Let There Be Heat

You thought El Nino was bad for fruit? This year--so far, at least--is even worse. And the worst thing about it is that we don’t even have a snazzily named weather system to blame it on.

Because of cool weather up and down California’s Central Valley, almost every spring and summer fruit crop is running behind schedule--in about every case, even later than last year. One old-time apricot grower, who has been tracking springtime temperatures for the last 30 years, says this has been the coldest spring yet, averaging a full 2 1/2 degrees cooler than last year, which held the previous record.

The frustrating thing is that this still could turn out to be one of the best harvests in terms of quality. Fruit growers talk about its shining promise: the record number of chill hours this winter, which gave the trees plenty of rest; the perfect weather during bloom; the long steady ripening period. Heck, they can even find a silver lining in the Easter freeze.

Then they look over their shoulders and add, “If we ever get some heat. . . .”

That’s the big question. A couple of weeks of 90-degree weather in the Central Valley could turn this into a spectacular summer for fruit. On the other hand, if this extended June gloom continues, we could have a repeat of last year.

As it stands, most fruit harvests are running even later than last year--as much as a week later--but both quality and quantity are better in almost every case.

Here’s what this summer looks like for the leading California fruit harvests:

* Strawberries. The southern harvest, centered in Oxnard and Orange County, is all but over, and it was a big one, 20% more than last year’s, though quality was frequently iffy because of the repeated rain and lack of warmth. The northern harvest, centered around Watsonville, is beginning. “Weather has been our big news for the last two years,” says Dominique Jordan of the California Strawberry Commission. “We kept saying as soon as El Nino was over, we’d be OK. Now we’re saying that as soon as we get a couple of days of warm weather, things will be better.”

* Cherries. This could be the best California cherry harvest in years. The projected haul of Bings is almost 67 million pounds, as opposed to last year’s disastrous 16 million. That kind of fluctuation is extreme, but that’s normal for California cherries. “We’re at the southern extreme of the range,” says Jim Culbertson of the California Cherry Advisory Board, “and when the weather nails us, it really nails us.” Most California cherries come from around the Stockton-Lodi area, which hasn’t been too bothered by the recent rain and hailstorms. “The crop is in excellent shape and the fruit’s been tasting pretty good,” says Culbertson. “We would like to see a little heat real soon, though.”

* Apricots. This might be the paradigmatic fruit for the summer. First, there was that great chill this winter, then the great weather during pollination. When it looked as if there might be a bumper crop, along came the Easter freeze and knocked back the numbers, though it probably also increased the size and quality of the fruit that will eventually be harvested.

If it ever gets harvested. “All the benefits of all those things have been accrued,” says Tom Tjerandsen of the California Fresh Apricot Council. “Now we need real warm weather to ripen the fruit.”

This year’s fresh apricot harvest is projected at 110,000 tons, almost 10% more than last year. “[This week] we’ll get into heavy production on Pattersons, the workhorse apricot,” says Tjerandsen, “and we’re going to be able to pave the country with fruit. We should go strong all the way through mid-July.”

Stone Fruit. Probably the hardest hit of this summer’s crops is stone fruit: peaches, plums and nectarines. Each of those harvests will be only slightly bigger than last year’s. Peaches will be 462 million pounds (up about 1%), nectarines 440 million pounds (up about 3%) and plums 355 million pounds (up 8%). The good news, says Gary Van Sickle of the California Tree Fruit Agreement, is that quality should be improved. “Last year was a tough one for quality; we had a lot of problems,” he says. “This year we should be much better.”

Grapes. The harvest in the Coachella Valley is wrapping up and picking is beginning in the southern San Joaquin Valley, around Bakersfield. This year’s harvest will be significantly bigger than last year’s--798 tons compared to 695. There are more than 50 varieties of table grapes grown in California. Thompson Seedless is still the leading variety, followed by Flame and Red Globe.

