North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mike Levine" <mlevine@umich.edu>]

Bumper crop of serviceberries this year!
We picked 10 lbs today and ran them through the squeezo.  Amazing how it
gels right after it comes out.  Last time we made jam with it (2 years ago)
and it turned out very well with no sugar and no added pectin.
Surprisingly, it did not gel very well once it was canned.  Can anyone
explain why it would gel at first, but not later after it is canned?

Also, any RECIPES or IDEAS for what to do with 10 lbs of squeezed
serviceberries?  I'm thinking about mixing with red currant juice for
tartness, strawberries (b/c we have lots), tart cherries (b/c we have lots),
or maybe some of last years frozen black raspberries (a treasure, but it
seems like it's time to use them up since they are coming in fast).

It seems like they need a little more tartness and a little more sweetness
for my taste so maybe mixing them will be good.

If anyone needs some seed from them, I've got a ton now.  I think most are
probably alnifolia or laevis, but there is also some grandiflora in there
too.  If not, I'll just start a fence row of them with the seed and start my
breeding experiment.

Mike Levine
Ann Arbor, MI