bradford watermelon molasses

Ingredients: Watermelon. He shared a statistic that floored me. Nevertheless, the Bradford Watermelon was the ideal rendering melon for summer molasses. Photos courtesy of Heather Grillot, Nat Bradford holding his family watermelon. Watermelon Molasses: Seeds: I was sharing some of our story and plans over the phone with Thomas Locke with the CFSA whom I had recently had the pleasure of meeting at dinner at The Roost Restaurant in Greenville. That was a tremendous blessing especially for this cold wet year when so many others suffered greatly reduced yields or no yield at all. I am blown away that God would choose something as simple as a watermelon to do so much good and impact so many lives positively. I could not have predicted this a year ago. In the spring of 1997 while doing research for an internship I had at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA, I came across a book from the 1850’s that chronicled the best vegetables and fruits of that time. They would not have an opportunity to make any molasses if all the melons ended up at a brewery much less eat a fresh one. He offered to cover all the cost of processing the seedmelons (the best of the bunch) into watermelon molasses and my Grandmother’s watermelon rind pickle, as well as save all the seeds. Watermelons for Water was a huge success, too. They have molasses, okra, toasted watermelon seed oil (that was some fine smelling and tasting stuff), ground nuts … They have molasses, okra, toasted watermelon seed oil (that was some fine smelling and tasting stuff), ground nuts and … One sleepless night I sat down to the computer and began searching for anything Bradford watermelon related. Being a full time business owner, I needed to focus on a simple way to move the entire crop quickly, without taking too much time from my business. Could David possibly solve my watermelon mystery? Every day around the world over 3000 people die of illnesses from poor drinking water, many of them are small children. The high-sugar content also made it a favorite for making watermelon molasses. The finished product would be mine to do with as I chose. Bradford Watermelons aren’t just about the melons, however. .hide-if-no-js { I imagined one of those grieving mothers losing her precious child. Dinkel-Joghurt Brot Alle Zutaten in den Mixtopf und 5 Min./verrühren. Harvest would be in about 3 months and I suddenly needed to come up with a plan to move the crop. Unconscionable. That instant Watermelons for Water was conceived. And what were we going to do with half an acre of watermelons? It was this tender skin, undoubtedly, that made it nigh impossible to ship and so it never roamed far from our family fields. setTimeout( He asked what kind of plans I was making for the crop and I shared my brewery plans with him. My oldest 3 sons and I planted six rows of watermelons—220 hills with 2 plants per hill for a total of 440 plants. Then make a syrup of two pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, half an ounce of mace, an ounce of cinnamon, and some roots of ginger boiled until thick, and pour over the melons boiling hot. Nat grows out the melons to provide clean water sources in the third world. 9 Could this Bradford watermelon of the 1800s be the same as our Bradford watermelon? You could pierce the rind with a butter knife and the sugary juice could be boiled to make molasses or even distilled into Brandy. These young creative chefs immediately began imagining the applications:  barbeque sauce, glazed over a salty smoke cured ham, cocktails, drizzled over pastries. Purchase yours here! All of the batches were exceptional and not anything like molasses that folks are familiar with! They have molasses, okra, toasted watermelon seed oil (that was some fine smelling and tasting stuff), ground nuts and so on. Most watermelons fall close to a 10 on the brix rating, which measures sugar, but the Bradford came in … Dann den Teig in einer gefetteten Schüssel abgedeckt 1 Stunde an einem warmen Ort gehen lassen. So many wonderful people came together to make history and bring a nearly extinct, and certainly lost food back to our tables. Even my cousin and his wife joined to help. Running the beginning farmer program at CFSA’s research and education farm, I get … Continue reading →, by Roland McReynolds, CFSA Executive Director | Thursday, Feb. 5, 2021 — Farmers, businesses, and individuals who care about healthy local and regional food systems need to speak out about the Food and Drug Administration’s unfair proposed rule on recordkeeping … Continue reading →, How to Comment on the FDA’s Unfair Recordkeeping Rule, Post-Harvest Wash Stations: Simple Infrastructure & Sanitizer Guidance, Congress Reaches Last-Minute Deal on $900 Billion COVID-19 Stimulus, Expert Tip: Variety Trials and Local Favorites, Meet Matt Kneece, CFSA South Carolina Policy Coordinator, Expert Tip: Food Safety & Traceability – One Step Back, One Step Forward. Skim off any foam that may form. That’s the story the way I knew it until the summer of 1998. Want a Last-Minute Preview of SAC 2020 Workshops? Bradford Family Watermelon Brandy: The Bradford watermelon has a thick rind,” Bradford said. Drain them well. We make watermelon rind pickle, molasses, and brandy - all 19th century products. In the same manner of generations of Bradford farmers before us, our seeds are selected annually from the best watermelons of our crop. Meet Cheryl Ripperton Rettie, CFSA Finance, Administration, & HR Director, Find Your 2020 Pasture-Raised Thanksgiving Turkey from a Local Farm.  −  Our half acre of Bradford watermelons would be how. I was excited about the prospects and couldn't wait to get started. Expert Tip: AgPlan – A Business & Farm Planning Resource, Meet Claire McLendon, CFSA Grants Coordinator, Farmers Offer Warnings and Solutions for Climate Change, How to Help Farms in the Next COVID-19 Stimulus Bill, Expert Tip: Where Organic Production Intersects with NRCS Programs, Meet Mark Dempsey, CFSA Farm Services Manager, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association   |. It was the finest watermelon for making pickled rind, too, spoon tender right down to its dark green skin. David and Glenn had been talking about Bradford watermelon molasses that had been really popular in the 1800s, but fell out of use as the watermelons became scarce. The most luscious watermelon the Deep South has ever produced was once so coveted, 19th-century growers used poison or electrocuting wires to thwart potential thieves, or simply stood guard with guns in the thick of night. Indeed they were one and the same watermelon! In 1922, the last commercial crop was planted, and the melon wholly gave way to varieties with tough rinds. Two years later, the Bradford is an ingredient in high-end southern restaurants like Charleston’s McCrady’s Restaurant, where it’s used to make watermelon molasses and pickled rinds. It was going to be clean and simple. David’s passion is reconnecting with generations old heritage vegetable varieties that shaped our food system into what it is today. Eventually, I came across a site called American Heritage Vegetables by Professor David Shields at the University of South Carolina. The legendary Bradford was delectable — but the melon didn’t ship well, and it all but disappeared by the 1920s. Probably nothing like you might expect from a watermelon rind, these are super crisp, perfectly sweet pickles. Made exclusively from Bradford Family Watermelons, our molasses is used to accent dishes, make sauces, and … But why not? Then he made a proposal. From those 45 melons we extracted almost 80 gallons of beautiful red juice, eventually reduced down to about 8 gallons of molasses through the simple yet extremely time consuming task of slowly simmering and stirring. So here I am in Greenville, SC at CFSA’s sustainable agriculture conference. Size: 4 oz. Armed with an amazing story, an insatiable desire to farm, and the heritage seeds of quite possibly the best watermelon ever created, I did what came naturally. Read on, as Charles Franklin Jenkins of New Riegel, Ohio explains how to make your own watermelon syrup. We were able to raise enough money to impact the lives of 12,000 people in need of fresh water and medication. Where the red is used to brighten dishes with high, fruity notes, the dark gives other dishes punch! And so the greatest watermelon to have come from that great age of watermelon breeding, the Bradford watermelon, fell out of cultivation and became lost to the annuls of history. Nat Bradford is making watermelon molasses, watermelon brandy and watermelon rind pickles, all of which are possible because of the exceptional fruit characteristics—extremely sweet, thin rinds, delicious flesh and large (up to 30 pound) fruits. Ingredients 4 small spring onions, all but about 2 inches of greens trimmed off Pinch kosher salt 1 generous tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil About 5 1/4 cups chopped seedless watermelon (no rind) Scant 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) heavy simple syrup … Seeds are available for those interested in growing their own melons. Needless to say we drew the attention of a small crowd of onlookers as a procession of white-suited chefs carried these 40 pound melons single file across the street and into the kitchen. A plethora of food offerings. Thomas was following our Bradford watermelon story and offered to come to McCrady’s to help with all the processing and experience this historic event. The Bradford boasted sweet flesh so coveted, 19th-century growers turned to guns and poison to thwart thieves. You could pierce the rind with a butter knife and the sugary juice could be boiled to make molasses or even distilled into Brandy. His section on watermelons listed the same varieties that I had seen in the 1850s book including the Bradford watermelon. It began last fall when I had the privilege of attending my first Sustainable Ag Conference in Greenville, SC when a dear friend’s wife could not attend and had an extra ticket. Everyone else was out of melons by the time his started coming in so if you wanted a watermelon you had to see Chief. The taste is otherworldly. Landscape Architecture was not going to be enough to squelch this burning desire to farm. Time limit is exhausted. My family and I prayed for guidance on how to use this family treasure in an amazing way that would bring God glory and have great impact in the world. By the 1850s, the Bradford watermelon had developed a reputation for sweetness and for its edible rind.

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