HOSHIGAKI AND PERSIMMONS

Early season hoshigaki are getting their last kneading before being packaged for our customers. Some white sugar has formed on the surface and most have a tender texture and moist interior.  The rest of the crop is either hanging around or sitting in freezing temperatures.  If you are looking to buy hoshigaki, we should have them available at the end of November and hopefully through January. 

⛆⛆⛆ RAIN, RAIN.  It seemed like a long dry spell for fall. We are finally getting some rain. ⛈ With wet pavements and wet fields, we have to be careful.☔  Nonetheless grateful 🌈for the downpour of water from the sky. 🌦

Currently the persimmon trees are aflame with orange and yellow fall colored 🍂  leaves.  Many of our visitors are enjoying a walk down the orchard road to see these vibrant colors.  The fall scene may be brief especially with wind and rain playing on the leaves.

 

That's the intro that I wrote last week. Let me say that getting to this blog post has been difficult.  Long hours at the farm have forced me to want sleep rather than inform you of "What's New" at the orchard.   Up date on hoshigaki: We are now selling early  season hoshigaki at the farm stand.  These are the ones we peeled in October.  Soon we will be into the regular season.  Then we will start to notify customers on the reserve list and start the mail order process.  If you are interested in purchasing one or more pounds at the farm stand, please call (916) 791-1656 or email otoworchard@yahoo.com.  For mail orders please use our mail order form.

 

 

(Sorry about the blank space that follows.   Not  intentionally left.  Below is our current products available.) 

 

 

Please note, we will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.  January will have modified hours also.  Stay tuned.

 

 

 Hours

    Tues thru Sat  10:00 am to 6:00 pm

    Sunday 11:00 to 5:00

    Closed on Mondays 

Here is what we have at the Farm Stand from Otow Orchard.

PERSIMMONS

FUYU:  These are low acid, firm, sweet and crisp.  People love them because they are always sweet and at this time very crisp.They can be eaten firm or softer depending on your preference.  

Back row: Nagamaru (Chocolate,Tsurunoko), Hyakume (cinnamon), Hachiya. Front row  Maru, Coffee Cake (Nishimura Wase), Fuyu.

Hachiya:  Hachiya are tall, orange, acorn shaped persimmons that cannot be eaten till soft as pudding in a bag.  They become soft, sweet and juicy. It was suggested that you bite a little hole in the skin and suck out the contents for a sweet treat.  Watch out for the seeds.

Gyombo:  These are tall, conical shaped persimmons.  Like Hachiya, they remain astringent till very soft. They are very sweet and juicy.  It is suggested that you bite a little hole in the skin and suck out the contents for a sweet treat.  Watch out for the seeds.

Maru, Nagamaru, and Chocolate: These persimmons  are brown fleshed when pollinated.  They are sweet and can be eaten hard  or softer.  For the novice, our recommendation is to cut the persimmon to see the sweet brown flesh before biting into the fruit.  Often less than half of the persimmon is edible.

 

   

Hoshigaki :  These are whole dried persimmons.  They are hand massaged while they dry over a period of four to eight weeks.  Some are firm, others are soft and moist.  All are coated with naturally formed white persimmon sugar.  No sugar added and no preservatives used. We strive to make the best hoshigaki without any shortcuts.  This takes time and attention during the drying season.  We usually begin processing the new season hoshigaki in October.  We may have a few to sell by Thanksgiving.  December and January are usually the best time to get hoshigaki.  For orders of more than 1 pound it is best to email or call us to make a preorder.  For mail orders please use our mail order form.

 APPLES          

Reinette Simirenko, Fuji, Granny Smith, Striped Red Delicious

Granny Smith:  Green skinned sweet tart apple. White flesh does not discolor with exposure to air.  Although often used for baking it also can be enjoyed eaten out of hand.  For pies it is recommended to add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Fuji:   Our Fuji apples are green with light red blush.  I blame this on our warm weather compared to cooler apple growing regions in the Northwest. Nonetheless our Fuji apples are sweet, crisp and full of juice. They are mostly used for fresh eating but also good for baking, cooking, drying and adding to salads. 

Pink Lady:  (Cripps Pink) Beautiful deep pink skin.  Sweet tart flavor. Great for eating fresh, slicing into salads, and baking.  Resists browning when sliced.

European Pears

Comice:  This is a European pear. These gems are yellow when mature.  If properly ripened (and I am still learning) the texture becomes delicate and creamy. They are sweet, juicy and aromatic with a background of honey and vanilla.  

