Meet The Pfeffers: Your Kumquat and Passion Fruit Pros

Have you ever tried a kumquat? Unlike oranges and mandarins, you don’t have to peel this tiny citrus. Just pop it in your mouth like a grape and bite down.

“They have sweet skin and sour, tart interior pulp, so they’re eaten whole,” kumquat farmer Eva Pfeffer told The FruitGuys. “You can eat the entire fruit at once, and it’s kind of resonant to a natural sweet and sour candy.”

Eva’s parents, Matt and Sandra Pfeffer, fell in love with kumquats almost 40 years ago when they purchased the property that’s now Pfeffer Family Farm in Fallbrook, California. Eva runs the farm today, nurturing 39 fruitful acres of kumquats and passion fruits that supply The FruitGuys’ office fruit deliveries.

We sat down with Matt and Eva to talk about their farm’s history, their sustainable farming practices, and how you can buy their kumquats and passion fruits.

Founding Pfeffer Family Farm: Matt & Eva’s Story

The plot Matt and Sandra purchased in 1989 was home to blood orange, lime, and kumquat trees. Matt left a career in real estate to start farming, and while it was a learning curve, he felt the time was ripe to try something new.

“All of the trees were immature,” Matt told The FruitGuys. “We did gross sales that first year of $1,066.”

Luckily, Matt had enough savings to keep the farm going, and he wasn’t afraid to pivot with the market. When Sunkist got into the blood orange business and low-priced Mexican limes reduced his sales, he cut down his orange and lime trees and planted passion fruit vines instead.

Eva followed a different path to farming. She grew up on the farm, but her parents encouraged her to pursue her own dreams, so she left for college and started a career in fine arts. Then, in 2020, she lost her job during the COVID-19 pandemic layoffs.

“I make ceramics, and my dad was like, ‘Move to the farm! You can have an art studio and manage the farm.’ And I was like, ‘That sounds so romantic. Okay!’” she said.

She’s been tending the orchards and managing the farm’s harvests ever since, with occasional breaks at her potters’ wheel. (You can follow her ceramic work on Instagram at @ceramix_byeva.)

Sustainable Farming Practices Create Delicious Fruit

To get the best-tasting kumquats and passion fruits, the Pfeffers use sustainable farming techniques like:

• Mulching to retain water
• Choosing organic-only insecticides
• Weedwacking to suppress weeds instead of using conventional weed killers
• Introducing beneficial bugs to manage pests

“I try to stay away from anything that’s not organic, for the simple reason that when I first started farming, I had some aphids, and [other farmers] said I could spray [conventional insecticide]. Well, it killed the aphids, but it also killed the predators, and the aphids came back quicker than the predators. I determined right away that insecticides were not the way to go if I wanted to have a sustainable operation,” Matt said.

The Fruits of Their Labor: Kumquats and Passion Fruits

The Pfeffers specialize in Nagami kumquats and Frederick passion fruits. Thanks to Fallbrook’s mild climate, they can harvest both almost year-round. The passion fruit harvest peaks in late summer, and kumquats run from fall through spring.

How to Eat Nagami Kumquats

Nagami kumquats are a Japanese variety with outstanding flavor. They’re also high in Vitamin C and fiber, so they’re great for your gut, skin, and immune system. As mentioned, you can eat them like grapes, skin and all! They have a sweet-tart candy-like flavor.

“They’re a fun fruit to snack on, and they’re great to add to sweet or savory recipes. I like to thinly slice them and add them to salads,” Eva said.

How to Eat Frederick Passion Fruits

The tropical Frederick passion fruit is a yellow and purple passion fruit cross. It’s disease-resistant and delicious to eat. You can spot it by its round shape and purple skin. The skin wrinkles as it ripens and hides jelly-like pulp inside that’s rich in magnesium. To eat a passion fruit, cut it in half and spoon out the sweet-tart pulp and edible seeds.

“You can put it with water and make a juice that helps calm you down, because magnesium can help relax you. It has a kind of pineapple-y, tart blend of flavors and a tropical taste,” Eva said, adding, “I like to put passion fruit with yogurt as a yogurt parfait mixed in with granola.”

Matt steeps his leftover passion fruit skins in hot water to make a nourishing tea.

“If you haven’t tasted it and you take a little squeeze of the juice from the fruit, it will really open your eyes and wake you up!” he said.

Why the Pfeffers Love Farming

Matt’s favorite part of farming is the satisfaction of seeing his efforts in the field pay off.

“The more care we offer the plants and the fruit, the more they respond in a positive way, and vice versa. If we miss something, then the vines or trees will suffer and show you that they suffer. We make a major effort to ensure they’re happy because they provide happy fruit,” he said.

For Eva, the highlight is spending time in nature.

“Since working here, I’ve enjoyed being more connected to the seasons and seeing how alive the farm is and how it ebbs and flows throughout the year. It’s been nice to be more present and feel like part of that ebb and flow here every day,” she said.

Where to Buy Kumquats and Passion Fruits for Your Office

West Coast snackers can occasionally find Pfeffer Family Farm’s kumquats and passion fruits in The FruitGuys’ office fruit boxes—specifically the Harvest Mix and Season’s Best Box, which feature our widest variety of fresh fruit. We also offer them in bulk cases when they’re in season. Request a quote to price out a kumquat or passion fruit delivery for your office. Your team will love the break in routine and the opportunity to try something new!