Red, orange, and yellow
The garden may be turning increasingly drab, but our fruit bowl is filled with vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. All of these are fruits are in season now. And except for the mandarins, which are from Placerville about an hour east of here, everything is local.
The limes (yes, the yellow fruit is lime) are from our our own tree, and the pomegranates and fuyu persimmons were gifts from friends and neighbors.
I love them all. Limes are extremely versatile both in cooking and in baking. Mandarins are a great snack or desert. Fuyu persimmons have subtle exotic flavor when eaten firm; no waiting for them to turn to jelly, as is the case with hachiya persimmons. And pomegranates, well, they are royalty among fruit. I “shell” them in a bowl filled with water to avoid getting juice all over.
What is your favorite winter-ripening fruit?
A beautiful and colorful composition! My favorite winter fruit is persimmons. I like both kinds but Fuyus are always ready to eat without that pesky waiting. My tree hasn't produced so I keep threatening to cut it down and get a new one. However, when I'm at the grocery store or produce place, I'll often get a few as a special reward for all my hard shopping. I'm also becoming fond of paw paws even though they're only available for about a month a year through mail order. The flavor is unique. I planted a male and female tree a few years ago and they're now big enough to start fruiting...any year now!
ReplyDeleteI've never eaten a paw paw before but I've heard they're delicious. I'll keep an eye out at Whole Foods Market.
DeleteHmmm, hard to choose between mandarins or pomegranates...
ReplyDeleteMandarins then, so refreshing and could eat loads in one sitting!
I agree! While I love oranges, I love mandarins even more. And the ones we got are the best we've had in a long while: acidic and sweet at the same time, with a wonderful balance.
DeleteLovely fruit in that wonderful wooden bowl. A beautiful color combination!
ReplyDeleteMy first Mandarins are ripening on our little tree--must get them wire-fenced and bird netted before the rats and possums figure out they are ripe. That and the Avocados. A reminder how special it is to garden in California.
It was interesting to hear you had a rat problem, too. We had a very active rat population a couple of years ago; not only did they eat all the fruit off our nectarine tree (since then removed), they even ate leafy ornamentals like my farfugiums! Fortunately, they've moved on and we haven't sighted a rat in over a year. Before, we saw them scurrying along the fence tops almost every evening. Traps didn't help.
DeleteI was going to say "nice bowl" too!
ReplyDeleteI certainly want to try one of those persimmons now, and although I enjoy the taste of pomegranates I don't enjoy the experience of eating them. Bleah.
Someday I need to live where I can grow winter-ripening fruits!
I know what you mean about eating pomegranates. I actually like the hard seeds inside but a lot of people don't. But the taste is like nothing else.
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