This time of year is the beginning of the transition from baseball into football, summer vacations into school or work, and from stone fruit into fall pome fruits (apples and pears).

Apples and pears are coming into harvest now, with varieties arriving each week from farms in different regions. The varieties The FruitGuys provide change often, so I recommend that you check out your mix and region on our website or just click on the ladybug icon on our home page.

Pome fruits are close relatives of the rose family. For a more elaborate pome portrait, I’ll defer to the master of food journalism—Harold McGee. The following quote is from his book, On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen.

“The fleshy portion of a pome fruit is the greatly enlarged tip of the flower stem. The remains of the flower project from the bottom of the fruit, and the few small seeds are protected in a tough-walled core. Apples and their relatives are climacteric fruit and contain starch stores that can be turned into sugar after harvest…apples are generally sold ripe and keep best if immediately wrapped and refrigerated; pears are sold unripe and are best ripened at relatively cool room temperatures then refrigerated without close wrapping.”

Farmers pick apples pretty much ready to eat (this can vary a bit by variety and time of year—early apples sometimes need a day or two to ripen). As McGee notes, pears are picked hard and unripe. This is not by choice but by nature—to get a perfect pear you need to let it ripen off the tree. So if your pears are hard, know that is how they should be. Let them sit in a cool room, and when they give slightly to the touch, they’re ready to eat.

Enjoy & Be Fruitful!

—Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

I can’t help but wonder what kind of exciting twists and turns could come about if you took the same level of Ringling Brothers Circus–promotion to the fruit world. [Blurry fade-in with melting-wind-chime music…]

Narrator: “I’m here at FruitGuys East where we’re tracking The FruitGuys local buying and production staff. I’m putting out a box of locally grown Pennsylvania fruit and wearing only my wetsuit, oxygen tank, and mask. Let’s see what happens when I jump into the middle of The FruitGuys production staff’s packing melee! [Narrator rolling around on the floor, talking quickly, out of breath.] “Son of a fish! The staff is actually going for the fruit and completely ignoring me! They’re stepping over me and not even aware that I’m here. It’s almost too much to believe that they haven’t seen or recognized this Emmy Award–winning face. Now they’re swarming in an unbelievably orderly fashion around the box of Vanier plums from Beechwood Orchards. They’re taking a box of white and yellow peaches from Three Springs Fruit Farm and handling them with calm and tender ferocity. If I weren’t in this wetsuit and getting in their way, I’m sure they’d offer me a piece. This is local harvest at its most raw!”

OK—maybe it’s a stretch to impose the frenzied excitement of Shark Week onto the juicy serenity of the fruit world, but The FruitGuys is pretty excited as the non-California growing regions that we serve around the country are in their summer harvests. Look for lots of locally and regionally grown fruit from many of the small farmers that you support through your purchase.

Please check our mix pages to find out exactly what you’re eating and where it was grown. Or, just click on the ladybug icon on our home page and choose your region.

Enjoy & Be Fruitful!

—Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

I have to admit that as a kid growing up on the East Coast in the ’70s and ’80s, I didn’t really know what real grapes were. I mean, I knew what they were, but somehow I thought that the two grape-foods I was exposed to regularly were the true markers of grape taste: glass-bottled grape juice and grape-flavored Dimetapp, the kid’s cold medicine. It wasn’t until I moved to California that I realized grapes were not always best in a liquid, dark-purple form and that they didn’t always produce a reflexive lip-smacking “Ahhhh!” and a spine-tingling shiver. You’ve come a long way, baby!

Grapes come in many flavors and forms. Those stereotypical ’70s grape-flavored foods were all based on the taste of the Concord grape—a very sweet, seeded grape with dark purple skin and juice. In The FruitGuys world, we generally provide seedless varieties, as we have learned over the years that serving seeded grapes in workplaces can create challenges (“Anybody have a napkin? I don’t want to use my tie again…”).

During the course of the summer, we’ll offer a nice range of grape colors and tastes. Generally the summer seedless varieties start with a light-green grape called the Perlette, then move on to the Red Flame, the green Thompson Seedless, and then back to the rich Red Crimson. Toward the end of summer, we’ll see the Muscat and Black Seedless varieties. Grapes continue to ripen after being picked. You can see this change most readily in a light-colored variety like the Thompson. A fresh-picked Thompson is verdant green, but as it matures, the grape will take on a more caramel-brown hue. This is normal, and you’ll find that the taste evolves from tartness to a smoother caramelized-sweet taste. All grapes go through this process, but it’s harder to see the changes in dark-hued varieties. When selecting grapes, you can tell freshness by examining the stems. Fresh grapes will have green and pliable stems, while grapes that have been stored for a while will have twiggy and woody ones.

Please check our mix pages to find out what grape variety is local to you. Or, just click on the ladybug icon on our home page and choose your region.

Enjoy and be fruitful!

—Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

The name “nectarine” means sweet as nectar and varieties come in a cavalcade of fancy names evoking fire and jewels such as, Goldmine, Ruby Grand, Flame Kist, and August Flare. The names with Ice, Snow, or Stars usually belong to the white-fleshed varieties such as the Snow Queen and Arctic Star. Just like their sister peaches, nectarines can come in freestone (the flesh is free from the pit), clingstone (the flesh is woven in the pit), and semi-cling versions. They also come in the squashed-looking “donut” varieties.

Nectarines are not genetically modified in order to be fuzz-less, they are as ancient as peaches; their histories are intertwined. The nectarine is just one gene different than a peach. Sometimes peach trees will produce a nectarine or vice versa. They were described in ancient texts, but true cultivation wasn’t chronicled until the 17th century in England. They were first grown in the U.S. in the 18th century and thrive in less humid climes like California.

Nectarines bring a full palette of flavor undertones, from cinnamon to citrus to pineapple. The most significant aspect is its sweetness, which is affected by the level of acid in the fruit. “Sub-acid” nectarines and peaches taste sweeter because they have less acid.

Nectarines are a low calorie food (about 50 calories per piece) and chock full of Vitamin C and Vitamin A (20% of your RDA)—which is bound to make any mom happy.

Preparation: Wash right before eating or cutting. Nectarines add sweetness sliced into green or fruit salads. They hold together well when baked in crisps or grilled and topped with cream. They can also be sliced in a glass and covered with your favorite wine for dessert.

Storage: Nectarines are “climatic” and like other stone fruit, continue to ripen after picking. Place in an open paper bag, or out of direct sunlight on the counter. Only refrigerate below 36 degrees or they will get mealy.

- Heidi Lewis

Ed has always been a small family farmer who is concerned about doing things in a sustainable way. Ed uses low-flow micro sprinklers on his orchard. Instead of irrigating his trees through flood irrigation, which can be wasteful, Ed’s micro-sprinklers water a six to eight food circle just around the base of the tree – enough to cover only the root area and nothing more. He manages the water application process based upon the health of the trees, time of year and weather.

Ed is also a recipient of our “Farm Steward program.” This year, during the spring, we funded and installed an owl box on his property to help him with pest control. It’s a great, natural way to address rodents who may be looking for water by gnawing through his irrigation system or that might go after the roots of trees.

Local & Regional: As your office fruit delivery company we work hard to bring you fruit grown as close to your workplace as we can. Summer time is the best time of year for local and regional fruit. This week for our east coast customers we have Rising Star Yellow Peaches from Three Springs Fruit Farm in Aspers, CA. On the west coast we have Ed Magee’s White Lady White Peaches, and organic Grand Sweet Nectarines from Olson Organics in Kingsburg, CA. We will also feature Michigan grown Blueberries in our midwest boxes. Please check out our mixes which describe the local and regional product selections by area at www.fruitguys.com/mix.

Enjoy and be fruitful!

- Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

Verne’s cousin Artie, who was lamenting his familial loss with a third glass of wheat grass at the pub, overheard Fruito and, feeling his family name had been muddied, challenged him to a duel in his preferred fashion—choking at less than one pace. Artie choked but Fruito was ripe for the challenge and gave him his patented Banana Peel Slip, neatly escaping Artie’s attack.

But after that Fruito never performed publicly again. His art may have been lost, but his lessons are still preserved to this day. The obvious ones are part of children’s lore even now. Things like “Don’t eat cherries while wearing a white tuxedo and trying to extract venom from spitting cobras with your feet” may seem obvious lessons for the youth of today (dry cleaning a white tux is expensive) but back then it was novel.

Recently however, a mustachioed journalist discovered Fruito’s hidden tomb and unearthed his secret book of magic, which was profound in its simplicity. “Ripening,” it said, “is the key to all good tricks with fruit.”

Interestingly enough, nature imitates art. Just as Vern’s act started out great and then would decay; so do vegetables – they are ready to eat when picked and then begin to degrade. Fruito would start out slow, build to a crescendo of perfection, and then wind it down – just like summer stone fruit in the orchard. They continue to ripen after being picked, reach a peak of ripeness, and then decay.

So know that peaches and nectarines are ripe and juicy when soft to the touch; that nectarines aren’t as astringent as peaches so some folks like to eat them firm. For best flavor, I would recommend not refrigerating. You can store them in the fridge if necessary, but they get brown and mealy when held between 36 and 46 degrees.

Enjoy and be fruitful!

- Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

While the movement for sustainable agriculture has traditionally been one of the “underdogs,” it’s now starting to emerge as a powerful force.  Recently the National Research Council endorsed the sustainability movement.  It noted that there are now twice as many farmers selling local meat and produce in farmers’ markets than there are growing cotton.  While it’s good that prestigious commissions are taking notice and helping to move local agriculture into the mainstream spotlight, there are still some hurdles for the local food and sustainable movement that, when combined, feel like Dolph Lundgren (pretending to be Ivan Drago in the 1985 “Rocky IV” film) entering the ring after jacking up on anabolic steroids.

