Pick of the Season

In spite of the heat and low water levels, this looks like a good year for California’s summer fruits. Peaches, plums and nectarines taste almost as good as they look for a change, and there are plenty available.

How come? Well part of the improvement may have to do with the fact that, according to one grower of California tree fruits, Jim Wanzer of Visalia, “Growers have received the message that consumers want a riper, better tasting, pretty fruit.” And it seems they are trying to do something about it.

The California Tree Fruit Agreement, a statewide association of peach, plum, nectarine and pear growers, is spending around $250,000 in research funds to see what can be done to provide consumers with the kind of fruit that will have them returning to produce sections for more of the same with greater frequency.

Mary Swinger, a grower who owns Redwood Orchards near Reedley, agreed with Wanzer that, “More flavor is becoming important.” After years of trying to develop fruits that were sturdy enough to stand extensive shipping and less than desirable treatment in warehouses and grocery store receiving rooms, the cycle has come full circle and now growers are trying to breed flavor back in. It’s both a good and a long overdue step, as a recent visit to the San Joaquin Valley showed.

Admitting that she’s prejudiced about the fruit she grows and ships, Swinger thinks that consumers must accept some of the blame for the poor quality fruit they have found all too often in the past. Produce buyers buy what they think the consumer wants, generally picture perfect fruit that may or may not have any flavor, Swinger said. And when the consumer buys a nectarine or peach that looks beautiful but has no flavor, he or she tends to gripe to family and friends, but that’s all.

That, according to Swinger, is one reason why flavorless produce has been around for so long. “They should take it back to the store,” she said. “Most people simply don’t buy again, so the message doesn’t get across. Buyers dictate the fruit and they have been zeroing in on appearance.” Her point is a good one. Unless consumers make an effort to tell produce buyers of their unhappiness with a sour plum or tasteless nectarine, the produce buyer at the market where they bought it can only assume they were happy with it.

Concerns about pesticides and their uses are, not surprisingly, a major worry to the growers. But their concerns go far beyond the usual question of whether any contaminants remain on the fruit by the time it reaches the consumer. Most of them live in or very near their orchards and thus have no desire to have the wind wafting dangerous sprays around them and their families. Also, spraying the orchards for pests is an expensive proposition and California agricultural laws are very strict concerning safe pesticide usage, far more strict in many cases then federal regulations.

California’s Proposition 65 has added to the problem of pesticide usage. According to Dennis Metzler, a San Joaquin fruit grower and attorney, “Because the language of the law is ambiguous and difficult, everyone is scrambling around trying to figure out what to do.” Metzler contends, “Our food is safe. We in agriculture are very circumspect, particularly in California where we have the toughest rules in the country. Nobody wants to spray and use chemicals. For one thing, they’re expensive.”

According to the California Tree Fruit Agreement, chemical companies must spend between $40 and $60 million to register a new chemical, and many companies are no longer registering their chemicals in California, a move that has created numerous problems.

There is, however, a good side to the increased concern over the use of pesticides on produce. Wanzer of Visalia pointed out, “For every action there is a reaction. Proposition 65 has made growers much more aware of pesticides and we’ve all become even more careful with the environment.”

One result of this increased awareness is an experiment in progress at the Kearney Agricultural Center in Parlier, Calif. Dr. Richard Rice, entomologist and lecturer at UC Davis, is working on a project that is a non-insecticide approach to pest control. The project is based on the interruption of the mating process of the pests through the use of synthetic sex pheromones which trick ready-to-mate insects into not mating.

Pheromones are hormones released by one sex of the species to attract the other. This type of pest control has many obvious advantages, not the least of which is that the pheromones are nontoxic and leave no residues either in the orchard or on the fruit. And there is no need for workers handling the dispensers to wear protective clothing. In addition, the dispensers need no special storage or waste disposal.

Oriental fruit moth pheromones are now being used commercially on 4000 acres of San Joaquin Valley orchards with great success, and Rice and his group expect other pest pheromones will be available for commercial usage within the next few years.

