MEET THE FLAVORS OF FALL
Late summer produce is starting to wind down and now is the time of year to start making room for the wonderful bounty of Fall. Exciting new fruit is starting to arrive weekly including a variety of pears and apples, kiwi berries (mid-Sept.), jujubes, California Keitt mangos are at the tail end of the season, and the sub-tropical Passion Fruit and Dragonfruit! Jujubes are crisp and refreshing, with a delicate fig-and-caramel flavor. Fresh jujubes provide more vitamin C than your average citrus fruit.
California Bartletts and Golden Bosc barely got started out of the Sacramento Delta and Mendocino County before they ended abruptly. Pears out of the Pacific Northwest are eating fantastic with Bartletts, Red Bartletts, D’Anjou, Golden Bosc and Starkrimson. The Warren Pear from Frog Hollow is prized by chefs for its juicy and buttery flavor. It is a great storage pear and is fantastic for baking as well as eating out of hand. Asian Pears are crunchy like an apple and juicy like a pear. Add slices of Asian pears act as a tenderizer when added to your favorite marinade. Out of the Pacific Northwest Concorde, Abate Fetel and the pretty red Starkrimson are sweet and juicy. The Abate Fetel softens quickly so be sure to enjoy this variety while still slightly firm. Add a pop of color to your display with red pear varieties.
California Stone Fruit is done. Pacific Northwest Moonlight is still harvesting fruit of out Washington. White peaches will go for another week or so and yellow peaches will go through September/early October. Buyer beware of quality of late season stone fruit! Fruit has a shorter shelf life and is more susceptible to shrivel, mold, decay, bruising and other quality issues.
Cuyama is now harvesting fresh crop Gala, Sweetie and Honeycrisp full sized and snackable Lady apples. Cuyama Orchards is nestled in the uppermost reaches of the Cuyama Valley in a rugged mountainous corner of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties in California. The orchards are surrounded by towering peaks and National Forest land. At 3300 feet in elevation, Cuyama Orchards enjoys the ideal microclimate for growing sweet, crunchy, juicy apples that are bursting with flavor. The warm days late into the fall along with cool crisp nights allow them to harvest their fruit with full flavor at the peak of ripeness. Gala apples are a “summer apple” that ripens ahead of, just about, all other varieties. Cuyama Gala are sweet, crisp, and fragrant. Great for a snack. Cuyama Honeycrisp are ridiculously sweet, tart, crunchy, and bursting with flavor. The Sweetie is Gala’s sweeter, crunchier, juicier progeny. Sweetie harvest in the summer, just after its parent - Gala, and yet has the exceptionally firm texture and keeping qualities of its other parent, Braeburn. Join us in celebrating California apples and pears!
California lemons are coming out of the desert with low color. Mexican fruit is available in limited quantities. Valencias are officially done and will gap until Mexican Valencia season starts up until November. Navels and Clementines should arrive by mid-October and Satsumas in early November.
Maywood Figs are winding down and fruit is sizing up smaller. Enjoy Black Mission, Brown Turkey and Kadota while they last.
On the grape scene, Concords are done and Thomcords will be done soon. It is peak California grape season. Don’t miss Sunview’s sweet and crunchy red and green seedless grapes in recyclable cardboard. A beautiful grape leaf across the top elevates the presentation!
Pomegranates and Fuyu Persimmons are starting up soon.
California tomatoes are eating great from Heirloom Tomatoes, to Early Girls and cherry tomatoes. Tutti Frutti Heirlooms benefit from cooling ocean breezes letting the fruit ripen up slower and stay firmer.
Tutti Frutti Mixed Hard Squash bins are available now, as well as cases of all your favorites- Butternut, spaghetti, acorn, kabocha, red kuri, sweet dumpling and delicata . Tutti Tetsukabuto is a Kabocha/Butternut cross with a sweet nutty flavor. Comanche Black Futsu is an heirloom Japanese pumpkin with a smooth texture and a sweet chestnut flavor. No need to peel the skin.
Coming soon from Dwelley, Orangetti hard squash. Developed in Israel, Orangetti squash is a close relative of the yellow spaghetti squash and is a heavy bearing plant producing smaller fruits with a deeper rind and flesh color. You can find Earl’s Hard Squash Guide here.
Follow Earl's Buyer's Notes each week for seasonal updates and follow the flavor. Ask your Earl's Sales Rep how we can help with Fall produce display.