ASIAN PEARS  

Shinko:  A popular sweet Asian pear. Shinko are crisp and juicy with a background of citrus and butterscotch.  It has brown skin with ivory colored flesh. A refreshing snack to be shared with others or added to salads.  They can be roasted or added to baked goods.  Unwashed Shinko pears can be stored in the produce bin of the refrigerator for one to three months.

POMEGRANATES

White Pomegranates:  The actual name of this variety is unknown. Kichitaro Kawano, founder of this orchard, planted it over 100 years ago.  The name has been lost.  Yellow skin over pink arils. The seeds are sweet with a smaller core than other pomegranates.  Pink juice does not stain.

Wonderful Pomegranates:  Very popular crimson seeded red pomegranates.   Sweet-tart and so flavorful. 

 

Quince:  Related to pears and apples, quince are firm, fragrant, and tart. They contain pectin which promotes gelling. Seldom eaten raw, it is usually cooked with sweetener for jam jelly, candy or added to stews. Quince sauce pairs nicely with pork. Thinly sliced raw quince can be added to tea or water.

Pecans:  Sweet and nutty and thin shelled.  Hand harvested before the crows got them!!!  I really have no idea but they look like Shawnee variety.

Local Honey  Honey 🍯 from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard. Bee pollen from bees 🐝 at Otow Orchard is also available.

⚘ Calendula  Salve and Lip Balm:  Wonderfully thick salve for healing dry skin, bug bites and scrapes.   

Here is what we have from other producers:

Tudsbury Orchard in Loomis  Bags of mountain grown mandarins.  Sweet tart and flavorful.  

La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens.  Chickens are currently molting so egg production is low.  Also, production is limited by short daylight hours. Production should increase in February.  Limited supply.

     Vanilla Exract:  Homemade in Loomis, CA at La Bella Vito Farm. Fragrant vanilla flavoring from Madagascar vanilla beans.

 

Kijani Farm in Granite Bay.  No spray practice:  

 Butternut Squash:  Sweet nutty winter squash. Orange flesh is concentrated in the neck of this squash.

 

The California Persimmon:  A book published by the ANR covering history and background of persimmons. Contains many new and traditional persimmon recipes.

 

 

Pumpkin Patch & Persimmon Time

Now at the fruit stand we have many kinds of persimmons for sale.  There are lots of soft or softening hachiya and also maru, fuyu and vodka-treated hyakume.  We've been busy peeling persimmons to dry for hoshigaki since the beginning of this week. 

There was a good article recently about the orchard in the Sacramento Bee.  In it there's a description of the different varieties of persimmons we grow and information about the history of the farm.  A link to the article is here.

The pumpkin patch is open at the orchard now. If you come to the fruit stand, stop by and let us know if you want to go out and pick a pumpkin and we'll direct you out there. 

Here's what's at the fruit stand now: 

• Persimmons--Fuyu, Maru (chocolate), Nagamaru, Hachiya (soft and hard), Coffee Cake, Vodka-treated Hyakume
• Hoshigaki (Japanese hand-dried persimmon)--whole and strips
• Asian pears--Okusankichi
• Apples--Granny Smith, Fuji
• Pomegranate--White and Red varieties
  
• Quince
• Chestnuts
• Vegetables--Tomatillos, shishito peppers, jalapeños, garlic
• Winter squash--Butternut, Kabocha
• Herbs--Basil, Oregano, Rosemary
• Bee products from bees at our orchard--honey, propolis, bee pollen, 100% beeswax candles
• Jam--The Good Stuff jams made with fruit from our orchard
• Eggs--Free-range local chicken eggs
• Perfectly Persimmon Cookbook--1004 persimmon recipes by Jean Brine
•  The California Persimmon--a persimmon cookbook published by the University of California Cooperative Extension, Placer and Nevada Counties. 

Hoshigaki & the Fruit Stand

Over the past few weeks we've had a few days of rain, which has slowed hoshigaki drying a bit.  When it rains we have to leave the freshly peeled persimmons that are on the outside racks covered. When it's sunny the rack is uncovered during the day so the fruit can be exposed to the wind and sun to help with drying.  In damp air the sticks of persimmons hanging in the inside rooms are more difficult to massage without damaging them.  

We're still peeling persimmons to start new hoshigaki because the persimmons are still hard enough to peel.  Sometime we'll need to stop peeling because the persimmons will either be mostly too ripe to dry well or the weather will be too cool or damp for them to dry well.  Right now we're still taking orders for pick up at the fruit stand or mail order. If you'd like to pick up more than a pound of hoshigaki at our fruit stand, it's a good idea to call ahead.  We've started sending out hoshigaki mail orders that were ordered earlier this fall.     
 
