Updated on Aug 28, 2023
Summer is perhaps synonymous with abundance in the fields, but autumn has just as much to offer. Let’s head out to find what you can pick when the leaves start turning red…
By Marie-Claude Masse
They’re exquisite in a pie and delicious in a crumble! Less popular than apples, pears can be served in many different recipes, such as in a sauce, or as butter, and they’re absolutely delicious added to leek soup. To pick them, you can go, among other places, to Roxton Pond at the Verger Jean-Pierre Bisson or in Compton at the Verger Ferland.
This sweet and acidulated fruit is, of course, delicious in jams, but would you believe us if we say that they are totally decadent in a clafoutis? To pick plums, you’ll be welcomed in Dunham at the Paradis des fruits and in Sherbrooke at the Ferme Bernier Roberge (where you’ll find five plum varieties!
What would autumn be without the classic apple picking season? We can find a panoply of sumptuous orchards in the Townships, but here are three that really stand out: Au cœur de la pomme, in Frelighsburg, along the Pike River, the Abbey Saint-Benoît-du-Lac with its beautiful environment counting approximately 3500 apple trees and the Verger le Gros Pierre, in Compton, a true family destination!
Gone are the days when we could only eat fresh strawberries in the summer! Today, autumn strawberries represent 54% of Quebec’s annual strawberry production! You can pick delicious ones in Shefford at the Fruitière des Cantons and in Sherbrooke at the Ferme St-Élie.
For over ten years now, a lot of work has been put into offering Quebec people a chance to eat autumn raspberries. And it’s paying off! You’ll find this delectable late fruit, in Paradis des fruits and Ferme St-Élie’s fields.
Who doesn’t love grapes? So why not pick them and transform them in a savoury chutney or jam? A true delight! Walking among the vines of the Ferme Sainte-Catherine in Sherbrooke or the Fruitière des Cantons as you’re harvesting succulent grapes? What a great idea!
Besides the classic Halloween jack-o-lantern, there are perhaps a thousand other ways to enjoy this gourd family member: soups, muffins, sweet or salty pies, cookies, gratins, curries, frittatas… And in the Townships many producers offer self-picking (La Ferme potagère, Plantations Stephan Perreault and many more).
Many farms welcome visitors in their fields to harvest the vegetables they grow there. The timing is perfect for making your provisions or for transforming the delightful produce you’ll have picked! Among those who offer self-picking, you can choose La Ferme potagère, the Ferme Wera and the Verger Champêtre.
Autumn has still so much to offer us! Don’t hesitate to read the rubric dedicated to self-picking on the web site of our accomplice at Créateurs de saveurs, and discover all the Townships farms offering self-picking activities during autumn!
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