Q and A: Highbush cranberries and butchering a goat
Highbush cranberries
Have you ever experimented with ‘Highbush’ cranberries? I have several of these large shrubs in my yard and every autumn, they are loaded with gorgeous clusters of berries. Even though they don’t smell very nice, there must be some use for this fruit other than feeding the birds. If they are high in pectin, perhaps they could be used for thickening jams, etc.? Thank you in advance for any ideas you might have.
Also, Congratulations on the birth of your new granddaughter. She’s a lucky little girl to have you for her grandma.
Julie C.
Bay City, Michigan
We have highbush cranberries growing wild around here. YES! I make lots of great tasting, pretty red jelly from these berries. I know they don’t smell the best, but the jelly does not keep that smell. My grandmother dumped a big batch she’d picked because she said they smelled like cat pee! (Not THAT bad, though, in my opinion.) I just use the “berry” recipe for jelly: 3½ cups juice, 5 cups sugar, 1 pkg. powdered pectin. Highbush cranberries make a very tasty and pretty red jelly.
We’re really enjoying our new granddaughter! Such a pretty, tiny thing! And she’s SO good, too. — Jackie
Butchering a goat
When butchering a goat do you let it hang for while like you do a beef, for how long, and does it really make a difference in the taste?
Shawn and Karen Moore
Ada, Ohio
No, you don’t have to hang a goat to age after butchering. The taste is fine, as is, and you can get right to processing. Goat meat is very seldom tough, so it doesn’t have to age to become tender. — Jackie