Did you know that you could make persimmon-pumpkin pie?  One way is to take a recipe for pumpkin pie and substitute half the amount of pumpkin with persimmon pulp.  Here's a link to a photo and recipe for persimmon-pumpkin pie from an earlier post.  

Here's what we have at the fruit stand now:

• Persimmons--Fuyu, Maru (chocolate), vodka-treated hyakume, hachiya (soft or firm), hoshigaki (Japanese hand-dried persimmons)
• Pomegranate--white variety (cream to pink outside, softer, sweeter pink seeds) red variety
• Asian Pears--Shinko, Okusankichi
• Apples--Granny Smith 
• Winter Squash--Butternut, Kabocha (many varieties), Red Kuri, pie pumpkins 
• Vegetables--Winter melon (togan), green tomatoes, Swiss chard, herbs
• Decorative Gourds
• Honey--from bees at our orchard 
• Eggs--from free range chickens
• Beeswax candles--handmade 100% beeswax from the orchard
• The Art of Real Food Cookbook--by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenney
• Perfectly Persimmon Cookbook--1004 persimmon recipes by Jean Brine
•  The California Persimmon, a persimmon cookbook published by the University of California Cooperative Extension, Placer and Nevada Counties. 
• Master Gardeners Calender--by Placer County Master Gardeners

Pumpkins & Persimmons

Topped hachiyas waiting to get peeled.

We have lots of pumpkins and gourds for decorating and carving outside the fruit stand.  You can go out to the pumpkin patch and pick your own pumpkin, too.

Peeling persimmons for hoshigaki (hand-dried persimmons) began this week.   Picking is still slow though, with having to go through a lot of trees to find enough hachiyas ripe enough for peeling to fill a few boxes.   We only have limited amounts of hoshigaki to sell at the fruit stand right now because we just started this year's season.  After peeling, each persimmon takes around six weeks to dry and become hoshigaki. If you want to order hoshigaki by mail order, check the Oct. 3rd post for more information.  To eat a fresh hachiya persimmon, it has to look like a water balloon and be the texture of jello.   There are a few hard hachiyas for sale in the fruit stand now, but not yet a very big supply.

We picked the first fuyu persimmons this week.  The first ones picked are yellow-orange and crisp, not dark orange and juicy like they will be a few weeks later.  Fuyu persimmon is also called "apple persimmon" because it's sweet to eat when firm like an apple.  We're continuing to pick maru persimmon, too.  Maru is the earliest type of persimmon we have.  Maru is also called "chocolate" persimmon because if it was pollinated the fruit will be brown inside and sweet to eat when firm.  As the weather gets colder, all of the persimmons should ripen more quickly.

People are welcome to visit the orchard and see the persimmons drying.  We're open Tues. through Sat.,  9-6 and Sun. from 10-5.  We're closed only on Mondays. If you want to visit the orchard for an organized group tour, please call ahead to schedule a time.  Other groups have already arranged times to come, and we want to be able to give everyone good attention.  Because we're a small farm with only a few workers, we need to know ahead of time to have enough staff available to help out.

Here's what's at the fruit stand now:

• Pumpkins (at the fruit stand and at the pumpkin patch)
• Persimmons--Maru, Fuyu, Hachiya
• Apples--Fuji, Mutsu, Golden Delicious
• Asian Pear--Shinko, Olympic
• Pomegranate--white variety
• Jujube
• Vegetables--tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash,eggplant, peppers, basil, oregano, mint
• Winter Squash--butternut, kabocha (various types), red kuri, buttercup, spaghetti squash, pie pumpkins
  
• Organic Winter Vegetable Seedlings
• Local Honey--star thistle honey from Lincoln
• Eggs

Apples & Pumpkins

We have lots of varieties of apples right now, including Fuji, Crispin, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Northern Spy.  We also picked lots of winter squash and pumpkins. There are some pumpkins already picked and at the fruit stand and a pumpkin patch where people can go out to and pick their own pumpkin. Peas and Harmony has some organic winter vegetable seedlings for sale at the orchard, too.  There are broccoli, beets, Swiss chard, lettuce, mizuna, mustard, onions, thyme and other seedlings ready to be planted now into winter gardens. 

Persimmons are not quite ready yet, only a few maru have been picked so far. People say that cold weather ripens persimmons, so maybe this week's cooler temperatures will speed up the ripening.  We're expecting the first rain since June during the week this week, too.  It's a bit early for rain but the weather's been unusual this year. 


