Last week, McNair’s Culinary Arts students went on a field trip to Hopcott Farm in Pitt Meadows. Hopcott Farm is owned by Bob and Debbie Hopcott and they and their adult children are actively involved in running the farm because they are passionate about food and farming.
As we disembarked the bus, we were greeted by Sarah Hopcott, Liason at Hopcott Meats. I first met Sarah several years ago through her involvement with Agriculture in the Classroom’s Take a Bite of BC Program, and the field trips to the farm are stellar because they are informative and engaging.
Upon entering the Hopcott Meat Store, students were treated to in-house made pepperoni before going to the butchery at the back. There, head butcher Mike Lindsay demonstrated how to break down the hind quarter of beef.
Grade 10 student Marc Musil later wrote: “I give great respect to farmers and meat cutters. It is very hard work, and as a farmer you have to wake up early and get a lot done. The thing that I like about Hopcott Farm is that they take the time to raise their cows, instead of pumping them with steroids like some other farms do. I also give great respect to meat cutters because without them, we would have no steak or other cuts of meat. Meat cutting is hard work, but is well worth it. Meat cutting is not a very popular job, but I think young people should try it and who knows, they might like it.”
After the cattle education portion of the trip, students followed Sarah’s husband, Travis Hopcott, to the cranberry fields. In 1996, the cooperative Ocean Spray was looking for acreage, so the Hopcotts decided to diversify and converted 70 acres of their fields into cranberry bogs.
The students learned the time between initial planting and first harvest is two years, and that it takes eight-12 years after planting until the plants reach full production. Since cranberries are hollow, farmers flood the fields and beat the bushes to loosen the berries. Our trip was timed perfectly because the fields had already been flooded and workers were wading through the bog, collecting the berries with a plastic boom before vacuuming them up and shipping them to Ocean Spray.
Several brave students donned waders and waded into the flooded bog to get a feel for what it is like to harvest cranberries by hand. Travis explained he has approximately a dozen staff and it takes about two weeks to wet harvest the berries. It would take the same number of people approximately two years to hand pick the berries if they worked 12 hours per day, 365 days per year.
Grade 11 student Avery Taylor had this to say about the trip: “...the most enjoyable part of the trip was walking out to the cranberry fields and learning about all the interesting facts in growing and harvesting the berries. I had no idea it took two years for cranberries to grow! I’m not a big fan of the berries myself...reluctantly tried one and found, to my surprise, it wasn’t that bad! Maybe I might start eating them. Overall, it was a very interesting field trip and I’m glad that I went.”
And we are so glad that the Hopcott family is dedicated to sustainable farming practices and offers these wonderful educational experiences for young people.
In closing, here is a recipe for a Hopcott family favourite: Cranberry Pecan Tarts:
Cranberry Pecan Tarts
Ingredients:
12 frozen tart shells
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup whole Hopcott cranberries (fresh or frozen)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Pre-bake shells for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
3. In a small pot, melt butter over medium-low heat.
4. Add brown sugar, honey, vinegar, and salt. Whisk together and continue to heat until sugar has melted and ingredients are well combined.
5. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool until almost room temperature. Blend in vanilla and beaten egg.
6. Divide mixture between tart shells.
7. Top each tart with 4 cranberries and some chopped pecans.
8. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until filling is bubbling and pastry is brown.
Dora Ho is a culinary arts instructor at McNair Secondary.
