This Week’s Fruit

Suncrest Peaches A Slow Food Ark heritage variety, the Suncrest has all the old-fashioned taste of days gone by. Its a truly memorable peach whose firm but juicy flesh provides a real eat-over-the-sink experience. Gently tapered, the Suncrest has hardly any blush to speak of on its rich yellow skin. A more fragile variety, the Suncrest bruises easily when picked, but as many of our farmers market customers know, a picking bruise means the fruit is extra delicious. Flavor Top Nectarines The Flavor Top is one of the highest scoring nectarine varieties in regional fruit tastings. It’s a beautiful variety, with bold streaks of red and yellow and firm succulent flesh. They hold up extremely well when sliced so are ideally suited for a fragrant midsummer fruit salad and are one of the varieties we especially recommend for grilling. Dapple Dandy Pluots Playfully called the “dinosaur egg” pluot, the Dapple Dandy has marbled pink and green skin over delicate white flesh threaded with rose. Kids especially love this pluot for its distinctive coloration and the lack of tartness in the skin. Storage Recommendations We recommend leaving three days worth of the stone fruit on your countertop and store the rest in the fridge to be enjoyed later in the week.

A Note From Sarah

Dear CSA Members, Wow it was HOT! We’re hoping you all survived those A typical temperatures. We topped out here in Brentwood at 110 on Tuesday, 7/2. But the “cooler” days, well, 105 doesn’t feel all THAT much cooler than 110. At least not to me and certainly not to our trees. Farmer Al and I thought some of you may be interested in the long terms effects of a heat wave like the Bay Area suffered last week, and is likely to be subjected to again this summer. First, due to the extreme temperatures we send the crews home early which obviously impacts our ability to pick the fruit in a timely manner, creating a higher loss percentage than normal. Then, and what impacts us most and for the longest, is the trees go into “survival” mode. Trees basically shut down in an effort to conserve their energy starting at about 96 degrees. They stop growing, which translates to suspension of sucrose production, and they can drop their leaves or they’ll “burn”. The burning is from the direct heat exposure the sun is creating and the trees shutting down. It’s almost like the reverse of frost bite. When trees don’t send energy to the tips of the leaves, they dehydrate, or burn. This “shut down” or what I like to refer to as the orchard’s “siesta” means less sweet fruit for both the fruit that was close to being ripe when the heat hit AND for the fruit that will ripen later in the summer. This has long term effects for our customers. Here’s an idea for everyone, during the next heat wave when your thoughts turn to heading to the neighborhood pool or a lake nearby…order some extra Frog Hollow Farm fruit to take with you. Place it in a cooler with ice and a little extra water for transporting to your watery destination. There’s no better way to replenish fluids AND nutrients lost while in the sun on a hot day than biting into a chilled, juicy piece of fruit! It’s good for the body AND soul!