I’m packing for a work trip to Chicago and scanning my weather app to check the temperature. As I peruse the list of cities on my app stretching from the East Coast to the West, I notice that the temperature is in the 80s almost everywhere. It’s even that hot in San Francisco, where we reach 80 only a few times a year!
It’s hard for me to think about upcoming fall fruits like crisp Asian pears, delectable D’Anjou pears, persimmons, and pomegranates when it’s this warm. So instead of talking about those, let’s explore some unsung heroes coming to our fruit mixes this week and beyond.
Dragon fruits grow on cacti, and you can spot them by their scaly pink or yellow skin that looks a bit dragonish. Almost all of the dragon fruit we get here in the US is imported from tropical places like Southeast Asia and Mexico. That’s why we were so excited to connect with Fortule Farms, The FruitGuys’ first local dragon fruit farmer!
Fortule is based in San Diego County, California, and specializes in tropical fruits. I can’t wait to try their organic dragon fruit. They have more than 20 varieties! I find dragon fruit stunning to look at and mildly sweet in flavor, but I’ve never tasted it in its home country or when it’s locally grown. We’re tucking Fortule’s dragon fruits into lucky California mixes this week, including a small, sweet variety they call Sugar Baby. To eat a dragon fruit, just cut it in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon. The tiny black seeds are edible.
Another of my absolute favorite unique fruits will appear soon: kiwi berries. Kiwi berries look like miniature kiwis and are about the size of a medium to large grape. They have smooth skin, with no fuzz like the traditional kiwi. Their taste can vary depending on the variety, but they tend to be sweet with the slightly tart snap of a green kiwi. You can eat them whole just like grapes.
Kiwi berry season is very short, and we don’t grow a lot of them here in the US, so I tend to gravitate to them whenever they’re available from Oregon. We’re expecting to have them in some of our seasonal West Coast mixes in the coming weeks.
Even if it doesn’t quite feel like fall outside where you are, it’s coming, and I’m excited to kick off the season with these unique treats. Enjoy!
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