Service berries (aka June berries) appear to be on schedule. They taste like blueberries. Very edible. They will be ripe in two to three weeks. [photo]
Fifth & Washington
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Last year was a bad one for Juneberries. I’m hoping to make jam this year. We keep our small stash for very special occasions.
All signs point to a really great year for berries. I hope it stays that way! I mostly freeze them for use in oatmeal and cornbread.
Arborwiki has a Juneberry page [link] with a reasonable list of street trees in the downtown area.
* By the old YMCA parking lot on William Street
* near where the Ann Arbor Observer used to be on Detroit Street by the Farmers Market
* by the Bank of Ann Arbor downtown branch on Fifth Avenue
* next to the Undergraduate Library
* by the Brown Block parking lot on Washington Street
I declare… berries in cornbread? I guess its not a typo as a quick search on the internet reveals that this is no fluke; there is picture after picture of cakes piled high with all kinds of fruit. There are even recipes so you can try it too.
I don’t know though. When I conjure accompaniments for cornbread fruit never comes to mind. Jalapenos yes. Onions, yes. Mushrooms, green beans, garlic, yes. Cheese, yes. Berries no. But, hey, I could be in the minority on this one. Its just during 18 years south of the Mason-Dixon, where I learned to make and enjoy cornbread, I don’t ever remember anyone putting fruit in their cornbread. Maybe that has changed.
So I have to ask, is that cornbread made with bacon fat?
My cornbread recipe uses fresh ground corn and whole wheat. It also includes yogurt. No bacon fat. I’ve had rave reviews when I use red raspberries, black raspberries, blueberries, and service berries. So it all seems normal and also very tasty to me. I have the healthy vegetarian version.
Here it is:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Combine 1 cup corn flour (freshly ground is best), 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt.
In a separate bowl combine 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 egg, and 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey.
Grease a well seasoned cast iron pan (about 8-9 inches in diameter) with butter or olive oil.
Quickly combine wet and dry ingredients and 1 cup berries (optional). Do not over mix. The batter should be thick, but easily spreadable.
Use a spatula to get the batter into the cast iron pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Best served hot.
Linda Diane
Thanks for the info. Mine is similar excepting for the savoy bent. I also don’t use any whole wheat flour; just cornmeal. I also use yogurt or sour cream as well as fresh corn. And then I dump in whatever veggies I have handy, lightly cooked and seasoned first. I top it all with cheddar or parmesan and I bake.
A difference though is I don’t grease the pan. I do put oil in the batter and I heat a well seasoned, but dry, cast iron pan to very hot and then I pour the batter into the hot pan. It gives you a crunchy bottom. I like the crunch.
I’ll admit to a certain horrified fascination with these revelations. As a transplanted Southerner, I look askance even at the addition of jalapenos, fresh corn, or cheese. And my cornbread isn’t pure enough for the real Southerners, because I do put wheat flour and some sugar into it. But bacon fat? Definitely.
What is a savoy bent?
“What is a savoy bent?” – A typo. D & M’s system did not alert me to ‘savoy’ due to the place. The word I wanted was savory.
And don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that my cornbread is traditional Southern cornbread. As with Linda Diane, its what I like. Its just I had never considered going the sweet route. Also I am sensitive because many somewhat savory things of my youth have been getting sweeter and sweeter. Cheesecake. Where I grew up it was a crime, to some, to put fruit on them. Bagels. They were all savory except they might have some cinnamon raisin bagels for the kids who would not eat lox. Even Pizza has gotten so sweet (the tomato kind).
And yes I have had my share of Southern cornbread with sugar and no wheat flour. Just thinking about it conjures up the gag reflex as I can feel the bone-dry cornbread flaking mercilessly down my throat. It was like eating sand. Hence my departure from traditional cornbread. The oil, yogurt and veggies makes it moist. And the jalapenos were stolen from SW recipes.
Oh and Linda Diane, my recipe is vegetarian also; I just know that bacon fat is traditional in the south.
Clearly, you have never made a meal of turnip greens and cornbread. Or pinto beans, ditto. It’s the pot likker. My (mother’s) cornbread is not corn pone and is moderately moist, just unadulterated (except with a little sugar and some wheat flour). A friend visiting my house for lunch when I was a teenager said, “You could put sugar on it and call it cake.” I only figured out later that this was not a compliment.