One week of cherry harvest remains

A record cherry crop will come to a close for us this Saturday, August 8th. The industry record had been near 15 million boxes and we are at 16 million boxes now with a handful of shippers still packing. It's been a nice season quality wise and the record crop allowed for retails at the consumer level that we haven't seen in several years. Hopefully we picked up a ton of new cherry lovers as our crops are expected to be larger for several years now.

There is still time to enjoy delicious cherries. The yellow blushed, Rainier cherries are tougher to find now, but there should still be an abundance of dark red cherries. Look for green stems, although flavor has been good so maybe ask the produce manager if you can sample one to make sure it's pleasing to you. Our European business, the cosmetic appearance of the fruit isn't as critical as long as it tastes great!

Are you enjoying cherries?

It's peak time for cherries out of the Northwest, man I love these things. Great prices at retail this year and the fruit stands seem to be bursting with them! I know the season runs into early August so enjoy them now! I like the yellow Rainier cherries also, they are actually to sweet for my wife but my son prefers them.

Fuji apples were juicy and oh so sweet.

I received a gift pack of fuji apples this week, four of them were individually wrapped in holiday colored foils. Several people where I work have been eating them and they have been quite juicy and super sweet. No wonder fujis are one of the most popular apples, and according to several websites continue to grow in popularity. They aren't the prettiest of apples though, the red is a bit striped and there is a yellow/green background color behind. The hue is attractive, but there are several spots and the stem bowl is definitely darker, I rinsed it out before eating. I know fuji apples are often clipped off the trees vs. just being picked by the stem, otherwise the stems can puncture other apples in the bins. The shape is generally round, but by no means uniform. I enjoy great flavor though and whatever they might lack in appearance they more than make up in taste. Harvest in Washington was completed sometime in late October, these apples I have are crisp and juicy so all indications are they must hold up very well when stored.

Recommendation: Buy some today. Make sure they feel firm to the touch and are without bruising. Discoloration doesn't change the flavor so you don't need perfectly colored apples.

E-Z Peel Cuties are Sweet and Delicious

Zippered fruit has long been a favorite of mine. Just purchased some clementines from California and they're sweet, easy to peel and delicious. I've just eaten my third one of the day. I've seen them in 3lb - 5lb bags and wood crates. Their size is perfect for a quick snack, it's mid afternoon and it really hit the spot. I'm trying to eat healthier snacks in the afternoon and these clementines certainly fit the bill! In the 5lb. bag there are around 24-25 pieces of fruit, not everyone in my family enjoys them, so the bag will take us about a week or so finish. The bag for these clementines said California Clementines on one side, and then California Mandarins on the other side. A quick bit of research revealed that clementines are simply seedless mandarins.

Recommendation: I'd say if you like mandarins/clementines, now is a great time to enjoy them based on my experience.

Golden delicious apples, often forgotten about with all the new varieties

I've always enjoyed a good golden delicious. The name is often a misnomer because the apples are more often more green than gold. The flesh tends to be a bit softer, and you don't get that satisfying apple crunch that you do with many varieties, but the taste, a nice sweet-tart is wonderful. We bought these apples the weekend before Thanksgiving, primarily for one of my daughter's school projects, they needed 'golden apples' and in the end, we ended up spray painting those. This morning I pulled a few out of the crisper and found they were still looking quite nice. Super juicy.
We find ourselves buying goldens less and less these days, after eating these goldens, I think they should become a regular apple purchase for us. They really are very satisfying to eat and are a nice change from some of the sweeter varieties.

Kiwi wasn't quite ready.

Went for some California Kiwi today. I know the New Zealand Kiwi has the stronger reputation and I believe the California Kiwi season just recently started. I probably should've waited a couple of days before eating it. The flavor was rather tart, and I'm used to a bit sweeter in my kiwi. The fruit was soft to the touch and had some give, but still wasn't quite ripe. I do enjoy kiwi. I typically slice them in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. This kiwi wasn't ready to be scooped. In fact, I didn't even finish it today. Tried both halves and both are still half full. I'll give another kiwi a taste in a few days. I was a bit surprised at the flavor, because when I cut into the kiwi, the flesh had a vibrant green color and it was very juicy, typically a good sign, but it wasn't the case today.

By the way, I went back to the store and bought more jonagolds yesterday!

Sugar Snap Pea Fan

Every summer, I love getting fresh sugar snap peas from several local farmstands. During the winter months, I resort to pre-packaged sugar snap peas, typically the 8 oz. package. This morning I packed some into my lunch bag, in place of chips. Chips are one of my downfalls, and when I pack a crispy veggie or piece of fruit I can usually do without the chips. Snap peas are delicious and the prepacked snap peas in the bag are pretty decent, they don't have that 'farm fresh' taste but they are sweet and quite crispy. I enjoy eating them straight out of the bag, occasionally dip them in ranch, and often slice them into thirds and place on my salad. One of my three children enjoys them and she'll often take a handful for her school lunch. While I was packing my lunch this morning, I ate about a half dozen as I slipped them into a sandwich bag.
Nothing beats fresh sugar snap peas, but if they are out of season, I believe the bagged option is a good one.
These snap peas were grown in the U.S.A.