Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Mandarins and Hoshigaki


We continue to be very busy at the orchard lately, with lots of people who want to see the hoshigaki drying process and try different types of persimmons coming to visit.  This past week's publicity about the orchard has definitely brought a lot of people out. The PBS television show California Gold featuring the orchard was shown multiple times, and the Sacramento News and Review had an article about persimmons that mentioned us.  The Sacramento News and Review article was accurate and very informative about the different types of persimmons.  To see the article, click here

Drying persimmons for hoshigaki was a bit trickier this past week, because of a few episodes of rain.  They dry more slowly when it rains because of dampness in the air and less sun exposure for the persimmons after first being peeled.  Also the weather is getting colder and we are hurrying to peel as many persimmons as possible before the cold softens them too much for peeling.   Once the persimmons are too soft to peel, the persimmons that have started drying are all the hoshigaki we'll be able to make for the the season. 

Other news is that we now have mandarins for sale at the orchard.  Here's a list of what at the fruit stand now:

  • Persimmons--fuyu, maru, hachiya, hyakume (vodka-treated)
  • Hoshigaki  (dried persimmon)--in small quantities, please call ahead for larger amounts
  • Mandarins--owari satsuma variety (various sizes) 
  • Apples--Fuji, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, pippin
  • Asian pear--Okusankichi (large brown variety)
  • Pomegranate--white & red varieties
  • Winter Squash--buttercup, red kuri, kabocha, Hokkaido, pumpkins
  • Gourds--for decorating
  • Honey--raw, untreated and un-heated honey made by bees at our orchard
Above is a photo of a mandarin tree at our orchard.

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