fruit notes
The Dark Belle has easily become one of my favorite watermelons. Yes, they have seeds. The best-tasting watermelons always do.
This is Sun Tracker’s last succession of watermelons, which means this is the last time we’ll be able to put them in the fq boxes. I texted farmer Carine to ask if she had any final words for watermelon season this year, and of course, her musings were better suited for an afternoon phone call :) At the farm – and I suspect for many of you – watermelon is a symbol of summer. In the Capay Valley, where summer temps routinely top 100 degrees, nothing quenches your thirst like crisp, juicy, sweet watermelon. It’s also the first summer crop to end on the farm, so it serves as an indicator for the start of shoulder season and the transition to fall.
Carine reminds me that watermelons are one of the hardest crops they grow. The cucumber beetles love feasting on watermelon as much as you or I, so an organic farmer ends up sharing part of the harvest with them. It’s difficult to tell when a watermelon is ripe; there’s no visual test like with other crops. If you’re a watermelon farmer who spends her days staring at a field’s worth of watermelons, you can kind-of sort-of use the color of the white stripes as an indicator, but even then Carine tells me that extreme temperatures can change that up and make them misleading! The dryness of the watermelon's tendrils near the stem can be an indicator, but it’s not always a trustworthy one. A conscientious farmer has an advantage we don’t: she can harvest a few samples, too. Triangulating between these imperfect methods, they make a decision to harvest.
Of course, you can tap on your watermelon and listen for the deep, hollow thud that promises sweetness. I love seeing this in action at the grocery store – a customer knocking on a watermelon, their face in complete focus, looking for that perfect resonance, hoping for one that’s perfectly ripe. If this is you, know that somewhere out there, a farmer is knocking on their watermelons too,
As we all know, when they’re good, they’re reeeeally good, and that makes it worthwhile for Carine and Robert at Sun Tracker. Happy end of watermelon season! We’re lucky to celebrate with such a beautiful succession of Dark Belle watermelons. Store in the fridge. Grown organically by Sun Tracker Farm in Guinda.
This week, as John was unloading the Bronx grapes from his van, I measured the Brix on his refractometer – and I kid you not, they measured at 24!! (Brix is a measure of the dissolved solids in a liquid and it’s used to measure sugars. 24 degrees Brix means that in 100 grams of Bronx juice from this week’s harvest, there’s 24 grams of sugar. Wowza!) Besides being incredibly sweet, they’re also perfumey and floral. We’ve got just one more week left with these gems, so we’re savoring every little grape. Store in the fridge. Grown organically by Lagier Ranches in Escalon.
Fresh jujubes are here! (No, not those jujubes.) Fresh jujubes are such a rare gift. I grew up seeing them on my kitchen table throughout September. Dried, they’re a common ingredient in Chinese and Korean cooking. Fresh, they resemble a tiny apple with a bit more complexity. Jujubes range in color from green to dark red when fresh and have a small pit in the center. Gisele from Vitis and Ovis grows three varieties: Li, Lang, and Sugarcane, and she’s packed them in a field blend for us. Store them on the counter or the fridge. They are ripe and ready to eat. Grown organically by Vitis and Ovis Farm in Capay.
We’re reaching the tail end of peach season, but Toby at Free Spirit Farm is still holding on to summer with his Autumn Flame yellow peaches. This nearly fuzzless variety is dense, flavorful, and freestone — a late-season gem that ripens just as we start to dip into fall. Toby tends a few of these later-season varieties on his farm in Winters, keeping the peaches coming a little longer than most and giving us this final, sweet reminder of summer. Store on the counter. Grown organically by Free Spirit Farm in Winters.
Swanton Berry Farm’s Chandler strawberry harvest has been pretty unusual this year. It’s been an extremely low-yield summer. Though Chandler strawberries peak in the spring, Jim usually has berries for us throughout the summer into fall. This year, we took a long and unexpected gap in July and August because he just didn't have enough berries to send us. I asked Jim if he knew why, and in typical Jim-humored fashion, he said “I gave up trying to understand these berries 40 years ago.” But he also went on to say that this is why he loves farming. It’s a complicated puzzle that throws you curveballs. :) Enjoy these fragrant, sweet, tender and juicy Chandler strawberries. Store in the fridge. Grown organically by Swanton Berry Farm in Davenport.
Thea and Andres from Gauchito Hill Farm really know how to grow delicious figs. These Sierra figs are a newer variety for them but have quickly become one of our favorites. Their small seeds and super duper jammy flesh makes you wish all figs were this good. They are sweet but not too sweet. They have really delicate skin so it’s kind of a miracle they make it from the tree, into a basket, into our hands, in the perfect stage of ripeness. Hot tip: the uglier ones are often the best-tasting! Store in the fridge. Grown organically by Gauchito Hill Farm in Colusa County.
We’re meeting shoulder season with some of the best varietal pears out there. Toby of Free Spirit has a small harvest of Warren pears. When ripe after some time on the counter, they’ll turn yellow and have a slight give along the shoulders. And the flesh will be rendered super buttery and juicy. Give them a few days before digging in.
About 10 miles down the road is Bucktown Roots in Vacaville, where farmers Kersti and Gus specialize in Asian pears. This week, we have their perfectly ripe Hosui Asian pears. They’re crisp, refreshing, and have all the best subtly sweet, caramel notes. These are ripe now and should be eaten firm. Store these in your fridge to maintain crispness. Grown organically by Bucktown Roots in Vacaville.
