fruit notes

With these beautiful, sunny days it’s easy to forget that just over a month ago storms battered the state from end to end. That week, the Santa Barbara area was hit particularly hard. At Condor Ridge in Goleta, thunderstorms and hail affected much of the fruit. Most significantly, loads of developing cherimoya were stripped off the trees by the extreme weather. But with the past month of calmer spring weather, the trees have been able to recover and we've been gifted with nothing but the most beautiful fruit.


By this point in the season, I've seen and handled a couple thousand pounds of cherimoya, and I still marvel at their silly, reptilian exterior. Given a few days to ripen up, a tropical, custardy flavor explosion bursts from behind that eye-catching skin – flavors like banana, pineapple, and brown sugar, with subtle notes of berries and pear. They’re so good!! 


If you've been following along for a while, you may already know this, but it's worth sharing! The way cherimoya is grown is really, really neat and we can’t stop talking about it.


Cherimoya is native to the Andes of Ecuador and Peru, where it grows at higher elevations in cooler climates. Closer to home, the subtropical oasis of Condor Ridge Ranch provides the perfect environment for cherimoya to thrive, with leeward slopes protected from direct ocean elements. The farm's unique microclimate is ideal for subtropical fruits, and the cooler winter nights make it especially well suited for cherimoya. In the Andes, a tiny beetle pollinates the tree's flowers. Here in California, however, honeybees and native pollinators are too large to fit in the tight spaces between flower petals. So in place of that native beetle, California cherimoya flowers must be hand pollinated – a painstaking process, but one that ensures a proper fruit set on the trees.


Cherimoyas bloom in July or August, but the window of opportunity is short. On a visit to Condor Ridge last year, farmer Jay Ruskey explained that cherimoya flowers exhibit protogyny, which means the flower’s female parts open in the morning, then transform to male parts just a few hours later. The crew at Condor Ridge must carefully time the pollen harvest, collecting pollen during the male phase, storing it carefully overnight, and applying it with a paintbrush to the receptive female stigma the following morning. To make things even trickier, this transformation fluctuates with temperature and humidity. (Here’s a look at this process.) Both the fruit – and the work it takes to grow it – are truly remarkable. With some trees nearing 40 years old, the cherimoya grove at Condor Ridge continues to give us the most beautiful fruit.


This week, we’re featuring Booth or Dr. White cherimoya in the fruitqueen box. Like many subtropical fruits, it’s best eaten when it’s slightly soft and the skin has begun to brown. Store on your counter until it reaches this stage. It may take 2-4 days. Once ripe, we recommend popping it in the fridge to chill for a bit, for a cold, custardy, ice-cream-like experience. Cut in half and scoop out the flesh, avoiding the large inedible seeds. Grown organically by Condor Ridge Ranch in Goleta.

Also in the boxes this week

Organic Emerald blueberries from Forbidden Fruit Orchards in Lompoc. Store in the fridge.

Organic Chandler strawberries from Swanton Berry Farm in Davenport and Yerena Farms in Watsonville. Store in the fridge.

Organic Oro Blanco grapefruit from Garcia Organic Farm in Fallbrook or Star Ruby grapefruit from Limelight Groves in De Luz. Store on the counter.

Organic Hass avocados from Limelight Groves in Temecula. (First of the szn!) Store on the counter.

Organic Hayward kiwis from Shared Abundance Farm in Auburn. (Last of the szn!) Store on the counter.

Organic Moro blood oranges from Garcia Organic Farm in Fallbrook. Store on the counter.