Ryder Farm
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The grounds of this organic farm are loaded with wild foods, and on my second tour of this beautiful locale we could be finding anything.
Fruit and berries are spectacular at this time of year. Wineberries will be at their peak. These Asian raspberries, which are easy to collect in quantity, are much more flavorful than their wimpy commercial counterparts. |
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These juicy, sweet-and-sour berries are in season from mid-July to mid-August, and they grow in abundance in thickets throughout the northeast. |
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Blackberries are just coming into season. One of the most flavorful is the dewberry, an early-season species that trails the ground. We may also get the first elderberries of the summer. They're not sweet, and they must be cooked, but they're great, sweetened, in pancakes, muffins, and breads. Black cherries will also be in season. These native bittersweet fruits, with the flavors of cherry and grapefruit, are great raw, and superb cooked with a thickener and sweetener in all the standard puréed fruit desserts. Plenty of herbs and greens are in season all summer. On this tour, we'll be looking for lamb's-quarters, purslane, wood sorrel, sheep sorrel, poor man's pepper, burdock, sassafras, jewelweed, and Asiatic dayflower, among others. |
| With lots of rain and a bit of luck, we could find gourmet mushroom species such as chicken mushrooms, chanterelles, boletes, and russulas. |
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The 30-minute talk followed by a 60-minute walking tour begins at 10 AM, Tuesday, July 21, at Ryder Farm, 400 Starr Ridge Rd. in Brewster, NY. The suggested donation is $15/adult, $10/child under 12.
Call (914) 835-2153 at least 24 hours ahead to reserve a place. |
