The Fruit Treat

Thinking about giving cashmere for the holidays? Try Art Lange’s edible kind: thin-sliced, unsulfured dried fruit from ultra-ripe Cashmere nectarines. With intense flavor and sweetness, it’s a Prada sweater for the palate. It had better be, at $30 a pound.

Florida and Texas dominate the year-end gift fruit market, but California excels in smaller operations that grow and pack with a personal touch. Ordering from the list below, you can often talk to the farmer about the fruit and why it’s special.

Several of these sources sell products by mail order that are too delicate to be shipped commercially, such as the Cunninghams’ tender, juicy Cocktail grapefruits and Robert Lower’s insanely luscious Barhi dates.

Applesource. Among 100 varieties offered are many rich-flavored heirlooms such as Ashmead’s Kernel, Esopus Spitzenberg and Golden Russet. From orchards in California, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, available through Jan. 10 (some varieties sell out earlier). Sampler pack of 12 or more antique and modern apples, $24. Customer selected variety packs (two to six varieties), $24. Shipping additional in some cases.

1716 Apples Road, Chapin, IL 62628. (800) 588-3854. https://www.applesource.com. E-mail: vorbeck@csj.net. Visa, MasterCard and Discover.

Cunningham Organic Farms. In a gorgeous, secluded valley next to Cleveland National Forest, the Cunninghams grow organic Cocktail grapefruit, an experimental cross of pummelo and Frua mandarin so sweet and juicy that it “escaped” from the Citrus Variety Collection at UC Riverside; available from mid-December on, $21 plus shipping for a box of 18 to 36 fruit, about 30 to 35 pounds. The Cunninghams also sell the fragrant, bizarre Buddha’s Hand citron, which looks like a lemon crossed with an octopus (it’s chiefly of decorative value); $75 plus shipping for a box of 10 to 15.

P.O. Box 1522, Fallbrook, CA 92088. (760) 728-7343. E-mail: gcfarm123@aol.com.

Eden Garden. Pluots, the new plum-apricot hybrids that combine the best features of both fruits, are becoming familiar at fresh markets, but it’s rare to find them dried. Steve Brenkwitz grows several dozen varieties, many still experimental. He sells a box of eight kinds--purple, yellow, red and orange; 5 pounds for $20, plus shipping.

3707 West Kenner Road, Tracy, CA 95376. (888) 882-7742. https://www.edengarden.com. E-mail: edngrdn@pacbell.net. Visa and MasterCard.

Four Apostles’ Ranch. Most date gardens are barren under the palms, but Bradley and Rosalind Milliken let natural vegetation flourish. Their huge, soft, translucent Medjools seem to gain in flavor, and they make impressive gifts. Organic Medjools, available through April: Jumbo (the largest size), $32 for a 2-pound tin, plus $5.50 shipping. Large (second biggest), $24 for 2-pound bag, plus $5.50 shipping; or $47 for 6 pounds, plus $6 shipping.

80-700 Ave. 38, Bermuda Dunes, CA 92203-1001. (760) 345-6171. https://www.fourapostles.com.

Flying Disc Ranch. Robert Lower’s semi-dried Barhi dates are so soft that eating one is like biting into a sugary cloud. Lower wryly calls them “wretched excess”; he prefers Deglet Noors, though all his crop this season is superb. Organic dates: Medjool ($5 a pound), Barhi ($4 a pound), Deglet Noor, Zahidi and Dayri ($3 a pound), plus shipping. Most varieties available in both soft (rutab) and dried (tamar) stages. Shipped in containers of 1 1/2, 2, 3, 4 and 15 pounds.

P.O. Box 201, Thermal, CA 92274. (760) 399-5313.

Honeycrisp. Art Lange, much beloved at farmers markets for his ultra-ripe fresh peaches and nectarines, dries these fruits by a unique labor-intensive method: He slices them really thin, adds only a little natural fruit juice as a preservative and sets them out on wire screens in the fierce Reedley sun. Dried, unsulfured Arctic Rose and Snow Queen white nectarines ($16 a pound for ends, $20 a pound for flat pieces); Arctic Glo white nectarines, Cashmere yellow nectarines and Nectar white peaches, $30 a pound. Call or mail request for complete price sheet.

9400 S. Lac Jac, Reedley, CA 93654. (559) 638-3084.

Logoluso Family Farms. A recent variety originating in Australia, Pink Lady apples often prove mediocre at the supermarket, but the growing conditions at the Logolusos’ orchard in Cuyama, and the care they take, makes for extraordinary fruit: crunchy, sweet-tart and flavorful. Box of 23 Pink Lady apples (available through April), $29.95 plus shipping; includes stainless steel corer-slicer.

7567 Road 28, Madera, CA 93637. (877) 564-6587. Major credit cards.

Mariani Orchards. Andy Mariani and his brother Mitch grow California’s most outstanding stone fruit, including many older varieties found nowhere else. Normally it’s available only at the farm, in the Valley of Heavenly Delight (now better known as Silicon Valley, alas), but the Marianis will sell their dried fruit by mail order through Jan. 10. “Marigold” dried Blenheim apricots in wooden gift packs, 1 pound, $14; 2 1/2 pounds, $35; 4 pounds, $55. Also dried Baby Crawford peaches, in plastic containers, $5.50 a pound, and dried white nectarines, $5 a pound. (All are sulfured.) Shipping additional.

1615 Half Road, Morgan Hill, CA 95037. (408) 779-5467. Visa and MasterCard.

Snow’s Citrus Court. At three small groves (transitional to organic) in Newcastle and Auburn, northeast of Sacramento, Ralene and Larry Snow grow Owari satsumas, seedless mandarin oranges with loose rinds, tender flesh and a delicate floral aroma. Available through late December. $15 for 10 pounds and $31 for 25 pounds, plus shipping.

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P.O. Box 1316, Newcastle, CA 95658. (916) 663-1884. https://www.vfr.net/~snow. E-mail: snow@vfr.net. Visa, MasterCard and Discover.