September 15

Our table grapes have different ripening times. First the Himrods, a green seedless grape and then the red seedless, Canadice. Three years after planting, last year, the vines were old enough to bear fruit and the raccoons discovered them before I did.

I ordered the vines from a New York nursery. Imagine my unpleasant surprise when half the Canadice turned out to be Concords, a seeded variety that most people don't appreciate unless it's in jam, jellyor juice. Plus hardly any eater these days will put up with seeds in anything! Wink's heart warmed however since Concords were invented by a famous hometown son, Ephraim Bull of Concord MA.

This week we have Himrods for our CSA customers and some later-picked Canadice for the market. As I was bagging them I realized that these berries are not those designer grapes that spunk up fancy hors d'oeuvre trays. The berries are looser, smaller and early this summer the bunches suffered berry shatter – hot strong winds blowing in from the western deserts, so they look straggly. They are pretty tasty though.

Not so pretty grapes make pretty good raisins

I heard from an Old Timer that Himrods make good raisins, so I tried two techniques: a regular drier and a car parked in the sun. The car was much harder to regulate and I lacked the time to monitor closely. But the drier worked fine and the finished golden raisins have intense sweetness and flavor.

The Concords should be ready in a couple of weeks (photo on the left). We took the additional time and trouble to encase the row in birdnetting to keep out the predators so I hope I can interest some cooks in jam, jelly or juice-making! Pick up your Pamona's Universal Pectin now and reserve your grapes now!

Canners special, $25 for a box of #2 peaches continues for another week!! Crest Havens available also.

We are sorry to say that we are out of cherry preserves and ginger peach butter. Our commercial kitchen has been taken over by the Culinary School of the Rockies and students who are working on local farms to learn about the food they prepare. Tonight they're preparing a big feast for folks in the valley.

We have reserved the kitchen for August 22nd and will have more next week. See you at the market!

All the best, Max & Wink.