* Melons. Heavy picking should begin this week in Arizona. That’s about two weeks later than normal or, points out Ross Van Vlack of DFI Marketing (a melon grower-packer-shipper with farms in California and Arizona), “what we used to call normal.” The fabled California Westside harvest, which traditionally begins July 4 along the Huron-Mendota corridor of the western San Joaquin Valley, won’t get going until about July 20. Van Vlack says the result of that long slow buildup to harvest will be a flood of fruit of all kinds hitting the market in August. “It’s going to be real interesting.”

Apricot and Cherry Crisp With Almond Topping

Active Work Time: 35 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 2 hours

This recipe comes from Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” (Broadway Books, 1997).

TOPPING

6 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

* Using fingers or paddle attachment of mixer, work butter with sugar, flour, almonds, salt and nutmeg so nuts are coated and you have coarse, crumbly mixture.

FRUIT

2 1/2 pounds apricots

1 pound cherries

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons minute tapioca

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

* Pit apricots and cut into quarters. Pit cherries and slice in half or leave whole. Toss fruit with sugar, tapioca and almond extract. Place fruit in lightly buttered 2 1/2-quart gratin dish and cover with topping. Set dish in baking pan to catch juices and bake at 350 degrees until top is browned and juices have thickened around edge, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla or honey ice cream.

4 to 6 servings. Each of 6 servings: 473 calories; 229 mg sodium; 31 mg cholesterol; 19 grams fat; 75 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 1.60 grams fiber.

Carol Solie’s Fresh Berry Bundt Cake

Sheila Lukins enjoyed this cake at a bed and breakfast inn in Appleton, Wis. Named for the innkeeper, the cake is included in Lukins’ “U.S.A. Cookbook” (Workman Publishing, 1997.) You can also use fresh blueberries instead of strawberries.

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

CAKE BATTER

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

* Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each. Mixture will be firm.

* Sift together 3 cups flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture, alternating with milk. Toss strawberries with remaining 1 tablespoon flour and fold into batter.

* Scrape batter into greased and floured 12-cup bundt pan. Bake in center of 350-degree oven until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours.

* Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes, then unmold cake onto rack to cool completely.

GARNISH

Powdered sugar

1 cup whole strawberries

* Dust cake with powdered sugar and fill center with whole berries before serving.

12 to 14 servings. Each of 14 servings: 320 calories; 297 mg sodium; 73 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.21 gram fiber.

Peach-Mint Granita

Serve this cool summertime dessert with lightly sweetened sliced strawberries. It’s from “From the Earth to the Table” by John Ash (Dutton, 1995).

Active and Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes plus 3 hours for chilling

1 pound peaches

2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

3/4 cup fruity white wine, such as Riesling or Gewurztraminer

1/3 cup sugar or to taste

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

* Peel, pit and slice peaches. Puree peaches, mint, wine, sugar and lemon juice until sugar dissolves.

* Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and discard pulp. Pour mixture into ice cube trays and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours.

* Place cubes in single layer in food processor and pulse several times to create uniform ice particles. Repeat with remaining cubes and serve immediately in chilled stemmed glasses.

4 servings. Each serving: 143 calories; 4 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.72 gram fiber.

Berry Gratin

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes

This recipe comes from Amanda Hesser’s “The Cook and the Gardener” (Norton, $32.50).

4 cups mixed berries (loganberries, raspberries, boysenberries, blueberries, cherries, etc.), pitted if necessary

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup dry sherry

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup raw sugar

* Divide berries among 4 heat-proof dishes.

* Make sabayon by whisking egg yolks, sherry and granulated sugar in double boiler over, but not touching, simmering water. Whisk vigorously until mixture leaves ribbon trail when whisk is lifted, about 30 seconds. Do this quickly so base of bowl doesn’t get too hot, or egg yolks will curdle. If sabayon does end up with bits of cooked egg, pass through sieve to strain.

* Spoon sabayon over berries in dishes. Sprinkle raw sugar over sabayon and broil 2 to 3 inches from heat until browned and bubbly, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately, placing dishes on plates to carry to table.

4 servings. Each serving: 291 calories; 10 mg sodium; 272 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 3.69 grams fiber.