Wild mini-apples on Cntk!

Wow!  I'm not sure if these would classify as mini-apples or mega-crabapples, but they are adorable and perfect -- no sign of insect issues.  Very edible raw on their own!  

Wild grapes at CMuseum! Yum!

Along the west field tree line.  Enjoyed a few as a snack while passing through.  Juicy and tasty, not bitter at all.

Wild grape jelly made!

TLDR:  IT WORKED!!!  It set great!  It's quite sweet, but works well as jam.  I don't really taste much grape though, so next time (ie next year) use a lot less water during the juicing part, so that the juice itself is less diluted.

Day 1:

Harvested 2.5 pounds of grapes from BH.

Put them into sink (stems/twigs and all) where covered them with water.  Swooshed them around.  Bad ones floated to the top.  Put the good ones into the big but low pot, with a bunch of water to almost cover them.  I think I put too much water, as my total at the end was more than it should have been for only 2.5 pounds of grapes (which was ~13 cups grapes with stems setc.)

Heated / simmered them while mashing them with the curvy potato mashes.  The juice quickly came out.  After ~10-12 minutes, stopped.

Let it cool a bit.

Then, used one of the mesh produce bags (with handles) to strain the juice out.  Did a few go's at this to make sure no seeds/twigs in the juice.

Put the juice into mason jars -- ~7 cups total.  Will refrigerate overnight, to see if that deals with the tartrate crystals issue (https://creativecanning.com/wild-grape-jelly and https://practicalselfreliance.com/grape-jelly/).

Day 2

Gently decanted the juice --- didn't really find any crystals I think, unless they were really mini as there was some sediment type of thing at the bottom but it didn't feel crystal-y.

4 cups juice + 4 cups sugar + 1 box Certo powdered pectin

Added 4 cups of juice and 1 box of powdered pectin (used Certo) to my big but short pot -- must use a big pot because it climbs up a lot when it gets boiling!  Stirred to dissolve the pectin and brought the mixture to a boil.

Allowed it to boil hard for one minute.

Then, added 4 cups sugar.

Brought it back to a boil.  Boiled hard for one minute.

Removed from heat and spooned it into jars.

I put some of the jars into the fridge right away, the rest on the counter for a bit.  They all set great!

Wild/riverbank grapes at BHM!!!

How did I never notice these before!  Huge amount of clusters -- one east of the raspberries, one on top of the hill west of that tree.

Tasted a few but didn't do an actual harvest yet.  Planning to try grape jelly and maybe also red wine vinegar substitute!

Wild apple harvest! BH on Nkpi!

I've gotten a few of the neighbourhood apples, which are nice and big and great -- but I found two ginormous apple trees up on Nkpi!

One tree is along the road -- its apples were mostly green.

The other is on the north edge of the school's park -- its apples were redder and stripey.

All of the apples were awesome!!  Not sour at all.  And even though the skins looked questionable, the insides were fabulous!

Delicious apple sauce!

Lots of blackberries at berry alley; a few last thimbleberries

Lots now, and looks like the harvest will be going on for a few more weeks, though this will probably be my one and only visit this year.

Wild plum tree has zero plums or any sign of plum!!!

Wow, I wonder why!  Last year, when I first found the tree at MF, it was so loaded, so many plums on the ground all over.  This year, absolutely zero sign of anything (flowers or plums, either on the tree or on the ground).  The tree looks puny and the leaves are full of holes.

Maybe just a bad year?  We'll see what next year brings.

Neighbourhood apples finally! First yesterday, two today (unlikely to be many more)

Didn't think I'd get any, but yesterday one, and today there were two nice big ones in mostly-good shape.  Not as sweet as last year, but still highly edible!

Wild plum tree! Found at MForest --> Update: Eat raw only!!

Very cool!  At first glance I thought crab apples, though they looked different.  They I wondered if cherry?  But then I clued in -- wild plum!  On the side trail to the garbage dump.

A bunch of ripe ones fell when shaking the tree gently.

The flesh is juicy and nice, but boy those skins are tart!

Not sure whether Prunus nigra, or Prunus Americana.

Some info and recipe ideas:

https://foragerchef.com/wild-plums/

https://curiousbynature.wordpress.com/tag/plum-recipes/

https://cookthismeal.com/recipe/1604-sandhill-plum-pie

UPDATED THE NEXT DAY:  Eat them raw only!!  By biting into them gently, sucking out the pulp, and spitting out the pit and peel.  I tried removing the peel two ways (one by boiling then dunking in ice water; the other by baking) -- both ways made the entire flesh horribly horribly bitter.  Whereas, they were very pleasant simply eating raw (minus the peel and pit).

Berry alley: Blackberries and thimbleberries in season

A good amount of blackberries and thimbleberries at berry alley.  Even one raspberry which was extremely delicious.  The blackberries look to be going for a few more weeks, though the thimbleberries might be near their end.  

Neighbourhood apples wormy so far

Collected 2 or 3 so far -- looked wormy from outside, were all rotten inside.  Discarded.  They were on the smaller side compared to last year, so, maybe later in the season...

Berry alley: Too early for blackberries and thimbleberries; raspberries ripe but not a ton

A few raspberries along the way to sample, but not enough to make it a destination for raspberries.  Maybe I was too late, and/or lack of rain the last few weeks, etc.

Looks to be lots of blackberries and thimbleberries on the way (definitely too early for them now).

Neighbourhood apple tree = best apples ever

Whoa!!  Amazing!  Huge, juicy, tasty, and so apple-smelling.  Pretty sure these are the best apples I have ever had!

Tons of delicious wild raspberries at CHM

So many!!  Especially on the east-west trail at the bottom of the lookout.

Few raspberries at berry alley, but many blackberries and thimbleberries on the way

The few raspberries I found were wonderfully ripe and flavourful.  Look to be a lot of blackberries and thimbleberries on the way (will be a while yet though).

Wild raspberries ripe behind BH mall

Might not be a lot this year given the drought, but the few I had today tasted juuuust fine.

Wild blackberries and thimbleberries at berry alley

Lots of ripe blackberries at berry alley. Lots more on the way too. Some thimbleberries, not a huge amount.

Thimbleberries in full harvest

Nice little harvest along the Bb creek trail, north side.

Wild raspberries in full glory at CHM

Very nice!  So many patches, such as along the west edge of the parking field, and various other spots throughout.

Apples at CM

Peak time for apples at CM! 

Many varieties/trees had already fallen to the ground, but many others will still loaded up in the trees.  I took almost exclusively from the trees, rather than the ground.  A lot in really nice shape!

Brought home a big bag, for apple sauce.

Next year, try going a few weeks earlier than this, to try to catch the earlier ones that had already fallen to the ground today.