PERSIMMONS AND MANDARINS

     For the moment, it is persimmon and mandarin season.  Hoshigaki is quickly coming along.

      During dry periods and as the leaves fall off, we are beginning winter pruning.  We are hoping for more of the wet stuff, as in rain.  

      Preparing hoshigaki for the season has dominated our time and minds.  It is coming along slowly as always.  Hoshigaki seems a little stubborn this year, perhaps due to the heat of the summer or the dry fall days.  Every year is different and we try our best to figure out the best way forward  for changing circumstances.   We are currently selling whole and strips of hoshigaki at the farm stand.   We are accepting mail orders to be added to the waiting list.  For mail orders please click on mail order form.  If you will be picking up your hoshigaki at the farm, please call (916) 791-1656 or email us at otoworchard@yahoo.com to make a preorder.

     

HOURS:

Tues through Sat   10 am to 6 pm

Sun.                       11 am to 5 pm

Closed on Mondays

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

Asian Pears:  Okusankichi:  Generally large mildly sweet winter Asian pear. Crisp, juicy and refreshing.

Apples:  Granny Smith: green skin apples, great for fresh eating and baking. Arkansas Black: dense sweet apple. Enticing deep red color (limited supply).  Pink Lady:  Crisp, sweet/tart (limited supply). Fresh eating and baking.

Pomegranates: White, Pink, and Red

Fuyu persimmons: Eaten like an apple, it is always sweet.  Usually eaten when firm. It gets sweeter and softer as it changes from yellow to orange.

Maru, Nagamaru, Hyakume persimmons:  these are brown fleshed persimmons.  The pollenated seeds infuence the flesh to turn brown and sweet. If not fully pollenated there will be portions of the fruit that are puckery. 
       Earlier, when customers asked for Maru persimmons, we told them we did not have much.  Maru are finally being harvested.  We waited a long time for these to get sweet.  Now the challenge is to harvest before all the birds in the county discover them.  "Sweet Tweet".

Hachiya and Gyombo persimmons: Must be soft to be sweet.  Used for fresh eating and baking.  These are the persimmons that are often referred to as "food of the gods".

Vodka persimmon: This is the astringent Hyakume persimmon that has been treated with vodka to make it sweet. It may be eaten hard or soft.

Quince: Usually only eaten when cooked and sweetener added.  Quince contain pectin and is used for jams, jellies, candy, and paste. Fragrant and flavorful.

Hoshigaki:  Dried persimmons with naturally formed dusting of fruit sugars on the surface.
Bee pollen from bees at Otow Orchard
Calendula Salve and Lip Balm

Winter squash:  Delicata, Kabocha, Black Futsu, Red Kuri, Butternut

Persimmon Pulp

Walnuts:  whole and shelled


Here is what we have from other producers:

Pleasant Hill Farm in Newcastle:  Red and yellow Satsuma mandarins. Conventionally grown.

Top O' the Hill Apiary:  Comb honey,  Bees wax

Nastase Honey Farm, Lincoln:  Honey

Eggs from Two Feather Farm in Granite Bay (limited supply).

Jams from the Good Stuff. We currently have Plum (Santa Rosa), Peach Cardamon, Chili Apricot, Pepper Pomegranate, Fig Orange Brandy, Chili Blackberry, and Quince Marmalade

 

Maru persimmons on the tree

Persimmons drying in the hot house

HOSHIGAKI FATIGUE

 DG (Dried persimmons sold in a gift box)  HAS SOLD OUT FOR THE SEASON.  We used up the gift boxes and do not plan to order any more.  The hoshigaki in the DK and DG are the same quality hoshigaki and like I have always said, "you can't eat the box".  Originally the hoshigaki was sold in bulk (bags of twenty to twenty-five pounds).  They had to make it dry to avoid mold.  When we decided to create a "new" hoshigaki that was moist and enjoyable to eat, the little boxes came in handy for maintaining quality and market appeal. Since it would create a savings of $13, we decided to eliminate the boxes when the supply ran out. For giving gifts an alternate option might be to purchase small cellophane bags for the hoshigaki and tie them off with ribbon.

