Pick Your Own on The Suffolk Coast

Friday Street Farm Shop ‘Pick Your Own’ grows soft fruits including strawberries and raspberries, browse the home-wares in the farm shop, get lost in the Maize Maze and finish your trip with a cup of tea and slice of cake in the café.

Where: Friday Street, Farnham, Saxmundham IP17 1JX

Opening hours: Monday - Saturday 8.30am - 5.30pm, Sunday 9am - 5pm

https://fridaystfarm.co.uk/friday-street-pick-your-own/ 

Goslings Farm Shop and PYO ‘Pick Your Own’ grows soft fruits including strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and blackberries, and vegetables including broad beans, runner beans, french beans and courgettes but make sure you check their website before making the trip for updates on which fruits are ripe for picking! 

Whilst there you can purchase a range of locally produced juices and breads, stock up on your seeds and plants in the garden centre and enjoy a range of hot and cold drinks and food.

Where: Goslings Farm, High Road, Trimley St Martin, Felixstowe IP11 0SG

Opening hours: Monday - Saturday 9am - 5pm, Sunday 10am - 4pm

https://goslingsfarm.com/pick-your-own/

High House Fruit Farm grows a wide variety of fruits and make delicious juices from their own apples. They sell all their produce locally.

At the farm shop you can buy ready-picked fruit in season or, if you prefer, you can ‘Pick Your Own’. You can also buy their fruit and juices in local shops and restaurants, and at farmers’ markets.

Where: High House Fruit Farm, Sudbourne, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 2BL

https://high-house.co.uk/fresh-fruit/

Whilst there's not a strawberry or gooseberry in sight, at Southwold Flower Company, you can pick your own flowers! 

Spend an hour or so wandering amongst the flower fields with a pair of snippers and a container, selecting your favourite blooms to make your own stunning arrangement. 

Booking isn't necessary for Pick-Your-Own, just turn up during opening hours!

Where: Southwold Flower Company, just off Wangford Rd (B1126), Reydon, Southwold, IP18 6SJ.

Opening hours: 9am - 4pm Monday-Saturday and 10am - 3pm every Sunday. 

https://thesouthwoldflowercompany.co.uk/pages/pick-your-own

Method

1. Bring out the juices: Wash fruit and gently dry on kitchen paper – keep strawberries separate. Put sugar and 3 tbsp water into a large pan. Gently heat until sugar dissolves – stir a few times. Bring to a boil for 1 min, then tip in the fruit (not strawberries). Cook for 3 mins over a low heat, stirring 2-3 times. The fruit will be softened, mostly intact and surrounded by dark red juice. Put a sieve over a bowl and tip in the fruit and juice.

2. Prepare the bread: Line the 1.25-litre basin with cling film as this will help you to turn out the pudding. overlap two pieces in the middle of the bowl as it’s easier than trying to get one sheet to stick to all of the curves. Let the edges overhang by about 15cm. Cut the crusts off the bread. Cut 4 pieces of bread in half, a little on an angle, to give 2 lopsided rectangles per piece. Cut 2 slices into 4 triangles each and leave the final piece whole.

3. Build the pud: Dip the whole piece of bread into the juice for a few seconds just to coat. Push this into the bottom of the basin. Now dip the wonky rectangular pieces one at a time and press around the basin’s sides so that they fit together neatly, alternately placing wide and narrow ends up. If you can’t quite fit the last piece of bread in it doesn’t matter, just trim into a triangle, dip in juice and slot in. Now spoon in the softened fruit, adding the strawberries here and there as you go.

4. Let flavours mingle then serve: Dip the bread triangles in juice and place on top – trim off overhang with scissors. Keep leftover juice for later. Bring cling film up and loosely seal. Put a side plate on top and weight down with cans. Chill for 6 hrs or overnight.

To serve, open out cling film then put a serving plate upside-down on top and flip over. serve with leftover juice, any extra berries and cream. Recipe from Good Food magazine