THIS WEEK’S FRUIT

Cal Red Peaches 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. Our best-selling variety, Cal Red fans mark their calendars to eagerly await harvest each year. Some years the Cal Red has a harvest window as brief as two weeks, leaving a huge impression for a peach with such fleeting availability. Flavor King Pluots The best pluot variety we grow! 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. Summer Fire  Nectarine 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.

A Note From Farmer Al

As we begin picking my favorite peach variety, the Cal Reds, I am reminded of the fine line we walk here on fruit quality. We’ve worked for 364 days to grow this fruit, caring for the trees almost every day since we picked the crop last year. The final act, on the 365th day, is to pick the fruit at the right moment and to pick it carefully; full color yet firm. This is where we push the envelope. We pick as ripe as possible to achieve the full flavor potential of the variety yet still firm enough to be able to sell the vast percentage of it to retail stores. In this process there will always be that 15-25% of the fruit which is riper that what is acceptable to retail stores. This we call “farmers’ market” grade fruit. It is the best fruit, the ripest and sweetest. It’s the fruit we sell at Farmers’ Markets, the fruit we send to you, our CSA members, and what we eat in our home. But, it is also the fruit which requires the most careful handling by us here in our packing shed, and also by you folks at home. Checking on your fruit daily and deciding when to use it and what is the best use of it, takes more thoughtfulness than buying hard, green peaches that are sold in most grocery stores but, the reward will come in the eating of these fruits, their sweetness and juiciness. Like the Ruby Grande nectarine, the Cal Red peach is in that category of varieties that are rejected by other growers because it is so difficult to grow and handle. We’ll have them for the next 2 weeks…I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Organically yours,