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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT
Emerald Beaut Plums
A freestone plum, the Emerald Beaut is a delicate green that turns golden with a hint of a blush. It has a firmer texture than the Santa Rosa with a crisp almost crunchy mouthfeel. One of our most hardy fruit, the Emerald Beaut just gets sweeter and sweeter without losing texture as it ages.
Flavor Treat Pluots
These large, late-season pluots are reddish-purple over tender, yellow flesh that’s extremely juicy.
Flavor Heart Pluot
The Flavor Heart gets its name from its distinctively tapered shape. Its meaty, pale yellow flesh is very low in acid and the sweetness and color contrasts strikingly with its dark purple almost black skin.
Hosui Pears
Hosui have flesh, that while still crunchy has a more melting mouthful, making the texture combination when eaten out of hand spectacular. Very juicy and sweet with a milder pear taste, their round shape and beautiful golden hue make them ideal for presentation with a distinctively Autumnal feel.
Warren Pears
The Warren is to our pears as the Cal Red is to our peaches. This is Frog Hollow Farm’s signature pear and for good reason. Too difficult to grow for most farmers to consider 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.
Heirloom Apples
We grow a few varieties of heirloom apples, but not enough of each variety to pack everyone the same ones. You will receive some configuration of these varieties – Cox’s Orange Pippin, Ashmead’s Kernel, Belle de Boskoop, and Jonathan.
Lamb Hass Avocado
Abounding Harvest Mountain Farm, Los Gatos CA
Lamb-Hass is a cross between the traditional Hass and a Gwen (Dwarf ) Avocado. A late season avocado with a rich and nutty flavor.
**Varieties subject to change**
A NOTE FROM FARMER AL
Dear CSA Members,
Every day, as I pass by our rows of olive trees, I’m amazed by the sight of so many olives draped on heavily hanging branches. This will surely be a record harvest for us, and also the earliest. Looks like we’ll be picking this big crop starting the last week of October!
Deciding just when the best time to pick is always a challenge. The pick date is a critical aspect in achieving the flavor profile we’re looking for, which is the classic Tuscan-style oil, peppery, pungent, spicy, grassy and bold.
Four olive varieties are planted next to each other in the same row, in a specific ratio: Frantoio 55%, Leccino 25%, Pendolino 12%, and Maurino 5%. We’re looking for the dominant variety Frantoio, to be about 50% ripe when we begin picking. We judge ripeness by color, so the olives should be half purple, half green. Meanwhile, the Maurinos, Leccinos
and Pendolinos have fully ripened. Since all four varieties are picked at the same time into the same bins, the blend is achieved in the bins, which are sent to the mill for pressing the same day they are picked.
Last year’s oil was the best we’ve ever had, and of course, we’re hoping to continue this high quality again this year!