Touring the San Joaquin Valley during the height of the peach, plum and nectarine picking and packing season will instantly reveal to any visitor that growers and their families never tire of the glorious summer fruits that provide their livelihoods.

Surrounded as they are with bountiful supplies of produce, they have acquired and developed collections of recipes for using their favorite fruits. The following recipes have been shared by some of the growers and others have come from the Irwin Street Inn in Hanford and the Wonder Valley Dude Ranch in Wonder Valley.

CHI CHI’S PEACH PIE (Chi Chi Wood, Atwater, Calif.)

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Few grains salt

3 tablespoons instant tapioca

5 cups sliced freestone peaches

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon butter

Pastry for single-crust (9-inch) pie shell

Crumb Topping

Mix sugars, salt and tapioca. Pour in peaches. Mix gently. Sprinkle mixture with almond extract. Line one (9-inch) pie pan with pastry. Pour in peach mixture. Dot with butter.

Sprinkle with Crumb Topping and bake at 450 degrees 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue baking 20 to 25 minutes or until browned. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Crumb Topping

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

Mix butter, sugar and flour together until crumbly and sprinkle over peaches.

IRWIN STREET INN FRESH PEACH MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup toasted wheat germ

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 large peach, chopped (1 cup)

1/2 cup nonfat milk

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup margarine, melted

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Combine flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Beat egg with peach, milk, raisins, margarine and lemon zest in mixing bowl. Stir in dry ingredients just until barely blended. Spoon batter into 15 (2 1/2-inch) paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 425 degrees 15 minutes or until golden. Makes 15 muffins.

IRWIN STREET INN GRAINY PLUM MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups chopped plums

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oats

3/4 cup unprocessed bran

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

Combine plums, orange juice, oil, eggs and orange peel in bowl. In separate bowl combine flours, oats, bran, walnuts, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir just until blended. Spoon about 1/3 cup batter into each of 15 (2 3/4-inch) paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or until browned. Makes 15 muffins.

WONDER VALLEY DUDE RANCH PLUM-RASPBERRY BUTTER

9 medium plums, quartered (4 1/2 cups)

1 (10-ounce) package frozen raspberries, thawed

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine plums, raspberries with liquid, and water in heavy kettle. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until fruit is very tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Puree in blender. Return puree to kettle and add sugar and lemon juice. Cook puree over low heat until sugar is dissolved.

Bring to boil, stirring constantly, and cook until butter is thick and glossy and mixture reaches 218 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Cool. Makes about 2 pints.

WONDER VALLEY DUDE RANCH NECTARINE CITRUS MARMALADE

1 orange

1 lemon

1 lime

4 nectarines

1 (2-ounce) package powdered fruit pectin

3 cups sugar

Remove thin outer peel of half of each orange, lemon and lime with vegetable peeler. Cut removed peel into very thin strips to measure total of 1/4 cup. Cover peels with water and bring to boil. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Drain and discard water. Remove and discard remaining peel from citrus fruits, including white membrane.

Slice citrus fruits and cut slices in quarters to measure 1 1/4 cups. Cut nectarines into slices and cut slices in halves to measure 1 quart. Combine with sliced citrus fruit, blanched peels and pectin in 3-quart saucepan. Add sugar and mix well.

Stirring constantly over high heat, bring to full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil hard 4 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Cool. Makes 4 cups.

NECTARINE VINEGAR

3 nectarines, coarsely chopped

1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces

1 (12-ounce) bottle white wine vinegar

Place nectarines, cinnamon, and vinegar in non-metallic container. Bruise fruit while stirring. Cover tightly. Let stand 10 to 14 days. Strain. Makes about 2 cups vinegar.

Note: For Vinaigrette Salad Dressing, beat together 3 tablespoons Nectarine Vinegar with salt and pepper to taste and 1 lightly beaten egg yolk. Slowly whisk in 1/3 cup olive oil or other oil and 1/2 cup Dijon mustard, if desired.