The next delivery from the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club will be at our orchard from 3:30- 5:00 on Friday, Oct. 21st.  Orders need to be received online by Friday, Oct. 14th at 5:00.  Through the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club you can order local naturally grown pork and lamb, grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, eggs and honey.  The Placer County Real Food Cookbook can be ordered and delivered through the Meat Buyers Club, too.  Monthly deliveries are at our orchard in Granite Bay, at Community Ink in Truckee and at Confluence Kitchen in Auburn.

Here's what's at the fruit stand now:

• Pumpkins (at the fruit stand and at the pumpkin patch)
• Apples--Fuji, Crispin (Mutsu), Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Northern Spy
• Asian Pear--Shinko, New Century, 20th Century, Olympic
• Plums--Angelina
• European Pear--Comice
• Figs--Black Mission
  
• Quince
• Jujube
• Vegetables--tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash,eggplant, long beans, peppers, basil, oregano, mint
• Winter Squash--butternut, kabocha (various types), red kuri, buttercup, spaghetti squash, pie pumpkins
  
• Organic Winter Vegetable Seedlings
• Local Honey--from bees at our orchard, star thistle honey from Lincoln
• Eggs

Jujube, Gourds & the Fruit Stand

This year seemed to be a good year for Jujube.  Although we have only a few jujube trees, each has a big crop of fruit, so we have lots of jujube at the fruit stand.  The photo at the left shows ripe jujube.  You can eat jujube when they're light brown and crunchy, or when they get darker reddish brown and drier and their flavor is more concentrated.  We've also been picking olives over the past few weeks and have most of them curing now. We now have Quince and white pomegranate at the fruit stand, too.

Last week the first Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers club delivery happened at the orchard.  Through the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club you can order local meat, poultry and eggs online, then pick up your order at our orchard or at one of the other locations in Placer County.  The new order form for October is now online.  The delivery date for the orchard is Friday, Oct. 22nd.  Orders need to be received by the Sierra Foothills Meat Buyers Club by Monday, Oct. 18th at 5:00 PM.

This coming Sunday, Oct. 10th is Placer Farm and Barn Tour.  Placer Farm and Barn tour is a tour of nine working family farms and vineyards in placer county with demonstrations, art, music and activities at the various sites.  Otow Orchard isn't a featured site this year, but a few of us are going to help at Pine Valley Ranch in Auburn.   To buy tickets for the Placer Farm and Barn Tour, click here.  We'll have the fruit stand at the orchard open from 10-5 as usual that day.   


At the left is a photo of a volunteer gourd plant that grew up the side of the tomato cages in my garden.  This one plant produced over 30 gourds, (more than any plant that I actually planted by seed myself).  We have gourds and pumpkins for sale at the fruit stand now.  We have a pumpkin patch to pick your own pumpkins in again this year, too. 

Here's what's at the Fruit Stand now:

• Apples--Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Mutsu
• Asian Pear--Shinseiki, New Century  (yellow varieties) and Shinko, Yoi, Olympic (brown varieties),
• European Pear--D'Anjou
• Plums--Casselman
• Figs--Black Mission, brown variety
• Pomegranate--white variety
• Quince
• Jujube
• Grapes--Thompson seedless, Kyoho
• Vegetables--tomatoes, eggplant, sweet peppers, hot peppers, zucchini, summer squash, tomatillos, red torpedo onions, herbs
• Winter Squash--Red Kuri, Butternut, Delicata, Acorn, Kabocha, Spaghetti
• Pumpkins and Gourds--at the fruit stand or pick your own in the pumpkin patch
• Eggs--from chickens at our orchard
• Honey--from bees at our orchard

Early Summer work at the Orchard

In the orchard we have been thinning persimmons from the trees, weed-eating around the sprinklers and checking and repairing the irrigation.  In the vegetable gardens we just finished planting the last winter squash by seed.  Most of the zucchini and summer squash plants are starting to produce.  The tomatoes are all green still, and they do seem like they'll be ready later than usual. 

We pulled up the last of the garlic from the wire-lined beds and then planted the beds  with specialty pumpkins (such as cinderella and white pumpkins). There's just enough time after the garlic is pulled out in early June to put in pumpkins that will ripen by the beginning of October.  The beds are wire-lined to keep out gophers, since garlic is one of gophers' favorite things to eat.  They also like to eat roots of pumpkin plants and chew on the pumpkins themselves.

To keep gophers out, we make a raised bed with hardware cloth on the bottom and aviary wire on the sides.   Though it's a lot of work to make beds like this, it's worth it for certain crops, since gophers are unable to chew through the wire to whatever is planted there.  Toshio has also been setting lots of gopher traps around the orchard to try to get rid of gophers in the other parts of the vegetable gardens.  In the photo above is Toshio with a few gophers that he caught in traps.