Three issues in particular shed light on a trend that I worry will increase short-term pressure on our small and sustainable farmers.  These issues are: the controversy over the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Light Brown Apple Moth eradication program that inadvertently gives imported produce grown under LBAM conditions easier access to the U.S. market than locally-grown produce; the growth of intellectual property rights in agriculture and the effect on those who choose not to use patented GMO products for seed; and the current debate over the proposed FDA standards that would hold small, organic farmers to the same production standards as large, commercial cut produce processors.

It is part of The FruitGuys mission to support small and local farmers and we will continue to update you via our bi-weekly newsletter about these issues and stories.  (You can sign up for our newsletter here).  We always want you to know what we put in your mix and where it comes from.   You can check it out by clicking the ladybug icon on our home page.

Enjoy and be fruitful.

- Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

It’s with this spirit in mind that I celebrate The Apricot. Apricots are a timid and precocious fruit. They thrive best in areas of mild winters and, according to Robert Palter, are: “noted by Alexandre Dumas in his own dictionary: ‘Such an early fruit that there are few springs when one does not hear people saying: “There will be no apricots this year, they’ve all been caught by the frost.’’ ’ ”

There are hundreds of different apricot varieties. We know them as pale orange-colored fruits, but there are also white and yellow varieties (we’ll have white apricots in about two weeks). Apricots have also been hybridized with plums to produce plumcots (a plum/apricot mix) and apriums (more apricot then plum).

In her poem, “Consolations of Apricots,” Diane Ackerman opens with:

Somewhere between a peach and a prayer,
they taste of well water
and butterscotch and dried apples
and desert simooms and lust.

Sweet with a twang of spice.

This week on the West Coast, we will feature Golden Sweet apricots early in the week and then transition to Patterson apricots. On the East Coast, we also have California-grown Patterson apricots as well as Angelcots. In the Midwest, you’ll find California apricots in your fruit cases.

To see what is local to you, just click on the ladybug icon on our home page or go to fruitguys.com/mix.

Enjoy & Be Fruitful!

- Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

The FruitGuys also brings you the Berkeley Wellness Letter, a nationally recognized newsletter of fitness, nutrition, and self-care. Go to: www.wellnessletter.com and enter this month’s password: “aspirin” to access a wealth of information.

It’s now the Summer Solstice and (besides checking to see if “the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with mars”) this means that the sun has reached its highest point in the sky and is providing the northern hemisphere with the most light it’s going to get all year, which means that the Peach and Nectarine Train is gathering steam. I wrote about the different kinds of peaches and nectarines a few weeks ago, remember: Cling is where the flesh is woven into the pit; freestone is where the pit and the flesh are detached; semi-cling is just that—some attachment to the pit but not fully woven in. There are also two flesh types for peaches and nectarines: yellow and white. And within these categories there are hundreds of varieties. Peaches and nectarines are climacteric fruits—they ripen after being picked. When they yield to the touch and have an aromatic smell, they are ready to eat.

Right now, California is supplying most of the nation’s peaches and nectarines. In July we’ll start seeing Michigan peaches in the Midwest crates and local East Coast peaches. This week in our West Coast organic mix our peaches come from Twin Girls Farm: white Savannah Snow peaches, organic Arctic Star white nectarines, and organic yellow Kay Sweet nectarines. In our Harvest Flyer crates you’ll see Crimson Princess yellow peaches, Diamond Brite yellow nectarines, Diamond Pearl white nectarines, and the Ice Princess white peach all from Blake Carlson in Kingsburg, CA. We’re also featuring Mas Masumoto’s organic June Crest Peaches in our mixes as well. Varieties are changing weekly right now so check out your regional mix on our website for the latest list.

Enjoy and be fruitful!

- Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

I have to admit that California’s cherry season has not been as good as others in the past. We’ve seen good cherries start in May but this year the season really geared up in June. It was a late start for California stone fruit and we can blame the weather, specifically the rain. Cherries are extremely delicate fruits, and when they’re exposed to rain near harvest, they can split and crack. This happens when the protective cuticle layer that contains natural waxes to keep moisture out has been stretched and thinned, which can be caused in two ways: Rain can pass through this thinned cuticle layer and swell the cherry past the breaking point until the skin cracks. This can also happen from inside when a tree absorbs too much water through its vascular system. Water management in fruit is an important and delicate balancing act. Too much water can damage fruits like cherries and dilute the taste. Some farmers will water as they get near harvest to gain size in fruit so that it looks appealing. If the fruit’s size hasn’t been planned through thinning (removing) fruit, rather than overwatering, then the growth from excess water just ends up diluting the sugars in the fruit rather than enhancing the taste. I find that small and medium-sized fruits contain better sugar concentrations and thus taste better.

The cherry season shifts by location very quickly. We are already coming to the end of the California cherry harvest. Fresh cherries will be coming from locations further north on the west coast, Washington specifically. On the east coast, we’ll have our first farm-direct cherries from Kauffman’s Fruit Farm in Pennsylvania and we should see mid-west cherries soon from the Michigan region. The harvest transitions mean that there may be some gaps in our regional cherry offerings so please visit our mix pages at fruitguys.com/mix to see what’s happening – they are updated daily.

Enjoy and be fruitful!

- Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com