Berries!

July 11, 2025





Hello there—and phew! We’ve made it to the other side of picking 17 pounds of berries and processing them all. We spread the work out over three days, and now it feels like we have jars and pies full of summer gold to enjoy all year long. If you're local, we picked at Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, nestled in Santa Cruz County. It was a peaceful morning spent gathering olallieberries and boysenberries, which we turned into pies, jam, and even frozen lollies. I’m sharing my recipes below, so come on in and get inspired!




Boysenberry Jam: While picking, I often found myself with a row to myself, but whenever I heard someone picking nearby, I’d ask, “What are you going to do with your berries?” Almost everyone answered, “Jam.” Then I’d follow up with, “What recipe?” and all said they use the berry jam recipe on the leaflet inside the box of Certo Liquid Pectin. Me too! I’ve been using that recipe for years, and my one big recommendation is to follow the instructions exactly—don’t alter the sugar amount or double the recipe, or you risk the jam not setting properly. I learned that the hard way! Over three days, I made three batches and now we have 24 jars of jam to last us the whole year. My husband is absolutely in heaven. By the way, Amazon had the best price on liquid Certo that I could find.


I was gifted a batch of mulberries and used the same recipe to make jam with them. We plan to serve the mulberry jam with manchego cheese as an appetizer—it has a fig-like flavor that pairs beautifully with savory bites. While we prefer the boysenberry jam for morning toast, the mulberry version feels a bit more sophisticated and might be perfect for a jam tart. I’ll give that a try soon and report back. My grandson helped me label the jars and got creative with the spelling—his version makes me smile.




Frozen Lollies: I passionately loathe and despise those overly sugary, artificially flavored popsicles—thank goodness my grandson prefers the homemade kind! These fruity lollies are healthier, taste better, and are incredibly easy to make. This isn’t so much a strict recipe as it is a guideline. In my trusty Magic Bullet (currently on sale!), I blend about 1 to 1½ cups of fresh fruit. For an optional flavor boost, I’ll add a splash of lime syrup (recipe below), a bit of lemon or lime juice, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Then I add 1 cup of plain yogurt and give it all a quick whirl. Taste the mixture, and if it needs more sweetness, add a touch of honey or maple syrup. We’ve honestly never made a batch we didn’t love. Just pour the mixture into frozen treat molds (also currently on sale), pop them in the freezer, and enjoy a fun treat—without the chemicals.

Lime or Lemon syrup: When our limes are in season I squeeze them and freeze in 1 cup containers. To make lime or lemon syrup, dissolve one cup sugar into one cup boiling water. Let cool. Stir in one cup lime juice. This syrup lasts for several weeks refrigerated. Here I'm using a recycled glass cream bottle topped with this bottle cap. The lime syrup is good for making limeaid, flavoring iced tea, and nice for alcoholic drinks as well.


Flash Freeze Berries: Don't wash! Spread out onto a rimmed baking sheet and put in freezer for a few hours until rock hard. Scoop them up and place in a freezer bag. To use, take out your required amount and rinse in a strainer. While not best for fresh eating, they are perfect for smoothies, frozen lollies and baking your favorite berry treat.


My husband's favorite dessert—without question—is a berry pie, especially blackberry, boysenberry, or olallieberry. This year, we picked mostly boysenberries because, of the three varieties available at the farm, they looked and tasted the best. In past years, I’d make four 9-inch pies: one to bake right away and three to freeze. But since it’s just the two of us, a full-size pie can be a bit much to get through. So this year, I decided to make smaller 7-inch pies and treated myself to a set of six white ceramic pie plates. They’re perfect—and they make the cutest pies! Each one yields five to six petite slices, just right for this Goldilocks and her husband. I know I’ll find plenty of other uses for them too; I’m already thinking they’ll be the perfect size for individual chicken pot pies, with built-in leftovers for the next day.

Pies and pie crusts are surprisingly easy to make, and in my experience, the simplest recipes are the best—so please don’t be intimidated. I made seven pies in a very short time using the most basic crust recipe and a food processor. It’s fast and practically foolproof as long as you work quickly, keep your ingredients cold, and don’t over-process. This is a great tutorial. I alternate between using all butter or half butter and half shortening. Shortening is said to make a more tender, flaky crust, while butter adds unbeatable flavor—both versions work beautifully, so feel free to experiment. 

For the berry filling, I use a ratio similar to this classic recipe, with one change: I substitute the ½ cup of flour with ¼ cup of instant tapioca as the thickener. It works like a charm and lets the berry flavor shine through.

I flash freeze the unbaked pies until rock hard, then double wrap in saran wrap and freezer paper and then finally put into a freezer bag. They will last for 6-8 months if wrapped properly. To bake a frozen pie, place frozen pie into a 425 F preheated oven for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 375 and continue to bake for another 45 minutes or until the filling is bubbling out of the vents and the crust is golden brown. Make sure you place the pie on a foil lined tray to catch any spills for easy clean up. The hot pie should be allowed to cool before cutting to set the filling. 

 

Many counties have a you-pick farm nearby, and I hope you can find one close to you. It makes for a fun day out, and if you spread the kitchen work over a few days, the whole experience becomes even more enjoyable and relaxed.

I hope your weekend is shaping up to be sunny and bright, and that you get to squeeze in plenty of knitting time! Until next time,
xoxo,
Kristen

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Kristen Rettig

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3 Comments

  1. CaroleJuly 11, 2025 at 2:03 PM

    You are like a machine! The jams and pies make my mouth drool.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 12, 2025 at 9:01 AM

    Inspiring as always. Your blog is a treat!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 13, 2025 at 3:04 AM

    Amen to that!

    ReplyDelete

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