Baking & Cooking Favourites

History: Carmine Jewel is one of several dwarf sour cherry shrubs developed at the University of Saskatchewan in an effort to combine cold hardiness, dwarf stature, and good quality fruit into one variety. This effort was started by Dr. Kerr (for whom Kerr applecrabs were named) in the 1940s and Carmine Jewel was released in 1999. It is considered the hardiest of the cherries they developed. Carmine Jewel cherries are now the most commonly grown commercial cherries in the prairies.

Why We Grow It: Carmine Jewel is a notably productive cultivar with small cherries that have a high flesh-to-pit ratio. Thanks to their firm flesh, they are a preferred variety for freezing and drying. The shrub is on the smaller size, reaching 6-7ft once mature, great for anyone who loves cherries but doesn't have a lot of space! 

Species: Vaccinium corymbosum

History: Chandler higbush blueberry was introduced in 1995. It originated in Corvallis, Oregon where it was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service agency's (USDA-ARS) Blueberry Breeding Program.

Why We Grow It: Chandler produces the largest blueberries in the commercial industry, and plenty of them! They are sweet and juicy despite their size and can be harvested over a long period of time. Blueberries are great for baking, for example Steph made some wonderful black currant and blueberry tarts that are pictured here!

Species: Rubus sp

History: Chester Thornless was created and released as a collaboration between the Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Station, and Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station. It was first bred in Illinois in 1968 and was selected for its thornless nature and cold hardiness. It was later released in 1985.

Why We Grow It: Chester Thornless is easy to grow and rewarding. It produces a reliable bounty of firm, sweet, juicy blackberries that are great for a wide variety of uses.

Pictured on the left: top: Chester, bottom: Illini Hardy

History: Chestnut crabapples were bred at the University of Minnesota in 1949. They are one of about thirty varieties that have been produced by the university's breeding program since it started in 1888. 

Why We Grow It: The rosy-red Chestnut crabapple produces fruit that is unusually large for a crabapple with a nutty taste. Unlike other crabapples, it is sweet enough to eat fresh and can be used in cider while still being good for traditional crabapple recipes such as making jellies. 

Species: Helianthus tuberosus, Sunchokes are also known as Jerusalem Artichokes or J Chokes

History: Little is known about the origins of Clearwater aside from the fact that it originated in Maine, possibly as a wild plant found in 1988.

Why We Grow It: Clearwater produces smooth, white tubers with a mild flavour that some say borders on sweet. This is a productive variety and the smoothness of the tubers generally makes them easier to clean. Sunchokes can be prepared and eaten in much the same way potatoes can, making them a very versatile food. 

Species: Prunus pumila var. besseyi (Western sandcherry) x P. salicina (Japanese Plum)

History: Convoy was released by Boughen Nurseries in Manitoba in 1941. Like other chums, it was bred to produce a fruit with the hardiness of the western sandcherry but the fruit quality of a Japanese plum. Convoy was likely selected for being sweeter than most other chums. 

Why We Grow It: Always on the lookout for unique trees, we are happy to offer chums! Convoy is a hardy shrub that produces a clingstone red fruit with yellow flesh. It has a mild sweet flavour that is good for fresh eating but it can also be used for baking, preserving, and canning. The shrub is generally resistant to plum diseases.

History: Cooke's Jumbo originated as a random mutation of an existing quince variety in an orchard in Dinuba, California. It was brought to the attention of the L.E. Cooke Company, for which it was later named, and introduced commercially in 1972.

Why We Grow It: The fruit produced by Cooke’s Jumbo are exceptionally large with greenish-yellow skin and firm white flesh. They are not generally eaten raw, but rather used for baking, jellies, or candied. This is one of the hardiest varieties of quince available.

Species: Prunus persica

History: These seedlings are grown from Coralstar seeds collected from mother trees growing in Ontario. Coralstar was developed through the Fruit Acres Stellar Peach Breeding Program.

Why We Grow It: Seedling fruit trees are a great way to add some diversity and mystery to your garden or orchard! We expect that seedling peaches will be even hardier trees than their parents! The parent variety, Coralstar, is hardy and great for fresh eating and canning.

Please Note: Since peaches tend to stay true to type more than apples, these seedlings will likely bear a strong resemblance to their parent variety. However, any specific information listed on this page should be taken with a grain of salt as there may be some variation from the parent tree.

Species: Helianthus tuberosus, Sunchokes are also known as Jerusalem Artichokes or J Chokes

History: Corlis Bolton Haynes discovered a wild sunchoke growing on the farm her parents purchased in 1925 and then spent over sixty years selectively planting the biggest and smoothest tubers in order to improve on the plant. Corlis sadly passed away in 2003 but her family maintains the tradition of only replanting the biggest and best tubers. 

Why We Grow It: This variety produces large, white, knobby tubers that like a potato can be prepared and eaten in a variety of ways! This variety is quite productive and the tall plants can be used as a temporary windbreak and/or privacy screen.

Species: Cornus mas

History: Cornelian Cherry (aka Cornel) is a dogwood species native to parts of Europe and Asia. The berries were traditionally used mainly in cooking and to make jams and alcohol and have also been used in traditional Chinese medicine along with the leaves. The wood is quite dense (it sinks in water!) and has been used to make tool handles, machine parts, weapons in Ancient Greece, and the sticks traditionally carried by the mounted herdsman in the Maremma region. In the UK there was some interest in its use as a garden plant starting in the mid 1500s but interest has mainly grown in the last century or so. 

Why We Grow It: A novelty among the dogwoods, Cornelian Cherries produce small, red fruits that resemble cherries. The acidic fruit can be eaten fresh when they're quite ripe but are primarily used for cooking and preserves, similar to cranberries. They are also attractive ornamental plants, producing clusters of bright yellow flowers very early in the season.