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Well, stone fruit season is finally here and we thought it would be fun to share some info about what stone fruit are and how to take care of them!
What is a stone fruit?
Stone fruit, also known as drupes, are fruits with a fleshy part surrounding a single pit that contains a seed or kernel inside. Stone fruit usually refers to Frog Hollow Farm favorites like cherries, plums, peaches, apricots and nectarines…but also includes close relatives like coffee, olive, mango and almonds!
Cingstone V Freestone
You may have noticed that stone fruit like apricots and some peaches have easy to remove pits while others like nectarines, plums and some peaches have flesh that is attached to the fruit. These two categories are refered to as “freestone” and “clingstone.” While both freestone and clingstone are delicious to eat out of hand, they are sometimes used for different culinary purposes. Freestone are favored by folks who like to can their peaches because it is easier to keep fruit whole when removing the pit. Clingstone, on the other hand, are popular for making jam because the fruit does not need to remain whole after removing the pit. Generally speaking with peaches, cling are harvested earlier in the summer and freestone ripen later in the summer.
Storing Your Fruit
One of the best parts of being part of Frog Hollow Farm CSA is getting fresh, tree ripened fruit. Flavor and sweetness are able to develop completely in a way that cannot be found in regular retail settings that demand fruit be picked early enough to survive retail transportation.
Since our CSA fruit is tree ripened and comes straight from the farm to your neighborhood we suggest taking a moment to check your fruit each week so you can be sure to eat the ripest fruit first and store the rest as needed for later. Ripe fruit will yield slightly when pressed gently. Firmer fruit can be left on the counter, out of the sun, to slowly ripen. To keep fruit for longer you can store fruit in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.
Don’t forget to reach the variety list to see what is being harvested each week!
