Georgia’s blueberry season is coming soon. Until then, try these products made from blueberries of seasons past.
Lemon blueberry crumble cheesecake
This year’s winner in the baked goods category of the University of Georgia’s Flavor of Georgia competition was the lemon blueberry crumble cheesecake from chef Lazar Oglesby of Statesboro’s Honey Cheesecakes. The prize-winning dessert is light and creamy, and the filling is bright with lemon juice and lemon zest. The cheesecake is topped with a buttery crumble, and blueberry compote (made with jam from Byne’s Blueberry Farm in Waynesboro) is swirled throughout. It’s 3½ pounds of deliciousness. Oglesby started her business in 2012 as a caterer, and cheesecake quickly became the most requested item. Now, there are two blueberry cheesecakes, a peach cheesecake, a strawberry cheesecake and bourbon pecan praline, available to be shipped nationally through Goldbelly. The cheesecakes are shipped frozen, and will keep in your freezer for three months. Once thawed, they should be eaten within a week, but this amazing cheesecake certainly didn’t last that long at our house.
$87.95 for a 9-inch cheesecake, serving 12 to 16 people. Available at honeycheesecake.com.
Credit: Four Corners Photography
Credit: Four Corners Photography
Blueberry vanilla jam
Josh Westover grew up in northeast Ohio, cooking and baking alongside his grandmothers. A move to Atlanta, to work with Mission Year, an urban ministry and service program, sold his family on the city, and an opportunity to work as a baker at a downtown restaurant was the impetus for the start of Bake-N-Jam in 2018. Westover, based in southwest Atlanta, bakes bread, scones, cookies and bagels, as well as stirring up marmalades and jams to serve alongside. We tried his blueberry vanilla jam, made with blueberries from Georgia farmers and cooked with sugar, lemon, cinnamon and plenty of vanilla. The result is a loose jam that works as well stirred into yogurt as it does spread on a piece of Westover’s artisan sandwich loaf. In season, he also makes strawberry, smoked apple and mixed fruit jams, and uses Georgia satsumas for a sumptuous marmalade.
$8 per 8-ounce jar. Available at the Virginia-Highland and Morningside farmers markets and bakenjam.com.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Blueberry dog treats
After Elizabeth Watson and Jared Sampson of Douglasville-based Project Good Dogs expanded their family with a pair of Belgian malinois puppies, Korra and Zuko, they began looking around for healthy training treat options. Watson decided to experiment with making her own. She started with a small home dehydrator, drying strips of meat, such as chicken and beef liver, and then began making plant-based treats, like the blueberry biscuits our dogs are loving. The biscuits are extra thin, cracker-like treats, and are made with chickpea flour, blueberries, flax seed meal, coconut oil and kelp powder. Yes, it turns out that dogs like blueberries, and the antioxidants in blueberries are as good for canines as they are for humans. Project Good Dogs makes three flavors of plant-based treats, and offers others made from dehydrated protein or organs, such as turkey necks and chicken bits.
$10 per 4-ounce bag of blueberry, sweet potato or pumpkin biscuits. Protein and organ treats from $5 to $18. Available at the Oakhurst, Virginia-Highland, Decatur, East Atlanta Village, Acworth, Rockmart, Cedartown and Cartersville farmers markets, the Market at the Mill in Canton and projectgooddogs.com.
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