Summer Fruit Preservation @ Walt L. Shamel Garden

A group photo to close us out!

T’was the perfect summer day this past Saturday as we gathered for The Soul of Food’s 2nd session Gold & Rubies: Legacies of Fruit Preservation at The Walt L. Shamel Community Garden in Crown Heights. We had such a lovely turn out of folks to enjoy peak summer strawberries and blackberries as we transformed them into preserves and jelly.

We began the session with folks sharing their favorite summer fruits (a lot of love for watermelons, peaches, and strawberries). Then we got into the legacies of Edna Lewis and Abby Fisher who were foundational Black culinarians who understood both the practical value and beauty in preserving the bounty throughout growing season. The recipes that guided us for the day are ones that foodways facilitator Maya slightly adapted from Edna Lewis’s original ones in The Taste of Country Cooking and In Pursuit of Flavor: Blackberry Jelly and Wild Strawberry Preserves.

Folks gathered around the demo table to see up close the process of making blackberry jelly and strawberry preserves alongside tips for safe canning. Then we got into a collective jarring before trying the jelly, preserves, and spent blackberry mash (leftover from straining to get blackberry juice) on fresh bread from Saraghina Bakery. We wrapped up the day with a couple group photos before folks headed out with their jars!

Thanks to the garden, its members, and their day-of leaders Rodney and Debbie for being such gracious hosts to us; Diego for sharing background on the garden’s history; and gratitude to the Greenthumb crew for supporting with set-up and breakdown for the day.