Bice household offers variety of homemade spreads

It was foggy, yet pleasantly cool at the Waseca Farmers Market on Saturday, Sept. 5. There were low hanging clouds and high spirits, and that’s where Walter Bice comes in. Since 2012, Bice has been selling at the Waseca market: “I originally came from Faribault, but I grew up in Shieldsville, Minnesota, which is just west of Faribault.” He grows his own walnuts and had an assorted variety including black roasted, maple spice, roasted honey spiced and candied. He also said to never eat the walnuts that fall from the tree in August, “Those are either rotten and they fell, or a squirrel messed with them and they fell, either way, those summer walnuts are too bitter to work with anyway. If you want the best walnuts from the tree, burn the summer ones and don’t gather the rest until after Sept. 10. Those fall walnuts are the ones you want.” Bice would know because he husks them himself, washes and cures them for a month and a half, then cracks them and snips the nut meat. “After that they taste great.”

 

He also grows his own berries, rhubarb, and raspberries, “But I wasn’t able to grow strawberries this year, so I had to branch out for those.” Two of his friends came to shop at his stand, Gordy and Pat Frisk. Pat even commented on the clouds near her place, “We couldn’t see across the lake this morning because it was so foggy.” The three of them then fell deep into conversation about each others’ families and conversation with the Pioneer took a break.

 

Moments later Bice was back at it and started pointing past the walnuts to his jellies, jams and syrups. Red raspberry jelly, aronia berry Jelly, aronia berry jam, strawberry rhubarb jam, strawberry jam, red raspberry rhubarb jam, black raspberry jam, red raspberry jam, and honey red raspberry jam. He also had a bag of purple Aronia berries. The Pioneer was curious if he knew the difference between jam and jelly, Bice replied, “Jam has the seeds and skin in it. Jelly comes out clear.” 

 

Walter Bice says he plans to be at the Waseca Farmers Market until this year’s season is over. His wife Lois wasn’t with him on Sept. 5, but she may be in the future.