Produce Briefs...
Sharlyn Melon
The Sharlyn melon has a cracked skin with tan and yellow-orange coloring. Superficially resembling an elongated Cantaloupe, the Sharlyn does not possess the sweet unctuous flavor of Cantaloupes, rather a more restrained balance of sweetness
Mache
Mache has been cultivated in France since the 17th century, and in France it is known as doucette. It is also known as "lamb's lettuce" because its leaves resemble the size and shape of a lamb's tongue.
Seasons/Availability
Loganberries are available in summer. You can sometimes find them at your local farmers market.
Current Facts
The loganberry, scientific name, Rubus × loganobaccus, is named after its creator, James Harvey Logan. It is an aggregate hybrid fruit that was cultivated from crossing a blackberry and a raspberry.
Description/Taste
The loganberry is a bramble berry that carries similar characteristics of its parent plants while maintaining its individual appeal by virtue of appearance and flavor. Fruits are produced from flowers that break away from individual stems, creating a fruit with no hollow center, similar to a blackberry. Upon ripeness, the result is a tender, elongated, yet plump, red wine colored, tart and bright berry with few seeds.
Applications
Loganberries are great for eaten fresh out of hand, canning, jamming and freezing. A sweet-tart cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, they're wonderful in scones and muffins, tarts and pies. Muddle into cocktails, or puree, strain out the seeds, and mix with sugar to freeze into a sorbet. Cook down into a sweet dessert sauce for pound cake, angel food or ice cream. To store, place unwashed and loosely covered berries in a single layer on a tray or platter lined with paper towels and refrigerate. Use within a few days for optimum quality. Freeze for longer storage.
Geography/History
Attorney and horticulturist, James H. Logan created the first cultivar of loganberries in 1881 in Santa Cruz, CA. Logan's intentions were to improve upon existing berry species, through natural cross-pollination of two raspberry varieties and a blackberry variety, the loganberry was borne. It was the very first hybrid created from a raspberry and blackberry. It grows both wild and in cultivation throughout the Pacific region of the United States and has been naturalized in both the UK and Tasmania, each region experiencing their own time of summer, allowing for multiple global seasons throughout the year. Even though the loganberry was created to make a fruit more superior than its origins, it does not have the commercial value of other its parent berries, primarily due to its acidic nature and its lack of shipping and storing qualities.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Logan Berries. One
is easiest, three is harder.| Gingerich Farms |
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Loganberry Lemon Bars |
| Wine Making Home Page |
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Loganberry Wine |
