I thought I’d do a little follow up fruit picking post from a few weeks ago when my whole family headed down for a wonderful day out in Maclaren Vale. We spent a few hours picking a couple of HUGE buckets of delicious, fresh apricots, plums and nectarines.
In the weeks that have followed we have become hooked on fresh stone fruit, and eaten our way through about 30kg now! The original 15kg or so were eaten fresh or stewed into delicious stewed apricots (no added sugar – just halved the apricots and put them in a suacepan with a few tablespoons of water for 1 & 1/2 hours until soft!). We had plenty of takers to help us get rid of those as well – with people making them into apricot pie, apricot slice and having them with greek yoghurt for an awesome snack.
In the weeks since we polished off the first hand picked batch, we have been back to pick more once and then picked up a few extra kilos at the central markets too. There aren’t too many apricots left around now, but you can still pick up some perfectly fine (some have tiny scratches or marks) apricots for only $4/kilo which is great for cooking with I think! Peaches and nectarines are even cheaper and still make awesome muffins, stewed fruit and other snacks! We have also had a great, fresh apricot chicken meal with brown rice, plus I tried my hand at this great Apricot and Almond Slice.
Today I heard that blackberry season is in full swing in the Adelaide Hills too so I know what I’ll be doing in the next week or so… (just a reminder to be careful as many blackberries are sprayed with poison so only pick the fruit you know hasn’t been sprayed!). Anyway, I’m off now as I’ve got another pan of apricots stewing away… hope you’re enjoying all the fresh local fruit too! 🙂
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Fruit just tastes better when you’ve picked it yourself, doesn’t it? Thankfully there are heaps of places across Adelaide where you can take the whole family and pick to your hearts content. Whether it’s strawberries, blueberries, citrus, apples, figs, we have found the best spots to trick your kids into a bit of exercise, fresh air and healthy eating all rolled into a fun, family day out! Bear in mind that all of the below picking spots have different fruit ripening times and different PYO opening times depending on the season and the rest of their business, so make sure you check their website or socials before you head off. Happy picking!
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With Autumn comes many beautiful spots in Adelaide to go apple picking! Places such as PYO @Lenswood or Harrisville Orchards throw their gates open for families to come and pick their own apples - there really is nothing like a fresh crunchy apple right off the tree! If you're anything like us when you go fruit picking though, you often get over enthusiastic and end up with more than you can eat. Luckily, Cook n Create has come to the rescue with some great recipes to use up your surplus apples. Give these recipes a go and tag us in your photos of the finished products!
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Cherry picking... not as you know it! There is a new Adelaide Hills spot for pick your own cherries and we couldn't be more thrilled! @Birdwood PYO Cherries is brought to you by the same family who run @Lenswood PYO Apples and just like they have shaken up the apple picking scene in South Australia, they are bringing their unique twist to cherry picking in December. Let's go! You'll find @Birdwood PYO minutes away from The Big Rocking Horse and National Motor Museum in Birdwood on a flat and shady orchard in the majestic gum country of the Adelaide Hills. So you really can make a day of it! That is if you can tear yourself away from all the fun @Birdwood PYO has onsite - that's right, it's not just cherry picking! Just like their apple picking at @Lenswood PYO, when you go cherry picking there is no need to pick and run. Stay and play with the giant games for the kids (and big kids!!) and grab a coffee and ice cream from their onsite cafe. There are also toilets onsite and ample carparking, plus plenty of picturesque places to sit and relax making it a real destination…
