Foodland Ontario’s Cherry Berry Brown Betty

Ingredients:

Cherries

  • 2 cups Large flake rolled oats
  • 2 cups All purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups Packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Baking soda
  • ½ tsp Nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • 1 cup Butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp Cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp Granulated sugar
  • 3 cups Pitted Ontario cherries
  • 2 cups Ontario blueberries or raspberries (or a combination of both)

Directions:

Lightly butter a 13” x 9” baking dish.
In large bowl stir together rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
Using your fingers, add butter to flour mixture and crumble until well blended.
Firmly pat 2/3 of the oat mixture into bottom of prepared dish.
In medium bowl stir together lemon juice, cornstarch and sugar until cornstarch is dissolved.
Add cherries and berries; toss until evenly coated.
Pour cherry mixture over oat mixture in pan.
Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture. Bake in 350F oven 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden and a little crisp. Cool completely then cut into squares. (This dessert is best served the same day as juices from fruit may make base a little soggy.)

Did you know?

At one time it was against the law in Kansas to serve ice cream on cherry pie.

In the United States, 25% of the population say apple pie is their favourite pie, followed by pumpkin (17%), lemon meringue (11%) and cherry pie (10%).

Cherries do not ripen after being picked!

There are about 7,000 cherries on an average cherry tree, with each tree capable of producing more than 100 pounds of fruit per season.

In the 19th century fruit pies were a common breakfast food, eaten before the start of a long day.
Cherries are emerging as a “superfruit”, containing as many antioxidants as blueberries.

The #1 tart cherry in Canada is the Montmorency.

According to the Ontario Tender Fruit Producers, Ontario has about 485 hectares of sour cherries, yielding about 8,000 tons of cherries each season.

While native to Asia, cherries are now produced around the world, on five continents.

A traditional German brandy, Kirsch (or kirschwasser) is a dry, colourless brandy distilled from fermented juice of black morello cherries.

Traverse City, Michigan calls itself the cherry capital of the world!