We are presently swamped with the hoshigaki process and hope to start shipments shortly. Though the waiting list is quite lengthy, we are still accepting orders.  Happy holidays to all of you and when this covid season is brought under control, we hope to see you

Thank you,

Tosh and Chris

FUYU PERSIMMONS AND MORE

       The fuyu persimmon has finally arrived on the scene.  These are often referred to as the "apple" type of persimmon because you can just bite into them just like eating an apple.  They are always sweet.  The astringent type of persimmon, Hachiya and Gyombo, are also available.  These have to be soft to be enjoyed.  They can be eaten fresh or added to yogurt, smoothies or with cereal.  They are often used in baking cookies, breads, and puddings.

        When Maru, Nagamaru and Hyakume are pollinated in the spring, seeds form that influence the flesh to turn brown and sweet.  If less than a full cadre of seeds are present, a portion of the fruit will remain puckery.  When the fruit matures we look for external clues for selecting the sweetest ones.  Sorry we are never really sure.  We advise cutting the fruit to see if it is brown and sweet or perhaps partially yellow and puckery.   When we see Hyakume that we judge less brown, we treat them with vodka to sweeten them.  We call these treated hyakume Vodka persimmons.

      For the moment we have two varieties of Asian pears.   Okusankichi is a large brown pear. They are mildly sweet, juicy and refreshing with a light crisp texture.  Olympic are large and round.  They are more dense than the Okusankichi and are very sweet with a floral flavor.

        We are offering 3 types of apples.  Many people are familiar with the light crisp, sweet flavor of the Fuji apple.  Our Granny Smith have a nice balance of flavor sweetness and tartness.  A great choice for making pie.  Our third apple variety is a Ukrainian heirloom called Reinette Simienko.  It is light fleshed and  sweet/tart with wine like overtones when mature. 

     We are busy peeling persimmons and  hanging them on sticks in the sun.  As the surface dries and becomes leathery the inside of the persimmon is getting softer and sweeter.  Soon we are able to squeeze the whole persimmon and break up the pulp inside.  Week after week we massage the persimmons as they continue to lose moisture.  Usually after 4 to 6 weeks, a light coating of white sugar appears. The sugar continues to form on the surface till the whole persimmon is snowy white.  Yum!  It's Hoshigaki.  We will be selling early season hoshigaki for a few weeks. It will be available as whole pieces and strips.  We are accepting mail orders to be added to the waiting list.  For mail orders please click on mail order form.  If you will be picking up your hoshigaki at the farm, please call (916) 791-1656 or email us at otoworchard@yahoo.com to make a preorder.
 

    

HOURS:

Tues through Sat   10 am to 6 pm

Sun.                       11 am to 5 pm

Closed on Mondays

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

Asian Pears:  Okusankichi,

Apples:  Fuji, Granny Smith, Reinette Simirenko

Pomegranates: White, Pink, and Red

Fuyu persimmons: Eaten like an apple, it is always sweet.  Usually eaten when firm. It gets sweeter and softer as it changes from yellow to orange.

Brown fleshed Persimmons: Maru, Nagamaru, Hyakume

Hachiya and Gyombo persimmons: Must be soft to be sweet

Vodka persimmons: This is the astringent Hyakume persimmon that has been treated with vodka to make it sweet. It may be eaten hard or soft.

Quince

Hoshigaki:  early season
Honey and bee pollen from bees at Otow Orchard
Calendula Salve and Lip Balm

Chili peppers

Winter squash:  Delicata, Kabocha, Black Futsu, Red Kuri, Butternut

Persimmon Pulp


Here is what we have from other producers: 

Sunnyslope Farm: Granny Smith, conventionally grown. 

Mihara Farm in Newcastle:  Fuyu persimmons and Chestnuts, conventionally grown. 

Pleasant Hill Farm in Newcastle:  Fuyu persimmons, Red and yellow Satsuma mandarins. Conventionally grown.

Top O' the Hill Apiary:  Comb honey

Nastase Honey Farm, Lincoln:  Honey

Eggs from Two Feather Farm in Granite Bay (limited supply).

Jams from the Good Stuff. We currently have Plum (Santa Rosa), Peach Cardamon, Chili Apricot, Pepper Pomegranate, Fig Orange Brandy, Chili Blackberry, and Quince Marmalade