Persimmon Pumpkin Pie

Here's a recipe for making a persimmon pumpkin pie, or pumpkin pie with persimmon added, if you'd like to think of it that way.  I made this by taking a  persimmon pie recipe and substituting half the amount of persimmon called for with pumpkin.  It tastes like a pumpkin pie with added persimmon flavor, and with a slightly smoother texture.  I've also made this using winter squash instead of pumpkin, since winter squash is usually sweeter and we still have them from the gardens.

The original recipe was called "Persimmon Cream Pie", and comes from The California Persimmon, a persimmon cookbook published by the University of California Cooperative Extension, Placer and Nevada Counties. 

Persimmon Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup persimmon pulp
3/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 2/3 cup evaporated milk or light cream
1 8 in. uncooked pie crust

Combine beaten eggs, sugar, spices and salt.  Mix well.  Add pumpkin and persimmon pulp, evaporated milk or cream  and stir again.  Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Busy at the Orchard

The orchard has been very busy with all aspects of making hoshigaki (dried persimmons) lately. We've been peeling and hanging as many persimmons as possible while the weather is good and while the persimmons are still hard enough to peel. There are now hoshigaki drying all stages. Freshly peeled persimmons are hanging on the racks and wall outside, the glass hot house has already-massaged persimmons, and the other indoor drying rooms have racks of drier persimmons. We spend time going through the racks massaging the hoshigaki and moving the sticks to a new location if they are ready. Some hoshigaki are nearly finished and "sugaring up", meaning that they are starting to show a powdery dusting of fructose on the surface. We expect to have some of the first hoshigaki of the season finished within the next two weeks.

Aside from working with hoshigaki and keeping track of mail orders, we are also sending out orders of fresh persimmons and Asian pears. Quite a few community groups have been coming for scheduled tours of the orchard, too.

In the fruit stand we now have lots of fuyu persimmons of various sizes. In general, summer vegetables such as tomatoes are now almost finished. Our pumpkin patch is open if you're looking for pumpkins for Halloween.

Here's what you'll find for sale at the fruit stand now:

• Persimmons--Maru, hachiya, hyakume (vodka-treated), fuyu
• Apples--Fuji, Golden Delicious, Mutsu
• Asian pear--Okusankichi (large brown variety)
• Grapes--Ribier
• Jujube
• Pomegranate--white variety
• Quince
• Winter Squash--butternut, delicata, red kuri, kabocha, Hokkaido
• Vegetables--tomatillos, eggplant, bitter melon, peppers (sweet and hot), basil
• Honey-from bees at our orchard
• PUMPKINS (to choose at the fruit stand or pick your own in the pumpkin patch)--Jack-o-lantern (small and large), specialty types, pie pumpkins

Above you can see photos of Viviano practicing peeling next to a tub of peeled hachiya persimmons ready for stringing and hanging on the racks, and a photo of Helen peeling more persimmons while Toshio strings some for hanging.

What's New at the Orchard

This week it has rained for a few days, so we held off peeling more persimmons to dry for hoshigaki until the weather cleared.   If the freshly peeled persimmons have to stay covered under the tarp because of rain for too long, there's a danger that they'll remain damp for too long and mildew.  The first hachiya persimmons were peeled at the end of September, but they are not yet finished drying to become hoshigaki in its final form.  We are still taking orders for hoshigaki and fresh persimmons.  For a link to the order form, click here.

Summer vegetables are slowing down now in the gardens, so we have less to offer in the fruit stand.  If you want to order organic winter vegetable seedlings to plant in your garden, please contact Julie and Allison at Peas and Harmony.

Here's what you'll find at the fruit stand now:

• Persimmons-Maru, hachiya, hyakume (vodka-treated), fuyu
• Jujube
• Pomegranate--white variety
  
• Quince
• Plums--Casselman
• Apples--Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Mutsu
  
• Asian pear--2oth Century, New Century, Shinko, Yoi, Yali
  
• European pear--D'Anjou
• Grapes--Ribier, Thompson seedless 
• Winter Squash--butternut, delicata, Fordhook acorn, red kuri, kabocha, Hokkaido, buttercup, pie pumpkins
• Tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, green beans, bitter melon, okra, peppers (sweet and hot), basil, garlic
• Honey-from bees at our orchard  
•  PUMPKINS (to choose at the fruit stand or pick your own in the pumpkin patch)--Jack-o-lantern (small and large), specialty types,  pie pumpkins

 The photo above shows some of our chickens looking out of their chicken dome.  Above them you can see the bamboo roost we made suspended from the top.