3 Fabulous Winter Fruit

Forage & Pasture rocked up to Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market to explore some winter exotic fruits with Robin Smith of Mud Creek Ranch and Robert “BD” Dautch from Earthtrine Farm.

Robin knows what she’s talking about: her 60 acre farm has been certified organic for nearly 15 years, and its specialty is exotic fruits as diverse as Tahitian and chandler pomelos, cocktail grapefruit, Rex Union grapefruit, oro blanco grapefruit, kishu mandarins, palestine limes, monachello lemons.

Meanwhile the ‘Organic Alchemist’, BD, has been farming for nearly 40 years and is famous for his culinary herbs. Earthtrine is home to more than 20 varieties of herbs, including rosemary, thai basil, lemon basil, oregano, fennel, chervil, cilantro, mizuna, horseradish, chamomile flowers, lovage, and mustard-family plants. BD also grows exotic fruits, organic salad greens, bitter greens, assorted mixed vegetables, and 10 varieties of his popular figs.

Here’s BD at his most eloquent about one of his favorite winter fruits, the guava:

GUAVA GATHERINGS;

From the myrtle family, this super fruit contains 4 times the vitamin C of an orange; 10 times the vitamin A of a lemon, and 4 times the fiber of a pineapple. Guava can be sliced and eaten raw, or mixed in smoothies, jellies, ice-cream, syrups, and jams and it’s:

A winter national fruit in Pakistan
A summer fruit in Taiwan (where it’s sold on street corners and night markets during hot weather, with packets of plum powder and sugar and salt for dipping)
In Mexico the fruit makes guave agua fresca; it’s a key ingredient in punch; it makes sauces hot and cold, artisan candles, fruit bars or it’s dipped in chamoy (pickled fruit)
In Brazil guavas’ high pectin content inspired the gioabada, a thick jam served with cheese (the combo referred to as the “Romeo and Juliet’). You know Brazilian soccer commentators are famous for their long, drawn-out ‘Gooooooal!’ whenever a goal is scored; but if the ball curves away for a miss, they’re likely to grab the opportunity to make a commercial for Cica the old distributor of this much-loved fruit: “Gooooooo- iabada da Cica!”

Next, BD let us in on another favorite, the delicious cherimoya:

CHERIMOYA CHUNKS:

Wikipedia waxes kinda poetic about the Chiramoya:

The flesh is white and creamy, dark brown seeds embedded.

When ripe, the skin is green and gives, slightly, to pressure.

Its flesh gives it another name, Custard Apple,

Its flavor a blend of peach, banana, pineapple and papaya.

Mark Twain termed it ‘the most delicious fruit known to men.’

Chilled and eaten with a spoon, it becomes the ice cream fruit.

This wonderful fruit comes from forests on the Andes of Ecuador, Colombia, & Peru
The name originates from the Quechua word chirimuya, which means ‘cold seeds’, as the plant grows at high altitudes.
A cherimoya flower opens up as a female for three days, then becomes a male for three days but they never pollinate, so they must be quickly and carefully hand-pollinated.
To eat a cherimoya, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the velvety spoonfuls, peel and cut into cubes for salads, or puree and use in pastries or tarts. Make sure to remove the large black seeds which are inedible.
Try Cherimoya as an ice cream or sorbet, and some whisper it has an affinity for peppermint and ginger…

We asked Robin about the ancient pomegranate:

POMEGRANATE POINTS;

The name pomegranate derives from medieval Latin pōmum “apple” and grānātum “seeded”.
Ancient Egyptians saw pomegranates as a symbol of prosperity; the Ancient Greeks as the fruit of the dead;
Solomon is said to have designed his coronet based on the pomegranate’s ‘crown’;
The fruit’s hidden, well-armored seeds are said to be the reason why Tamil’s call the fruit ‘woman’s mind’;
In China the pomegranate’s name means seed, but it also means offspring; a fruit with so many seeds has become a sign of fertility there.
Soldiers in World War I commented on the pomegranity shape of early grenades – hence the French term grenade (for pomegranate) has given its name to the weapon.
The ancient city of Granada in Spain was renamed after the fruit during the Moorish period.

F & P

3 Fabulous Winter Fruit

Forage & Pasture rocked up to Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market to explore some winter exotic fruits with Robin Smith of Mud Creek Ranch and Robert “BD” Dautch from Earthtrine Farm.

Here’s BD at his most eloquent about one of his favorite winter fruits, the guava:

GUAVA GATHERINGS;

From the myrtle family, this super fruit contains 4 times the vitamin C of an orange; 10 times the vitamin A of a lemon, and 4 times the fiber of a pineapple. Guava can be sliced and eaten raw, or mixed in smoothies, jellies, ice-cream, syrups, and jams and it’s:

A winter national fruit in Pakistan

A summer fruit in Taiwan (where it’s sold on street corners and night markets during hot weather, with packets of plum powder and sugar and salt for dipping)

In Mexico the fruit makes guave agua fresca; it’s a key ingredient in punch; it makes sauces hot and cold, artisan candles, fruit bars or it’s dipped in chamoy (pickled fruit)

Next, BD let us in on another favorite, the delicious cherimoya:

CHERIMOYA CHUNKS:

Wikipedia waxes kinda poetic about the Chiramoya:

The flesh is white and creamy, dark brown seeds embedded.

When ripe, the skin is green and gives, slightly, to pressure.

Its flesh gives it another name, Custard Apple,

Its flavor a blend of peach, banana, pineapple and papaya.

Mark Twain termed it ‘the most delicious fruit known to men.’

Chilled and eaten with a spoon, it becomes the ice cream fruit.

This wonderful fruit comes from forests on the Andes of Ecuador, Colombia, & Peru

The name originates from the Quechua word chirimuya, which means ‘cold seeds’, as the plant grows at high altitudes.

A cherimoya flower opens up as a female for three days, then becomes a male for three days but they never pollinate, so they must be quickly and carefully hand-pollinated.

To eat a cherimoya, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the velvety spoonfuls, peel and cut into cubes for salads, or puree and use in pastries or tarts. Make sure to remove the large black seeds which are inedible.

Try Cherimoya as an ice cream or sorbet, and some whisper it has an affinity for peppermint and ginger…

We asked Robin about the ancient pomegranate:

POMEGRANATE POINTS;

The name pomegranate derives from medieval Latin pōmum “apple” and grānātum “seeded”.

Ancient Egyptians saw pomegranates as a symbol of prosperity; the Ancient Greeks as the fruit of the dead;

Solomon is said to have designed his coronet based on the pomegranate’s ‘crown’;

The fruit’s hidden, well-armored seeds are said to be the reason why Tamil’s call the fruit ‘woman’s mind’;

In China the pomegranate’s name means seed, but it also means offspring; a fruit with so many seeds has become a sign of fertility there.

Soldiers in World War I commented on the pomegranity shape of early grenades – hence the French term grenade (for pomegranate) has given its name to the weapon.

The ancient city of Granada in Spain was renamed after the fruit during the Moorish period.

F & P

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