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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT
Warren Pear
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood
This is Frog Hollow Farm’s signature pear and for good reason. It has a great origin story, discovered by Thomas Oscar Warren growing naturally outside a post office in Hattiesburg, MS. Once known as the Post Office pear, it’s taken on its founder name is a favorite of chefs. Too difficult to grow for most farmers, it’s never caught on commercially but Farmer Al has never shied away from putting the time and effort into a fruit that tastes so good. It has a classic European texture, very soft and juicy with a silky sweetness that avoids the typical grittiness found in most pears.
Pink Lady Apples
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood
A cross between the Golden Delicious and Lady Williams, the Pink Lady is a crisp and juicy apple with a tart finish. Pink skins and a creamy white colored flesh that resists browning makes this an excellent apple for salads and slicing.
Pomegranate
Twin Girl Farms, Yettem, CA
Native to the regions of Persia and the Western Himalayan range, pomegranates have been cultivated for several millennia. When sliced open a beautiful array of jewel-like seeds are displayed. The aril is the colorful casing that surrounds the edible seeds and has a sweet tart flavor. Enjoy the arils alone or use them in salads, desserts, or beverages.
Hass Avocado
Traceland Organics, Cayucos, CA
Creamy in texture, nutty in flavor, with a small to medium seed. The Hass skin is easy to peel and darkens from green to purplish-black as it ripens.
A NOTE FROM CHEF BECKY
Dear CSA Members,
Now that summer is over it’s time for us (Anna, Pearl & I) to focus on our fall and holiday mail order program. Pearl has done a great job creating gift baskets and new items for our website. She is always prodding us (gently) to come up with new products to add to our website offerings. We have been promising a new catsup (from all those tomatoes) and Anna has been experimenting and is coming up with an exciting product.
The problem we are faced with is what to call it and how do we market this product? Everyone knows what catsup is and they have a very strong idea of what that is. Our catsup will be worlds better than anything made from Heinz, since ours will be made with our amazing tomatoes grown here on the farm (and won’t have any high fructose corn syrup in it). But still, Heinz is the standard; almost whether you like it or not, Heinz is what we think of when we think of catsup. However, while its name is familiar, its use is limited. I have a bottle of catsup (not, Heinz but an organic version) in my refrigerator that is used by 1 person in my household, my daughter Millie, for her periodic hot dog. I can’t remember when I bought it. It has been in the fridge, in the shelf door with the soy sauce, capers, Sriracha, anchovies and other seldom used condiments and ingredients. To call our product “catsup” (or ketchup, same thing just different spelling) is tricky; while customers might buy it because they know what it is, they also may use it infrequently (as I have) and they may not buy it often and more importantly, they could miss out on its usefulness and enjoyment as an ingredient.
We are excited by the first batches; it is deeply tomatoey, rich and a little spicy. Yes, it will be great with hot dogs and hamburgers and dare I forget French fries and potatoes, but it will also be wonderful with bruschetta and prosciutto, or with roasted beef and vegetables.
I promise you this tomato catsup, sauce or whatever we call it, will not sit idle and neglected in your refrigerator!
