Ode to the Fall Transition September 25 2006

Lo’ the waning of the peach
Makes me to the fruit box reach
For that fresh and tasty pear
That apple that puts the wind in my hair
Even on that patch of balding where
Nothing flows but cool autumn air.
It’s fall. It’s fall. It’s fall.

Yes, I know. It is brilliant, and I’m submitting it to The New Yorker right away. But enough about my evident poetic skills and onto fall. I wanted to make you all aware of the fruit changes when we enter the Fall Transition each year. Although some fruit may be leaving us, there are wonderful varieties coming up. This period of transition between summer and fall can be delicate. The remaining summer varieties of fruit are less abundant and not as sweet and exciting as they were in July, and the early fall varieties are just now beginning to build in quality. This transition will last a few weeks until we get firmly into October. Here is what is happening: Stone fruit – those fruits that are defined as having “pits” in their centers (stones) are now coming to an end. Peaches will leave us sometime this week. Nectarines may last a week longer, and our growers will let us know when they are gone. Plums have a bit more staying power, and we’ll see these for a week or two more before losing them altogether. As you may also notice (and can read about below) one of our local grape growers is on his last variety of the season – the Black Seedless. The exciting news is that the new fall fruits are emerging now. You’ll notice over the next few weeks that we will be adding new varieties of apples from local growers who have small heirloom crops that we will be proud to bring to you. In terms of pears, this week we have three varieties from a farmer in Ukiah – the Bartlett (the green/yellow pear), the Bosc (the russet-colored pear) and the Red Sensation (red pear). More to come as we move into October. . .

Autumn Royal Black Seedless Grapes

These grapes are nice and sweet but a bit different from the red or green grapes we’ve featured lately. This particular grape has a thicker skin and produces a “bloom,” a natural dust-like-look to the outside of the grape. It is a good indication of freshness. As always I suggest you wash all fruit as they are fresh out of the field.

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