article

Great Grape

By Chris Mittelstaedt on July 13, 2015

I have to admit that as a kid growing up on the East Coast in the 1970s and ’80s, I didn’t really know what real grapes were. I mean, I knew what they were, but somehow I thought that the two …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article, Black Seedless Grapes, Concord Grapes, grape, grape freshness, grapes, grapes ripening, Muscat Grapes, Perlette grapes, Red Crimson Grapes, Red Flame Grapes, seedless grapes, Thompson Seedless

The FruitGuys Plant a Tree for UMOM

By FruitGuys Staff on December 24, 2013

Since 1964, UMOM has helped Arizona families in need, and The FruitGuys is proud to have such a wonderful organization as one of its community partners. The largest homeless shelter in the state, UMOM …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, GoodWorks Tagged With: Arizona, article, homeless assistance, life skills, southwest, transitional housing, tree planting, umom

Plum Crazy for Plums!

By Julie Collins on June 28, 2012

By Gretchen Bay It’s officially summer. And summer means (among other delicious things)—plums! Unlike their stone-fruit cousins' peaches and nectarines (which come with a white or yellow flesh and …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Produce Glossary Tagged With: antioxidants, article, dietary fiber, european plums, japanese plums, nutriional value of plums, plum, Plum Crazy for Plums!, plums, stone fruit, summer, vitamin C

Bada Bing, Bada Boom

By Heidi Lewis on June 18, 2012

By Heidi Lewis You know what sweet summer cherries like? They like winter. That’s when they catch up on a little shut-eye and wake up refreshed. Many stone fruits and pomes need the chill hours to …

Filed Under: Food, FruitGuys News Tagged With: anthocyanin, antioxidants, article, beta carotene, black tartarians, cherry juice, cherry season, gold cherries, how to store cherries, maraschino cherries, nutritional value of cherries, rainer, red cherries, sequoia, stone fruit, summer, tart cherries

How Do I Love Bee?

By Heidi Lewis on October 7, 2010

Farmer-Beekeepers Count the Ways Honey from bees is quite the miracle. Why does it taste so good? And why does it have so many healing properties? Many scientists have studied the organization of …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: article, bee hives, bee pollen, beekeepers, beekeeping, beekind, bees, gabriel farm, honey, honey bees, royal jelly

Passion, I See, is Catching

By Chris Mittelstaedt on October 4, 2010

Mr. Brown is in the kitchen, head down, looking for a spork. Ms. Bright walks into the room and heads to The FruitGuys crate. They smile at one another, nervous to acknowledge the habit they have both …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article, Passion Fruit

Got Fiber? Dietary Fiber Helps Weight Loss, Lowers Cholesterol

By Rebecca Taggart on September 24, 2010

Looking for a miracle food that helps you lose weight, feel full, lowers blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and keeps you regular? Fiber is the answer. Most of us know very little about fiber, beyond …

Filed Under: Diet and Health, FruitGuys News Tagged With: apples, article, berries, fiber, fresh fruit, fruit, insoluble fiber, organic apples, organic pears, pears, plums, soluble fiber

The Pronouncements of Passion

By Chris Mittelstaedt on September 24, 2010

A cool fall breeze rustled the leaves outside of Peter's toy-store window. "Pauline," he piped." Pat pitched Paul a prototype policy that primes Pat for promotion." Pauline pulled the penguin puppet …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, Produce Glossary Tagged With: article, john koman, Passion Fruit, passion fruit farm, white dove farm, white dove passion fruit farm

Celebrate with an Apple

By Chris Mittelstaedt on August 23, 2010

Our FruitGuys softball team has a motto: “More runs than injuries.” Up until last week, we hadn’t yet won a game, but we were wildly successful with our safety goals. Mom would be proud. This past …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: apple, apples, article, harold mcgee, pear, pears, pome, pome fruits, softball

It Takes a Village: California Town Saves Heirloom Apple

By FruitGuys Staff on August 13, 2010

The Gravenstein Apple is dear to many apple lovers for its tart taste and superior juice, sauce, and pie abilities, but it is especially dear to the residents of Sebastopol, CA (Sonoma County) where …

