It’s the second week of Sensational Stone Fruit month, but Stefin’s thinking about the luscious cinnamon rolls she and her family enjoyed while visiting the Skookumchuck Bakery in British Columbia, Canada this summer. If you’re planning a visit to B.C.’s beautiful Sunshine Coast, be sure to stop by this seasonal bakery and deli for their trademark sweet. Their cinnamon rolls are the perfect reward (or incentive) for hikers heading out to see the world-famous rapids at the Skookumchuck Narrows.

With a Plunge Into the Blanching Water … Classic Peach Pie

Thoughts next turn to pie with the duo’s review of Smitten Kitchen’s Classic Peach Pie. Both hosts were happy to find success with their old nemesis, blanching, and their peaches peeled well. Stefin thinks this was the most beautiful pie she’s made in recent memory, and loved the easy-to-work all-butter crust, and the traditional, simple filling flavors that let the fruit sing. Andrea, though, was looking for more pizazz in the filling. She substituted a favorite crumble topping from Kate McDermott (scroll down in this link to find it as part of the poached pear pie recipe) that the hosts discovered while teaching their Pies & Prosecco class last summer. She also might top the pie with a flavorful ice cream or whipped cream in the future. Both hosts also suggest editing down Smitten Kitchen’s highly entertaining but wordy recipes for ease of use at baking time.

A Cobbler/Meringue Hybrid from Waitrose

Next up, the hosts intro an intriguing hybrid — this week’s bake along is Waitrose’s Traybaked Berry (Plum) Meringue — billowing clouds of egg (or Aquafaba) meringue atop a cobber/crisp-type fruit filling that’s heavy on this month’s star ingredient, stone fruit. In this case, plums! Both hosts are charmed by the UK’s thorough labeling of eggs and fruits, and Andrea asks for clarification on a few of the UK ingredients including muscavado sugar. Stefin says light brown sugar would make a fine substitute. (And remember that caster sugar is the same as granulated sugar, and corn flour is known as corn starch in the US.)

Nervous about tackling that meringue topping? Listen back to Episode 26 to hear the duo talk about separating eggs in the Intimidation Station. Not an egg person at all? Check out Episode 20 to hear the first of many mentions of the amazing Aquafaba — a meringue made entirely out of chickepea liquid!

Into the Language Lab with the Brix Scale and Refractometer!

Finally, speaking of hybrids, Andrea leads a Language Lab/Gadget Garage mash up featuring the Brix Scale and Refractometer. The Brix Scale measures the concentration of sucrose in the percentage mass of a liquid — in other words, the sweetness of a fruit. Peaches (for example) are assigned a percentage from 11-35%, and the higher the percentage, the sweeter the fruit. Great to know if you’re looking for the ideal variety for baking, canning or eating out of hand.

If your local market doesn’t list Brix Scale numbers in its produce section, or you live in a country without this classification, never fear. You can DIY at home with a Brix Refractometer so you too can feel like a mad scientist as you find out just how sweet your stone fruit is!

Listeners: Have you used the Brix Scale or Refractometer for determining sweetness of your fruit, or homemade beer or wine?