Landmark Vernon orchard cooks up new book

One of Vernon’s best known agri-tourism businesses is passing on some of its best recipes.

The Davison Orchards Cookbook will be on store shelves soon, and features favourite recipes from the farm and family, which is right in the title.

“It’s a celebration of local produce, seasonal gatherings, and family wisdom. They just passed 90 years as a business in 2023,” Curtis Samuel, publicist and social media coordinator, told Vernon Matters.

The book includes old family recipes and new ones, along with customer favourites from the orchard’s Farmhouse Café and Bakery which Samuel says are family classics perfect for potlucks and picnics.

The book is written by Rachel Davison, Tamra Davison and Laura Shaw.

“These 100 recipes are accompanied by beautiful photographs of produce, finished dishes, and farm life. Their cooking expertise is delivered with a sense of humour and lessons the trio have learned from each other and the land,” Samuel said.

Submitted photo

The book also provides instructions for vegetable storage, fool-proof canning techniques, dashes of family wisdom and a history of the farm on Bella Vista Road.

Samuel said the book costs $45 and is available “everywhere books are sold, including Davison Orchards.”

Tom and May Davison, who came to Canada from Britain, were the first owners of the farm that has been growing apples since 1933.

For more on the history of the farm, visit the Davison Orchards website.