fruit notes
Goldenberries, Cape Gooseberries, Ground Cherries – or as we know them: Ambrosia husk cherries from our friends Kenny and Molly at Lonely Mountain Farm. With the recent warm weather, they’ve ripened in abundance. These beautiful paper-husked fruits develop a deep golden-yellow color and drop to the ground, scattering below the bush, so Kenny lays a tarp down in order to catch them. They have playful notes of vanilla and pineapple, though a few in every pint will surprise you with something unexpected. One note: because the fruit may drop prematurely, don’t eat any fruit that is underripe and green. A ripe fruit's husk must be tan and the berry will be yellow. Store these in a dry spot on your counter. Grown organically by Lonely Mountain Farm in Watsonville.
This is Free Spirit Farm’s last pluot variety of the year! Flavorfall pluots are one of the latest varieties to ripen, arriving in October, after almost all other stone fruit is done for the year. Flavorfall pluots are large, meaty, and sweet. Here for just another week or two!
With a small amount of Autumn Gold peaches left in the orchard, we’ll get one last week of peaches, too. Autumn Gold is a newer variety that Toby planted a few years ago. It’s a late peach, nearly fuzzless, firmer in texture even when ripe, and semi-clingstone. It has a very balanced sweet-tart flavor. Store both pluots and peaches on the counter. Grown organically by Free Spirit Farm in Winters.
James Cornell has 3.5 acres of passion fruit planted in De Luz, a sweet little micro-climate in northern San Diego County. He’s planted around seven different varieties of purple passion fruit, with “Frederick” being the most common. Because of where he’s situated, James’ farm gets a little marine layer every morning that helps extend their passion fruit season. However, this weekend will bring an unprecedented heatwave, leaving the remainder of the season in doubt. James says De Luz has never sustained such high temps for so long and he’s not sure what it might do to his crop. We love eating passion fruit but cutting it in half, and scooping out the pulpy edible seeds. It’s sweet, tangy, tropical, and crunchy. It’s great on top of yogurt, made into a drink, or turned into passion fruit curd. Store on the counter, the wrinklier the better. Grown sustainably by Cornell Ranch in De Luz.
Add Esopus Spitzenberg to the list of Stan’s apples that you won’t find at the grocery store. It did have a wave of popularity in the 19th century, thanks to it being boosted by Thomas Jefferson. It’s purported to be one of his favorite apple varieties (though that is another long list :) Spitzenberg isn’t grown by many today because of some common challenges with heirloom apples: it's slow-growing, susceptible to many diseases, and inconsistent in bearing fruit. But this variety is dense and juicy, with sweet and sharp flavors. It’s one of those apples whose flavor improves over time in cold storage. Store in the fridge. Grown organically by Devoto Orchards in Sebastopol.
As melon season winds down, the plants’ production is slowing, but there is still tasty fruit to be had! To ensure we could put a melon in every box this week, Carine and company harvested from nearly all of Sun Tracker’s melon plantings. Fruit lovers will be receiving a Sivan Charentais, Piel de Sapo, Snow Leopard, or a Melonade melon in the big FQ box. At this point in the season, the pill bugs have won over the population and love the melons as much as we do. Thankfully, they only nibble on the skin and we can enjoy the flesh. Store in the fridge. Grown organically by Sun Tracker Farm in Guinda.
Coffeecake persimmons are a Fuyu-type, which means they are flatter, non-astringent, and can be eaten firm. Coffeecake persimmons are one of the earliest persimmon varieties, ripening weeks before Fuyus come onto the scene. This variety has spiced notes that are associated with cinnamon pastries (hence the name) that compliment the sweetness! A cross section will reveal its speckly brown flesh inside. These are harvested firm, ripe, and sweet. Persimmons will continue to ripen on the counter and the flesh will become softer, if that’s your preference. Store these on the counter. Grown organically by Free Spirit Farm in Winters.
