This week marks a special time for Frog Hollow Farm CSA. Today, we welcome our first apricots of the season in our CSA boxes – Kettleman Apricots!
It’s a beautiful time, the beginning of the stone fruit season – the deep, vibrant colors, the pungent flavors and a rich nostalgia of sweet, juicy summer adventures. In celebration of this momentous week, we’ll share with you a bit more about our friend – the apricot.
In addition to being the perfect combination of sweet, tart and juicy, apricots are a highly nutritious food. Their high levels of Beta Carotene help prevent heart disease and strengthen the eyes. They are also an excellent source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A. But, it’s the story behind the apricot that makes it so fascinating.
Apricots were first cultivated 4000 years ago on the mountainous slopes of the Chinese countryside. The Chinese called these luscious fruits, “moons of the faith- ful” and valued them as a fertility enhancer. They were brought to the Mediter- ranean and Middle East in the 4th century BC by none other than Alexander the Great. The apricot became a staple crop of the Mediterranean. So much so, that their pulp and juice were the basis of what was believed to be the chosen drink of Greek and Roman gods, famously the “Nectar of the Gods.”
In 1792, Franciscan friars brought the apricot to California. The first American apricots found a home just south of San Francisco, in the Santa Clara Valley. To- day, 90 percent of the U.S. apricot crop is still grown in the state of California.
Farmer Al’s relationship with apricots began at the ripe age of six. Growing up on Cedar Street in North Berkeley, Al’s backyard garden included a prolific apricot tree. Each summer he ate his full of ‘cots, relishing in their juicy sweetness and his mother made apricot preserves which they’d enjoyed all year.
In 1976 when Al came to Brentwood to start Frog Hollow, he’d heard fables of Brentwood’s prolific stone fruit harvests and knew he wanted to join in. Apricots were one of the first crops he planted and today they are one of our most beloved, especially for our conserves. Farmer Al himself goes through a jar of Frog Hollow Apricot Conserve a week. His morning ritual includes a special concoction of Frog Hollow Apricot Conserve and almond butter with his coffee.
And this week, we are blessed to re-enter the glorious abundance of summer, when the fruit is fresh off the tree and can be eaten by the sweet and juicy hand full.
We hope you enjoy this week’s apricots and the summer season as much as we will!