Michael's new adventure blooming
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Bradley Michael, 10, is a determined young man with an eye for kudzu blossoms.
They make jelly, which will be the first item in his “Bradley’s Best” line of homemade foods for sale.
Bradley and his mom, Christa, have been gathering kudzu blooms and making jelly for the past two summers. They reach for high vines with a rake, pulling them within reach, and snip the fringy, pale purple blossoms that often hide under the leaves.
“A lot of people who have lived in the South all their lives didn’t know kudzu blooms,” Christa said. Late July to early August is its season. “The heaviest blooms visible right now will be up high, which makes them a pain to get.”
Christa started three years ago with the vines across the street from their Paulding County home. Now she also goes wherever invited.
Mother and son extract juice from the blossoms, and add pectin, sugar and lemon juice to make jelly.
They sold all they made to friends and family and at the Paulding Meadows arts and crafts festival at Earl Duncan Park, 40 half-pint jars the first year and nearly 100 last year.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful flavor,” she said. “Even if I didn’t sell it we’d still be making it.”
Bradley’s grandparents work as taste testers in this family business, he said.
He also plans to make soup mixes and curried rice.
He will sell his line on www.WestGeorgiaCrafts.com, a free index of local crafters and craft shows run by Christa.
They make jelly, which will be the first item in his “Bradley’s Best” line of homemade foods for sale.
Bradley and his mom, Christa, have been gathering kudzu blooms and making jelly for the past two summers. They reach for high vines with a rake, pulling them within reach, and snip the fringy, pale purple blossoms that often hide under the leaves.
“A lot of people who have lived in the South all their lives didn’t know kudzu blooms,” Christa said. Late July to early August is its season. “The heaviest blooms visible right now will be up high, which makes them a pain to get.”
Christa started three years ago with the vines across the street from their Paulding County home. Now she also goes wherever invited.
Mother and son extract juice from the blossoms, and add pectin, sugar and lemon juice to make jelly.
They sold all they made to friends and family and at the Paulding Meadows arts and crafts festival at Earl Duncan Park, 40 half-pint jars the first year and nearly 100 last year.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful flavor,” she said. “Even if I didn’t sell it we’d still be making it.”
Bradley’s grandparents work as taste testers in this family business, he said.
He also plans to make soup mixes and curried rice.
He will sell his line on www.WestGeorgiaCrafts.com, a free index of local crafters and craft shows run by Christa.
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