Lucky Leaf Tour…Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Sometimes my job of being a blogger is better than others.
I get to do some pretty awesome things these days, things beyond cooking. Beyond taking photos, beyond writing silly stories and being a smarty britches on Twitter.
Sometimes, I get to GO places.
Take, for example, last month. Last month, I was invited to Historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to tour cherry farms with Lucky Leaf.
I’ve seen cherry trees before, of course, and peach trees – I even have some in my back yard – but I’ve never seen a working cherry farm. Pretty fantastic, if you want to know the truth. We visited a family owned farm (the patriarch filled us in on operations while we watched his son and daughter working their tooshes off in the field), we tromped around in the dew covered fields, we were awed by the tractor/machine that shook the trees and emptied them of cherries in 12 seconds flat. We may or may not have swooned over the farmer’s son.
Maybe. Not. Okay, maybe. Fine, okay yes.
After lunch we got to see where apples go to sleep. Yes, really. Not all apples are processed right when they are picked, and instead are put to sleep. Nitrogen and oxygen is regulated in a super chilled environment, and apples are kept there until they are needed in production. It was so neat! (and so cold!!) Here’s a picture of the apples sleeping…who knows when they’ll wake up, but it takes 3 whole days to do it!
We were then taken to the plant where the cherries were processed (they are processed within a VERY short time of being picked, like, hours) and watched them pitted and canned. It was very fascinating! I guess I just assumed it would be a huge operation, but this seemed so – simple. So rational. Something I could get behind. One thing I really appreciated at Lucky Leaf was their desire to be as cautious of the environment as possible. They have a huge amount of solar panels operating a large portion of their plant! Apples, peaches, cherries – all canned and processed using solar power. Kind of cool!
It was a great trip, and I really appreciate being able to be exposed to experiences like these. Remember on Mr. Rogers when he’d show those How It’s Made videos? It’s JUST like that, but in person! I also appreciate Lucky Leaf and their invitation to show me around – they have a top quality operation, it’s family oriented, and that, I love!
Would you like to win some Lucky Leaf for yourself?
Celebrate summer with Lucky Leaf! Have you tried a frozen pie pop? Blend 1/2 (21-oz.) can Lucky Leaf Premium Pie Filling (any flavor) with 1 cup milk and 1/2 squeezed lemon. Then freeze for a cool, refreshing treat. Lucky Leaf is happy to send one reader a complimentary gift package including assorted Lucky Leaf Premium Pie Filling, an ice pop mold and recipe cards.
Just let us know you’d like to win! Leave a comment here letting us know what flavor pie filling of Lucky Leaf’s you’d most like to try…Raspberry? Strawberry? You know what you like!
Leave a comment by August 5 at 11:59pm EST. Prize is courtesy of and supplied by Lucky Leaf. US Addresses only, please. Winner will be notified by email provided. Disclaimer – I was supplied this trip by Lucky Leaf, but was not paid for my post or visit. All thoughts are my own.
Good LUCK, and have a great weekend!
