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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT:
Shinko Asian Pears
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
The Shinko has a round shape which is slightly flattened. The skin is bronze with brown russeting and its juicy, creamy white flesh has a subtly rich flavor. One of the last pears to pick, it comes off the tree with a butterscotch note to its sweetness
Warren Pears
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
Featured in Martha Stewart Living and Oprah’s Favorite Things List, this is Frog Hollow Farm’s signature pear and for good reason. The Warren pear has a classic European texture – very soft and juicy – with a silky sweetness that avoids the typical grittiness found in most varieties.
Pomegranates
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, 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.
Fuji Apples
Cuyama, New Cuyama, CA
Fujis are a cross between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet, an heirloom apple dating back to Thomas Jefferson. They are one of the sweetest variety apples around making them a household favorite.
….all varieties are subject to change…
A NOTE FROM SARAH:
Friday, October 14, 2016. As I sit down to write this, it’s RAINING!!! Glorious rain!!! What does this mean for us here at Frog Hollow Farm?
Olive Harvest: Well…this gets put on hold. We can’t have the guys up on ladders when it’s raining. We have already picked 15% of the crop before it started to rain. The olives left on the trees are just getting a bath. Olives aren’t susceptible to any of the issues our other stone fruit has when it rains. Phew! We have a huge crop and are very excited to see what the flavor profile will be this year. We’d love to get your feedback as well.
Tree team: They can’t be out in this wind and rain. The ladders get slippery and handling pruning shears gets difficult when they are wet. So, the team walks through the orchard checking out the trees. They are looking at what they need to do when it stops raining. Then they go home early. And they wait. They wait to see how much rain we get and when they can get back into the orchard.
Ground Team: They really get the short end of the stick when it rains. Our soil is a clay/loam and when it rains it gets sticky. And I mean STICKY. There isn’t much the ground team can do in the orchard once we get moisture falling from the sky. They go home early too. And they too wait. They watch the rain amounts as carefully as our tree team but the difference is they often need to wait an extra day before they can get back to working the soil.
Such is the nature of farming. Hurry up and wait for Mother Nature to do what she’s going to do and work around Her.
I will be doing more rain dances. Only this time? I’m going to put it out to the Universe that a colder storm would be preferred. We need snow in the mountains.
Keep dancin!
Sarah