Filed Under: Farms, FruitGuys News Tagged With: ark of taste, article, Gravenstein Apple, gravenstein apple fair, Gravenstein Apple Presidia, Presidia, sebastopol, slow food russian river

The Great Local Fruit Shark

By Chris Mittelstaedt on August 9, 2010

During Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and my all-things-marine-life son is loving it. Between South African great white sharks that launch themselves into the air after yelping seals, and the …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article, Discovery Channel, local produce, regional produce, Shark Week, suport small farms

Tale of a Scientist Farmer

By Chris Mittelstaedt on July 19, 2010

Ed Magee spends his days thinking about sunlight. When he isn’t working on his 38-acre orchard of white peaches and nectarines in Vernalis, California, he’s in a lab studying the energy of …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article, E & M Farm, E&M Farm, Ed Magee, Farm Steward, nectarines, organic farming, owl box, owls, peach orchard, peaches, scientist, sustainability, white peaches

Plum-tastic!

By Heidi Lewis on July 16, 2010

Look closely at your plum. Real close. See that? That's Luther Burbank's thumbprint. Luther was a botanist wizard at the turn of the century, a Midas of sorts whose more than 800 varieties of …

Filed Under: Food, FruitGuys News Tagged With: article, luther burbank, plum, plum storage, plums

Fruit & Veggie Magic

By Chris Mittelstaedt on July 12, 2010

Fruito the Ripenificent was a world famous fruit magician. For years he had competed for top billing against Vern the Vegetastic until Vern suffered a fatal injury while trying to extricate himself …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article, nectarines, peaches, ripeness, ripening fruit, stone fruit

Sustaining Sustainable

By Chris Mittelstaedt on July 6, 2010

As an ex-suburban Philadelphia kid now turned Californian, I find myself drawn to stories of the underdog. Gosh knows the Philly area is full of tales of heroes on the brink who have pulled it back …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article

Riding the Peach Train

By Chris Mittelstaedt on June 21, 2010

In the pantheon of great lyrical misunderstandings, I remember this: summer sunlight circa the mid-1970s and me dancing around our living room while singing at the top of my lungs to the “The Age of …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article, nectarines, Peach, peaches, pluot, stone fruit, summer

Bike Love: A Commute that’s Good for You

By Bridget Meigs on June 16, 2010

PHILADELPHIA My commute: therapeutic, thought-provoking, calming and centering. Is such a commute possible? You bet! I am one of the estimated 10,000 Philadelphia residents who bike to work each …

Filed Under: Fitness, FruitGuys News Tagged With: article, bicycling, bike commute, bike to work, commuting, Philadelphia

Pest Policy Questioned: Panelists say Quarantines Unfair to California Farmers

By Pia Hinckle on June 16, 2010

The Light Brown Apple Moth is an indigenous pest considered harmless to crops in New Zealand, Hawaii, Australia, and the UK, all countries that are free to export fruits and vegetables to U.S. markets …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: alliance to stop the spray, article, blue moon organics, California, chris mittelstaedt, commonwealth club, farming, LBAM, light brown apple moth, pesticides, quarantine, stop the spray

The Season of Cherries

By Chris Mittelstaedt on June 14, 2010

I have many favorite fruits but cherries hold a special place in my heart. Maybe it’s because their harvest period is relatively short; or maybe it’s because they just taste so good—whatever the …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article, cherries, cherry season, fresh fruit, Kauffman's, Kauffman's Fruit Farm, seasonal fruit

Preservation Harvest

By Chris Mittelstaedt on June 7, 2010

When the price of corn started going up in Exeter, California due to high demand for ethanol, Mr. Herrera, an owner of 22 acres of family farmland, nearly plowed under his 40-year-old plum orchard. …

Filed Under: FruitGuys News, The FruitLife Tagged With: article, family farms, organic, preservation harvest, ronnie gutierrez, small family farms, small farms