Can you believe how beautiful this fruit is? I’ve been absolutely astounded by the quality and the variety of the fruit we’ve had at the market. I can’t really decide which is best, and don’t really think it’s necessary; best just to enjoy. There have been four or five different varieties of plums offered by North Star Orchard and Fruitwood Orchards: pale yellow, red, purple, vermilion. There is a speckled variety (available right now) with a deep red interior that’s just remarkable in flavor – and that yellow one is delicate but very, very complex.
A friend who has resisted going to farmers markets emailed my a few days ago and said that he had become a convert and wouldn’t miss a week. Why? He said he had the best peaches he’d eaten in a decade. Once again, I don’t know what kind he had, because we have so many different varieties available at the market right now. I can never decide which is more entrancing, the robust summery flavors of the yellow peaches or the delicate perfume of the white ones. I can understand why Chinese folklore identifies the peach as a symbol of long life; promises of peaches would keep one living summer to summer easily!
And I’ve become a convert to the joys of watermelons. The watermelon has always seemed to be a rather insipid fruit, too often starchy and flabby in the interior with little juice and a boring flavor. But Fruitwood Orchards seedless and Blueberry Hill Farm’s Yellow Baby have made me a committed watermelon eater again – I can not believe how good those watermelons taste, and every single one has been good – not a single mealy dud.
And finally, for now, that Delight Pear… which is small and green and rather unprepossessing but take a bite and you realize the modest exterior is hiding pear perfection. And the pear season has only just begun!
Janet Chrzan
Oakmont Farmers Market Co-Manager