fruit notes
Growing up, fall meant jujubes were everywhere. Big platters covered in wrinkly red & brown fruit in different stages of driedness were on every surface of the back yard. (This was probably the only time of year you could sun-dry anything in San Francisco!) Jujubes were harvested from backyard trees, gifted by different friends and relatives, and sun-dried to preserve them for use in sweet and savory soups throughout the rest of the year. I was told they were super good for you, but I didn’t ask too many questions when it came to traditional Chinese medicine. The real prize was the little bowl of fresh jujubes on the kitchen table. The firmest ones were selected to be enjoyed fresh and the window of opportunity was small. Firm, crisp, and sweet; they were kind of like a tiny apple. Fresh jujubes can be eaten at all stages in their transition from green to fully dark red or brown. When they are almost fully dark but still maintain a crisp bite, that’s peak fresh jujube in my opinion. They have this rich caramelly flavor paired with a mild sweetness and refreshing crispness. Gisele from Vitis and Ovis Farm encouraged me to wait a week, assuring me they would go from good to REALLY good. She was so right – these are the best-tasting jujubes I’ve had! Gisele grows three varieties: Li, Lang, and Sugarcane, and she’s packed them in a field blend for us to enjoy. Store them on the counter or the fridge. Grown organically by Vitis and Ovis Farm in Capay.
Enter Jay’s subtropical fruit forest, nestled in the hills of Goleta overlooking the Pacific, and you’ll find dragon fruit cactuses draped over the branches of avocado trees alongside passion fruit vining its way through the canopy. In commercial dragon fruit operations, the cactus is typically grown on a concrete post and a steel trellis, where it’s trained to sprawl out as sort of a “tree-shape.” At Condor Ridge Ranch, a tree makes the trellis. Everything is meant to work together, supporting each other physically and nutritionally. Avocado trees support the vining plants, while inga trees provide shade, windbreak, and nitrogen for the coffee trees in the understory. Jay's layered farming system shows a deep commitment to diversified and sustainable farming. As Jay and the crew wrap up the final avocado harvest of the year, the dragon fruit season begins. Peel back the bright magenta skin to find the polka-dotted white flesh. It tastes like a cross between a kiwi and pear. The flesh is juicy and dense and the sweetness is subtle. Characteristic of Jay’s variety, there’s more acidity to this dragon fruit, which I love! Similar to oranges, the acidity mellows with some time on the counter. Grown organically by Condor Ridge Ranch in Goleta.
Stan Devoto’s Mutsu apples are my favorite. This year, most of his varieties are ripening a week behind normal, likely a consequence of the July heat waves that seemed to temporarily halt ripening of many tree fruits. The Mutsu is a cross between two incredibly sweet apples – a ‘Golden Delicious’ and an ‘Indo’ apple – that was developed in the Aomori Prefecture of Japan around 1949. Stan knows when to harvest them perfectly so the flavor and texture are fully developed (no mild or chalky apples!). These are sweet, tart, crisp, juicy, and just all around a delicious eating apple. When Stan’s apple trees graduate from being young trees to more mature, established trees, he takes them off irrigation and dry-farms them. This results in the most incredibly flavorful apples! His Mutsu apple trees are all over 34 years old, with some upwards of 50 years old! Store in the fridge. Grown organically in Sebastopol.
Cathy and Michael are some of the first with pomegranates, thanks to their Granada pomegranate variety which ripens nearly a month earlier than the most common variety, the Wonderful. Granada pomegranates were discovered as a bud sport mutation of the Wonderful. A bud sport occurs when part of a plant, say a branch, spontaneously exhibits a morphological (i.e. physical) change due to a chance genetic mutation. (This is the same type of mutation that resulted in the discovery of nectarines from peaches!) Granada pomegranates have deeply red juice and arils, and a slightly lower acidity than varieties to come, easing us into the season. Granadas can typically be harvested even earlier but we love that Cathy and Michael waited for peak ripeness and beautifully crackly skin. Store these in the fridge. Grown organically by Spreadwing Farm in Rumsey.
We like to celebrate the end of grape season with a classic grape that’s paved the way for so many newer varieties we see today: California Concord grapes grown by our friends at Filigreen Farm. California Concords are super flavorful and aromatic, and their flesh has a jelly-like consistency. Concord grapes are the original inspiration for that grape-y flavor you find in grape jam, jelly, and juice. While these do have seeds and thick, mildly tart skins, they are a slip-skin variety. That means the jelly-like flesh will pop right out of the skin with a bit of suction or quick peeling. The flavor and fun of eating these grapes is too good to pass up. It’s been a tough season for Filigreen’s normally bountiful and diverse table grapes, so it’s extra special to wrap up with their Concords. Store in the fridge. Grown organically by Filigreen Farm in Boonville.
Jim of Swanton Berry Farm is always proud to remind us, “your berries are the only ones the crew is harvesting today!” As in, they aren’t sending strawberries to any other buyer–at least on that particular day. This is how October goes at Swanton Berry Farm, the Chandlers can stand to hang on the plants a tiny bit longer compared to the peak of summer (so long as weather is favorable), and the plants hum along with a steady but small crop of strawberries throughout the fall until the temps drop significantly. We think the Chandlers taste so good right now–same berry, but it hits a little differently in the fall. Store in the fridge. Grown organically by Swanton Berry Farm in Davenport.
Encore appearance
We’re nearing the end of plum-pluot season and Black Kat pluots are one of Toby’s last stone fruit varieties. They’re a stunner, with a deeply dark blue skin and light yellow flesh. Black Kats can be enjoyed firm or left to soften on the counter a bit. This variety tends to get pretty big at the beginning of its season but now they are more plum-sized. Black Kats still have an incredible shiny bloom on the skin! It’s a naturally occurring waxy coating that helps protect the fruit from moisture loss. Good to know the fruit doesn’t want to miss any of that sugary pluot juice, either! Store on the counter. Grown organically by Free Spirit Farm in Winters.
