Celebrate Stone Fruits…Come On!
OK, that may be taking liberties with Kool and the Gang but at the beginning of Stone Fruit Season it’s time to start singing again! Cherries, apricots and peaches are showing up at the Modesto Certified Farmers Market and that means it’s our favorite fruit time of year and it will last until August at fruit stands around town!
In case you were wondering what a ‘stone fruit’ is there are a few explanations but it all boils down to the pit (the stone). Any fruit that has pulp around a stone is considered a stone fruit. The stone is NOT the seed…the seed is inside the stone. Most commonly, stone fruits are considered peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines and cherries. Where it gets kind of odd is with the stone fruits often considered berries; cherries, raspberries and blackberries. That ‘odd list’ goes on with mangoes, coconuts and even olives being stone fruit. But we digress.
Let’s talk stone fruit right here in the heart of California’s Central Valley; Modesto. Many food and travel authors have listed the peaches from here as being the best you may ever find. There’s white, there’s yellow, there’s Fay Alberta and more. But those are not all on farm stands yet…you need to wait until the summer to really have peaches you’ll remember for years! Then there’s the pluot; these incredible fruits are a hybrid between the Japanese plum and an apricot. And they were created right here in Modesto by Floyd Zalger founder of Zalger’s Genetics and a legend in the business as a stone fruit breeder.
But don’t wait for summer to grab peaches and pluots by the flat…start getting your fresh stone fruit right now. Whether it’s at the Farmers Market or one of the many farm and ag stands in the area you’ll be finding lots of fresh fruits and vegetables to take home. Right now you can find apricots or cherries plus locally grown beets, beans and cauliflower along with many other fresh veggies from the region.
So don’t hesitate, jump in the car and come over to Modesto and fill a bag or two with what’s grown right here! Don’t forget to grab a great meal at any one of our MoCertified restaurants where you can bring the whole family including the dog as we celebrate Modesto Loves Dogs (and you can get dog swag too).
-Todd Aaronson
