Golden Acres Ranch

Wow, the crew is terrific!  We've put 20 bags of mayhaws in the freezer and it is not 6:00 PM yet.  They're still out there shaking trees.  Our new supper secret gathering method is working especially well. You have to come out Saturday, May 15, to see how it's done.

We used our new gathering method on Sunday afternoon and added 8 bags of berries to our freezer.  They need to be washed one last time then will be ready for the pot to make the juice that is used to make the jelly.  I'm finding that the 4 pound package of berries net 12 jars of the jelly.  I don't water it down or add store bought apple juice. 

Thankfully every tree is not ripening at the same time.  We are able to pick those with ripe berries, shake them into our containment booms, gather into buckets and then take them to the drying area.  There are a couple of high powered fans that dry the newly harvested berry and blow away most of the light debris.  We pick through for sticks and such then bag them.  I prefer to freeze them immediately to keep them fresh for cooking.  The berries can  breakdown quickly in the frig since they came out of water.

We'll have additional folks here to gather starting Tuesday.  I hope to have a full freezer by Saturday.

Fred and I spent most of Saturday gathering mayhaws.  A friend arrived about 3:00 PM and with his help we really increased our capture rate.  We circle a tree, David (big strong guy) shakes the limbs and  the berries come falling on our heads.  It sounds like rain on a tin roof when they hit the water.   I don't care how well we position buckets the berries never fall in them.  David said he remembers back in 2007 when one red berry actually fell in his bucket.  Anyway, after that tall tale, we skimmed the water and harvested the newly fallen crop.  They float beautifully fresh off the tree.

We now have 10 - 4 pound bags ready for sale only 90 more to go to reach my goal for this year.   I have been making test recipes of jelly with the berries collected just for me.    Monday, I'll head to the commisary kitchen to make batches for sale.  Christine, our oldest daughter, has designed a beautiful label for our jars.  She can do stuff like that in minutes while it takes me hours or even days.  Of course, she does this professionally and has the talent and right tools

Pablo and I did a good shake on one tree yesterday afternoon.  Nice batch of berries dropped and we recovered about 10 pounds off this tree.  Many more unripe berries still on it.  174 more trees to go over the next 10 to 14 days.  I'm still making my test jelly recipes. 

We didn't see the snakes but we stayed away from that tree.  We'll go out again later this afternoon. 

Pablo and I went into the pond and gathered two gallons of mayhaws yesterday afternoon.  Our highlight of the day was seeing the two water snakes basking in the sun on one of the trees laying ingthe water.  No they were not Moccasin!  I did get bitten by ticks last week.  They are scarier than snakes.  

The trees are heavy with the berries but need a couple more warm days and some Florida sunshine. 

I have tested a couple of batches of Mayhaw Jelly with my secret recipe.  Golden Acres Ranch jelly will have all natural or organic products and made right here in Jefferson County at a local commisary kitchen.  How can something so sweet still be tart to the taste?  It is that wonderful berry. 

I'm making my test batch of Mayhaw Jelly this morning from yesterday's harvest.  We only collected about a gallon and a half.  My recipe says to use 1/4 unripe berries in the batch to increase the pectin in the jelly.  The blossom end, stem, skin and core all help increase the natural pectin, which makes the jelly gel.  The recipe does say to remove sticks and bugs so I did that. 

Well, it 70.1 degrees F this morning and it rained 2 1/2 inches yesterday.  The pond is really full now.  We put on our waders and bug spray and walked (stumbled around) the entire pond to see how close it is getting to full scale harvesting.  Looks like another day or two.  I'm going out about 3:00 PM to look around again. 

Sounds like a beautiful day at the lake tomorrow.

 Several points of interest

    * Deep Roots Meats - Grass-fed Beef out of Madison/Greenville area will be there if all goes well.  Their email is "Troy Platt" <deeprootsmeat@yahoo.com>.

    * We'll have the Moroccan Sausage and some other sausages.    Cuts available:   Rib Chops, Ground, Shoulder,  Stew Bone-In and Boneless, and Organs.

    * This week's Lamb order cannot be picked up from the processor until Thursday afternoon so I still don't have some of the more popular cuts just yet.  I will be at the Downtown MarketPlace on Saturday.  Email me if you want something special.  

    * I'm told there was an article in USA Today stating there is a shortage of goat.  I'm finding that true in this area.  I receive many calls for the live goat and have referred them to most of my fellow ranchers.   They are telling me everyone is out.   Mine are not big enough to process so it may be a couple of months before they grow to the proper size.   Still have a few nice cuts but not many.

Regards to all,

Bobbie

Golden Acres Ranch set up shop at the 42nd Annual Springtime Tallahassee last Saturday. It was a fun day and Ken is super talking to the folks.  Hanna cooks the samples and does a great job.  Val helped too.  Colter helped load up at the end of the day.

We have started offering our products at the weekly Tallahasse Downtown Marketplace on Saturdays which Ken will be handling. We are still going to Lake Ella pretty regularly, too.

Johnston's Meat Locker is manufacturing goat and lamb sausage using our product.  It is marketed under their label and we sell them the USDA inspected goat and lamb.   I have a special lamb recipe with middle eastern spices.  Small amounts have been made so far to test its acceptance.  It is a big hit and selling out quickly. You can buy the live goat or lamb and Johnston's will custom process it for you. They do an outstanding job. They also have a great source of Grass Fed Beef now. 

Johnston's is a great support for us and our "Commissary Kitchen" (required by Food Safety).   I will use them to make the Mayhaw Jelly this year.

Last Monday I went to the USDA producers to have lamb roast processed for the Easter Holiday. I actually did the meat cutting and wrapping and has a much better understanding of the different cuts and the value of various pieces.

Lots happening now that the rain has stopped and Spring has arrived.

The newest little mixed breed goat kids will be weaned and are going to a new home March 1, 2010, as treasured pets for a couple living in the Panhandle of Florida.  The kids job will be to browse and clear a patch of their pasture.  Hmmm, that's good eating!  They will also be required to frolic and play for the joy and entertainment their new owners.

Two of the puppies are now with their new owners.  One will be a 'guardian' dog for goats.  The other will be an outside pet with the responsibility of keeping watch over the property for their owners   We expect to keep one of the little girls for our own use to keep the fox away from the chickens.  So that means, just two to go.

Well, we had to make the decision to stop going to Fernandina Beach Farmers Market with our Lamb and Goat product.  Sad for me.  It is such a great place and well run. Kudos to Jan Smith the woman that runs it.The distance is just too much for us even though we only went occasionally.  We are making a more serious commitment on the local level by going to Lake Ella in Tallahassee every Wednesday.  We're also looking into Saturday markets in Tallahassee.  There are two.  We have to choose which will be best for us then apply and be approved.

We are receiving orders and shipping around the state now.  Our first two orders went out this week and arrived at the destination in less than 24 hours.  We also delivered an order to someone inTallahassee on Wednesday while on our way to Lake Ella.  He was nice enough to email me and say how great his first meal was using the lamb kabobs in a specialty dish.  I wonder if he would share the recipe. I'll share it if it okay with him. We added a Recipes page to the website.