Flavor Pacifists July 30, 2007

Most fruit is named for the farmer (or someone close to the farmer) that cultivated it. Sometimes it is named for a fantastical image that the fruit conjures in mind. Take for example the Elberta Peach (named for a farmer’s wife in the 1870s) or the Snow Queen Nectarine. Once in a while, I drift off into the naming atmosphere and contemplate those monikers that may not have made it to the final cut. Names like: the James Knobby-Knee Peach or the Arctic Nematode Nectarine. One of the names that I thought for sure was a joke the first time I heard it was the Flavor Grenade Pluot. I can understand the flavor-that-explodes-in-your-mouth concept, but it seemed too crass, too violent for the fruit that carries its name. Flavor Disco maybe, or Flavor Wow perhaps, but not Flavor Grenade.

Nonetheless, we are stuck with a name that makes this pluot sound less like a fruit and more like a culinary weapon. “Quick, pass the flavor grenades, I’m being attacked by dastardly donuts…” In actuality, this fruit has a wonderful and complex taste.

Flavor Grenade Pluot: The Flavor Grenade Pluot is a plum-apricot cross. You can recognize it in our mix (both conventional and organic this week) by its neon-green and red-tinted skin with yellow flesh inside. It has a wonderful sweet taste that is most refreshing if eaten when cold. I like to put these in the fridge for about an hour or two on a hot day and then eat them nice and cool. They have a great crisp snap to them, and their natural sugar makes them super sweet. The organic pluots will be a bit smaller this week, but the taste is just as significant. Both organic and conventional versions of the Flavor Grenade were grown in the central California region.

I want to mention fruit hybridization quickly. Whenever we have fruit that is a cross I want to make sure that folks understand what hybridization is-and what it isn’t. Any hybridized fruit we buy is not genetically modified-The FruitGuys don’t buy GMO fruit. Hybrid fruits occur naturally in the wild or can be developed by growers who pollinate the flowers on their fruit trees with pollen from different fruit trees. This is a straightforward explanation, but I really want our customers to understand that a hybridized fruit does not mean it has anything to do with GMO.

Enjoy and be fruitful! – Chris Mittelstaedt chiefbanana@fruitguys.com