE, red strawberries. Strawberries actually don't ripen more after they pick. If you pick a green or white one, you won't have an awesome red one later.
2. Keep an eye out for rotting spots. This farm was AMAZING and I didn't find one strawberry with rotten spots. However, if you find yourself around a lot of strawberries like this, you can always cut the spots out later.
3. Make sure you prepare before heading out to pick your strawberries. 

Strawberry season is in the summer. If you burn or get eaten alive by bugs, make sure you prep yourself with sunblock and bug spray.​​

THE BENEFITS OF LOCAL PRODUCE

Before I jump in to talking about the recipes, I wanted to tell you that shopping local has a ton of benefits and it is often much more affordable than people think. Here are my three main reasons why shopping local is the best option:

1: SUPPORTING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

First and foremost, you're supporting the local economy when you choose to shop local. This means that you're helping that family who works hard to run their family farm full time. 

In addition, shopping locally means that local companies buy from other local companies more. This keeps more of the money right here in my community rather than dispersing it to larger corporations that won't have a great financial impact on my community!

2: SOME LOCAL FOODS CAN HELP WITH ALLERGIES

I know Spring has Sprung, but seasonal allergies don't always stop at the end of spring. Eating locally raised foods can help you control your allergies, specifically local honey. If you're having local allergy issues, you can try adding honey from your area into your routine to help with your summertime sniffles!

3: HELPING THE PLANET

We all know that our planet is in a bit of trouble right now. However, shopping locally can really reduce impact on our globe when it comes to fuel use, plastic waste, and more. Obviously, if you shop local, you aren't having strawberries flown in from across the country. At Gillis Farm Produce, we were given a plastic bucket that we will reuse instead of manufactured plastic packaging. You see where I'm going!

STRAWBERRY JAM RECIPE

• 5 cups of mashed strawberries
• 7 cups of sugar
• 1 pack of Suregel Fruit Pectin
• Mason jars
• 1 tsp of butter or margarine

We picked about a gallon of strawberries and used maybe half of that for one batch of strawberry jam. This gave us about 12 really small mason jars and this container of strawberry jam, which is pretty large, for ourselves! I used to make strawberry jam with my mom every year, and we always used local strawberries. 

You're going to start my capping your strawberries, or cutting off the leafy bit at the top. After that, thoroughly wash your strawberries with water! Your strawberries should look like the photo to the right at this point. Now it is time for the fun part -- mashing the strawberries! This is an awesome time to get the kids involved.

BEFORE THAT THOUGH: I'm bolding this because it is important. You're going to want to soak your glass jars and the lids in simmering hot water until you're ready to seal your jars. This allows them to expand and adjust to the heat of the jam!

While you could throw the strawberries into a food processor or into the blender, I find this way to be much more fun and a great sensory experience for your kids. Add some strawberries to a gallon bag and let your kids squish the strawberries. This is perfect because you don't want the strawberry goo to be too finely crushed, because you'll want some pieces of strawberry in your jam.

You'll need to make five cups of this strawberry goo! I think I filled up the bottom of three bags and that ended up being enough for my jam!

On medium-high heat, bring your butter, fruit, and pectin to a rolling boil. After that, add in the sugar, stirring continuously. Bring it to a rolling boil again and boil the mixture for a minute before removing it from heat. 

At this point, carefully add your jam to the glass jars and add the lid and screw lid. Make sure to seal this tightly. Turn your jars upside down for 10 minutes, then turn them rightside up. You should hear "pings" over the next 30-ish minutes. This means that your jam is sealed and ready to be gifted.

​I'm giving jam to family members and coworkers!

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

This no-bake strawberry cheesecake was one of Jonathan's favorites that I've made!

You can find the recipe I used on JustSoTasty.com. However, I did change some things, so I wanted to let you know what those were. 

First of all, I totally used a pre-made graham cracker crust! Secondly, I didn't whip up my own cream, I just used whipped cream. Lastly, beacuse we don't really care (and I didn't have a way to do it) we left the seeds in the pureed strawberry mixture!

Even with these changes, the cheesecake is fluffy, delicious, and made with local strawberries!

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!

Today is "National Strawberry Picking Day," but you can celebrate any time this summer. Pack up the kids and take them out to your local strawberry patch.  Support local farms!

If you're in Fayetteville, I really adored the Gillis Hill Farm Produce patch. They had the longest rows of strawberries I've ever seen! If you go see them, let them know you read about me.

Also, make sure to sample their Strawberry Cider. We brought home two bottles of it!