Transition Tanslations December 11 2006

Several seasonal fruit transitions always remind me to look up and notice the changing time of year. The most obvious is the change from summer into fall when we see the end of the stone fruit (fruits with pits) and the beginning of apples and pears. At this time of year, that transition is a bit more subtle – especially with so much fruit being grown now in other regions of the world.

The last of the California Grapes

This will be the last week that we find California grapes in our crates. The harvest is finished, and what is left will begin to turn south quickly in the next few weeks. We would rather avoid fruit that we don’t feel fully confident in than give you something that is below our standards. This applies to both conventional and organic grapes. You may see fresh grapes out and about in the next few weeks and wonder where they are being grown. These perlettes and flame grapes will be from Chile. In the last eight years since starting The FruitGuys, I have seen a considerable increase in the volume of fruit coming from South America. Those who get our conventional Harvest Flyer boxes will see fruit from this region included as we move forward into late December and past the New Year. The organic will not.

Citrus: warming up while we cool down.

Winter is citrus season, and every week that moves on, we find better and better pieces of citrus. The sugar content, as measured by the “brix” level in a piece of fruit, is coming up in navel oranges and other specialty citrus. Dan recommends the Satsumas which he says are as sweet as candy (healthy fruit candy that is). He also tells me from his talks with growers that the Minneolas are still hanging on the trees getting sweeter and more abundant in color with every day. We should see these wonderful fruits in the next two to three weeks.

If you missed the newsletter on the Pomegranate, you could find it at www.fruitguys.com/news/. Just look for the title at the top of the archive list: “Let’s make a modern myth.” We’ve included Pomegranates again for you this week, and I wanted to make sure that you had a reference for how to eat them in case you were mystified by their overwhelming ruby-red beauty and couldn’t think straight. Enjoy and be fruitful!! – Chris Mittelstaedt chiefbanana@fruitguys.com