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THIS WEEK’S FRUIT:
Cal Red Peach
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
The beloved Cal Red is in a class by itself and is the “Oh my God” peach! A relatively new variety and a California native, the Cal Red was bred by University of California botanist Claron O. Hesse in the mid 1960s. Aptly named for the Golden State, the Cal Red is a beautiful golden peach marked with a gentle, sun-kissed blush.
O’Henry Peach
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
Farmer Al’s favorite peach to grill, the O’Henry has the flavor, size, and crimson blush that makes for a truly memorable peach. It’s elegantly pointed shape slices to an attractive heart shape for striking presentation. Our O’Henry harvest overlaps briefly with our harvest of the Cal Red leading to a matchup of two of our biggest varieties. At participating farmers markets, our Battle of the Peaches taste-offs between these two varieties grows more and more popular each year.
Summer Fire Nectarine
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
The Summer Fire has a firm meaty flesh that isn’t as juicy as some of our other varieties but is packed with a red wine intensity that makes it a memorable and desirable nectarine. Often with a deeper reddish hue than the Fantasia, the Summer Fire is a variety that’s worth the extra effort it takes to slice and pit a clingstone: its warm yellow flesh is streaked beautifully with red near the pit.
Flavor King Pluot
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
A dark-skinned pluot with red flesh, it has an intense rich flavor combined with sweet, spicy tones that are reminiscent of the Santa Rosa. A nice acid bite and firm texture that softens beautifully as the fruit continues to ripen, the Flavor King is amazing out of hand and equally good for baking.
Flavor Heart Pluot
Frog Hollow Farm, Brentwood, CA
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.
A NOTE FROM FARMER AL:
Dear CSA Members,
As we enter into Cal Reds peach season, we want to share with you some outstanding Cal Red moments from past seasons.
Most Memorable Quote:
At the Ferry Building Farmers Market, a young woman buying her third consecutive weekly supply of Cal Reds said, “All food should taste this good!”
Memorable Visual Moment:
Summer of 1980: Lines of u-pickers carrying buckets overflowing with Cal Red peaches from my first Cal Red orchard.
Most Ironic Moment:
Postrio Restaurant in downtown San Francisco loved our peaches. I was delivering to them direct, carrying boxes down its sidewalk elevator to the basement kitchen. The pastry chef, a young woman named Janet, actually returned 5 boxes of Cal Reds to me saying, “…they’re too sweet…” (Apparently she needed more acidic fruit for what she was making!)
Most Iconic Moment:
Famous New York chef, Rick Moonen, after receiving his first shipment of Cal Reds, calling me and literally screaming into the phone, “YOU ARE GOD!… YOU ARE GOD!”
Here’s to making more Cal Red memories!
Cheers!
Farmer Al
