California-grown mangoes & more
Trinidad melon from Sun Tracker Farm. We’re so grateful to have friends that grow our melons, and Robert and Carine Hines do a damn fine job. They’re selective with the varieties they grow, plant their own seedlings, harvest melons when they’re *actually* ripe, and are picky about flavor (just like us!) The Trinidad is an Ananas-type melon that’s perfumed with a sweet, tropical aroma. Sniff the top of the melon where it meets the stem and you’ll see for yourself! Carine says a Trinidad melon tastes “like a sugar cane plant had a baby with Iris, the goddess of rainbows.” Store in the fridge and of course, please eat your melons chilled. These are grown organically and Real Organic Project certified in Guinda.
*Suncrest yellow peaches from Peach Jamboree are grown organically in Oroville with so much love by Danny Lazzarini and Drew Seidman. Grown in the Sierra Foothills, these peaches are so juicy, sweet, and melt in your mouth. Not many farms pick’em as ripe as they do. Danny and Drew harvest their peaches so *perfectly* ripe and these Suncrests are just bursting with flavor. They have a much smaller yield from this year's crop so we’re lucky to be bringing these in! The good peach season is winding down so enjoy every bite and store these on the counter at room temp.
Walking through the desert on the north shore of the Salton Sea, it’s hard to say what’s most remarkable about the situation. Is it that anyone at all is trying to grow mangoes fewer than ten miles from Joshua Tree? Is it that these farmers are not content with the known mango universe, instead trialing dozens of novel varieties grown from seed to see what magic might happen? Or is it that they are doing both exceptionally? In fact there’s much more to the story (more details here), but the result is as delicious as it is uncommon: a tree-ripe, untreated, California-grown mango. We’re very happy to share a Valencia Pride mango from Wong Farms in Mecca, CA!
Sharpblue blueberries from Filigreen Farm are grown organically and biodynamically in Boonville. Super late season blueberries in California are SUCH a treat and we’re savoring every bit of it. These blues are tiny but packed with sweet, sweet flavor. By this part of the summer, blueberries from the grocery store have moved their sourcing up to the Pacific Northwest after the California season ends. As long as Annie Courtens of Filigreen Farm tells us to keep eating these, we’ll listen. Store these in the fridge, if they make it that far.
*Triple Crown blackberries from Front Porch Farm are grown organically and Real Organic Project certified in Healdsburg. These just keep getting better and better. Breaking down the morphology and anatomy of a blackberry, these “berries” are actually known as an aggregate fruit and more specifically, an accessory fruit. An accessory fruit is another part of the flower besides the ovary that forms the fleshy fruit part we’re eating. For these Triple Crowns, the plump and juicy drupelets are aggregated around a soft, melt-in-your mouth receptacle. All that to say, we love them and they keep getting tastier as we get deeper into summer. Store these in the fridge.
*Mara de Bois strawberries from Yerena Farms are grown organically in Watsonville by Poli and Silvia Yerena. Given their super fragile and delicate nature, this is our first feature of Mara De Bois in the fruitqueen box. Harvested fresh just for the fruit fan club, these Mara de Bois are reminiscent of cherry candy and every berry brings a shock of flavor and fragrance. They’re so juicy and soft and perishable, please eat them as soon as you can! We think these should be eaten straight from the plants with red strawberry juice dripping down your arm but we wanted to try to feature these fan favorites. Let us know if these don’t make it to you intact, we’re happy to make it right!
*IFG 34 grapes from Murray Family Farms are grown organically in Bakersfield. This is farmer Steven Murray’s favorite grape variety they grow and admittedly is the variety that got into all the fun IFG varieties! International Fruit Genetics, or IFG, is a Bakersfield-based fruit breeding company that has developed dozens of novel fruit varieties, such as the Quip, Julep, and Candy Snap. The IFG 34s are so new, they don’t even have a proper name yet! Consider yourselves special! (You are.) We dare call these any ol’ normal “black grapes.” The skin breaks with a snap with a rich Concord-grape flavor and the complex tasting notes are reminiscent of a fine dessert wine. Store these in the fridge cause who doesn’t like a cold grape snack?
a *star* = included in the baby fq box
