Hello from Leelanau!
August has arrived, and I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks in northern Michigan with Steve and his family. Summer in Leelanau is pretty special. The days are warm without being unbearably hot, the cherry orchards are overflowing, and every evening seems to end with another beautiful sunset over the lakes. Between good food, scenic drives around the peninsula, and long evenings by the water, it's been a wonderful way to ease into August.
August is also the month when I suddenly feel like turning every piece of fruit I come across into jam.
A few days ago, I made cherry jam using tart cherries. Sweet cherries are delicious for snacking, but for jam I think they become too sweet without really tasting much like cherries. Tart cherries have more acidity and a much deeper flavor, which works so much better once the sugar is added.
Traverse City, the larger town nearby, is known as the Cherry Capital of the World, and once you’ve driven past mile after mile of cherry orchards, it’s easy to understand why.
Peach season has just begun, so I have a feeling peach jam might be next. Later this month, when I’m back in Denmark, the yellow cherry plums should be ready too. If you’re curious about making your own, I already have a recipe for yellow cherry plum jam on the blog:
My recipe for yellow cherry plum jam
I usually use somewhere between three-quarters and equal parts sugar to fruit, depending on how sweet the fruit is and how sweet I want the finished jam. Cherries and peaches are both fairly low in natural pectin, so they often benefit from a little added pectin or some lemon juice and zest. Back in Denmark, I usually use gelling sugar, which already contains pectin. It’s easy to work with, and I know the jam will end up with just the right consistency.
If you’re making a small batch that’s going straight into the refrigerator and will be eaten within a week or two, there’s no need to overcomplicate things. If you want to store your jars at room temperature for longer, proper canning becomes important. The jars need to be processed in a boiling water bath, and once they’ve cooled, you’ll want to make sure every lid has sealed correctly. More about that another time.
My Leelanau favorites
Fudge from Murdick’s in Suttons Bay
Murdick’s is one of northern Michigan’s best-known fudge makers, and the shop in Suttons Bay has plenty of flavors to choose from. They’re also very generous with the samples, which makes choosing even harder.
If you ask me, the Turtle fudge is the one to get. Turtle is a classic American combination of chocolate, caramel, and pecans. The name originally came from small chocolate candies topped with caramel and pecans that, with a little imagination, looked like turtles. Rich, buttery, and completely irresistible.
Cherries
Then there are the cherries.
At this time of year, they’re everywhere: roadside farm stands, farmers markets, and grocery stores are packed with fresh cherries, pies, juice, jam, dried cherries, and all kinds of cherry treats.
One of my favorite souvenirs from this part of Michigan is chocolate-covered dried cherries. The dark chocolate ones are especially good.
Whitefish
Just as we use the term hvid fisk (“white fish”) in Denmark as a general term for fish with white meat, Americans also use white fish as a general term. To make things a little more confusing, lake whitefish is also the name of a specific species native to the Great Lakes.
Lake whitefish has been an important food fish in this region for generations and remains a key part of the commercial fishery on the Great Lakes today.
The flavor is mild without being bland, and the meat is moist and a little richer than many other kinds of white fish. Steve makes a really good oven-roasted version. The trick is not to overcook it. Take it out at just the right moment, and it stays juicy, flakes apart beautifully, and tastes absolutely delicious.
Sunsets
And finally, the sunsets.
We’ve been lucky enough to catch some really spectacular ones over both Lake Leelanau and Lake Michigan. On the best evenings, the whole sky turns shades of orange and pink, with the colors reflected across the water.
There really isn’t a better way to end a summer day.
