We were gone for just a week to NY and PA. When we returned the season had changed. Not one peach, plum or Plout in sight.
Persimmons are starting to come into the farm stand. The earliest ones ones are the brown fleshed ones: Coffee Cake, Nagamaru, Chocolate, and Maru. As you may recall these brown fleshed persimmons need to be pollinated in order to be sweet. When pollinated, seeds will form and influence the flesh to turn brown and become sweet. Sometimes the fruit is not fully pollinated and a portion of the fruit will remain astringent. The shape sometimes offers clues but often we are just guessing. There are also a few small light colored Fuyu persimmons on the display table. These are very crisp and will get sweeter and more orange with time. We are also getting a few early Hachiya persimmons. These are the ones that cannot be enjoyed until soft and gooey. Hachiya are also the ones used to make hoshigaki. Although the Hachiya are not sweet and soft yet, customers are encouraged to buy now and ripen at home. It may take a couple of weeks.
Hoshigaki is on our minds but it is too early to start the process. I am busy cleaning out the rooms and dusting off the racks we use to process hoshigaki. Hopefully the 2024 order form will be on the web site in a couple of weeks.
The Fall issue of California Bountiful magazine featured a story on hoshigaki at Otow Orchard. Check it out. https://www.californiabountiful.com/magazine-features/magazine-issues/fall-2024/the-art-of-hoshigaki/
It's been a few years since we had a harvest-able crop of olives with minimal olive fruit fly damage. This year might be the year. Almost every year the olive fruit fly visits the developing olive and deposits an egg in the olive. About the time the olive is getting ready for harvest the egg hatches and the olive fruit fly larvae begins to eat the flesh of the olive. This ruins the olive for many people. But I know one customer who says he just turns off the lights when he eats the olives. It's a wait and see situation. If the olives remain clean we will sell raw Manzanillo and Mission olives. To learn how to cure olives it is best to visit several web sites to get advice.
REGULAR HOURS
Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, 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.
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| The line up: Hachiya, Coffee Cake, Hyakume, Nagamaru, sliced Maru and Maru, Fuyu. |
Persimmon:
Hachiya: Popular persimmon. Until soft it is very astringent. Hachiya are tall and pointed like an acorn. These are often used in cookies, breads, and puddings. Many people enjoy just eating them out of hand or pairing them with ice cream, smoothies, or oatmeal. This is also the variety most commonly used to make hoshigaki (Japanese hand dried persimmons). Frozen Hachiya persimmon pulp is also available.
Fuyu: It's early in the season for these popular persimmons. They have not yet developed their dark orange skin. The yellowish ones are sweet and crisp. They are always sweet and usually eaten hard like an apple. As the season develops Fuyu will get more orange, sweeter and juicier.
Coffee Cake, Nishimura Wase: These look like Fuyu persimmons but are astringent unless pollinated. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet. We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss. 😝.
Maru: Sweet, round, brown fleshed persimmon. Can be eaten hard and crunchy or when it is softer and sweeter. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet. We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss. 😝.
Nagamaru, Tsurunoko, Chocolate: Three names. Sweet, dark brown fleshed persimmon. It is orange skinned and a tall oblong shape. Can be enjoyed hard or more soft. Only when pollinated do they become brown and sweet. We try to display only the sweet ones 😋but may occasionally miss. 😝. Whether pollinated or not, Nagamaru will be sweet when soft.
Grapes:
Jujube: Also called Chinese dates and natsume. They are a small, oval shaped drupe with a date like seed. Enjoyed when crisp green to brown and even wrinkled and chewy. They are sweet with apple-like texture but not as juicy as apples.
Pomegranates:
White Pomegranates: Light skinned with pink arils. Sweet with small core.
Apples:
Red Delicious: Sweet mild flavor. Popular for its red color. Unfortunately, due to the high heat, most of our Red Delicious apples are striped red this year. Nonetheless they are sweet, tender and crisp. Usually eaten out of hand or cooked. (Limited supply.)
Golden Delicious: Sweet mild flavor with yellowish skin. Great for cooking, adding to salads and fresh eating. (Limited supply.)
Granny Smith: Light green skin over white flesh. Sweet, tart, and crisp. Great for cooking and baking. It retains its shape. Also enjoyed eaten out of hand.
Fuji: Popular apple known for being sweet and crisp. Our Fuji apples range from green and yellow to red and yellow.
Asian Pears: Asian pears should be enjoyed while firm and crisp like an apple.
Shinko: Firm, sweet and crisp pear. Brown skin with outstanding flavor and floral fragrance. Eat out of hand or slice and add to salads. Good for storage.
Yali: Pear-shaped, firm Asian pear. Smooth-skinned with fine sweet-tart flavor similar to anise and spice. Very juicy and fragrant. Attractive delicate appearance.
Olympic: Large, sweet, brown pear. Heavy and dense.
Quince: Firm yellow fruit, always tart, wonderfully aromatic. Used for jam, jelly, candy, and sauce due to its high pectin content. Often added to stews.
Winter Squash:
Kaboch: This winter squash is a popular Japanese pumpkin. It has a hard dark green skin with a thick deep yellow or orange flesh. Sweet and nutty flavor. Great for steaming, roasting, baking, stuffing and adding to soup and stews.
Butternut: One of the most popular winter squashes because of its generous flesh. The seeds are contained in the bulbous end and the neck is all flesh. It has a sweet nutty flavor. It can be roasted, steamed, baked and chopped into soups, stews, casseroles and curries. Flavor a can be savory or sweetened with syrup and butter.
Acorn: Green or orange skin with longitudinal ridges. It has sweet yellow orange flesh inside.
Japanese cucumbers: Seedless and tender. So crisp and refreshing as a snack on a warm summer day.We love the flavor of these cucumbers and are always sad when they are gone. (Limited supply.)
Chili peppers: Aji Amarillos, Jalapeno, Buena Mulata.
Sweet peppers: Green, orange, and purple sweet peppers. (Limited supply.)
Japanese eggplant: Limited Supply
Basil: Fresh from our garden.
Blue Lake green beans: Crisp, stringless green beans with mild flavor. Great for fresh eating, freezing and cooking. (Limited supply.)
Long beans: Tender green beans that happen to be 6" to 15" long. Cut to your desired length. Uses as any other green bean. Great seasoned with sesame oil. (Limited supply.)
Red or Green Shiso leaves: Beefsteak herb. Japaneses aromatic herb used in salads, soups and on noodles. Can be paired with sashimi. Red shiso is used in preparing umeboshi.
⚘ Calendula Salve and Lip Balm: Wonderfully thick salve for healing dry skin, bug bites and scrapes.
Here is what we have from other producers:
Sunnyslope Farm in Granite Bay, conventional farming:
Mutsu apples: Green skinned, sweet tart apples. Used for fresh eating and cooking.
Fuji apples: Sweet, crisp and juicy.
WoodRose Country Garden
in Granite Bay, organic practices:
Arugula: spicy aromatic greens (Limited supply.)
Basil: (Limited supply.)
La Bella Vito Farm in Loomis is bringing us fresh🥚 eggs from pastured 🐔🐔chickens. Limited supply.
