We are all trying to figure out at any given point what vegetables are in season.
And just when I decided to look into that at Farmers Markets…. this article came out in the LA Times. Of course, there are my comments here and there done in italic (so you know it’s me talking)…..
THIS IS A PRETTY UNUSUAL BLOG FOR YOU, CHEF MARIAN.
Yes. Yes. I know. But I’ve got things to say and don’t want anyone confused between the source I’m presenting and me….
But before we go into it, I would like to say something about the rhythm of the universe. A compadre of mine, another Chef named Ben was up in Santa Barbara tonight, when he called and happened to ask about food there. Well, when we talk about food, we are talking about clean, green stuff with great flavor!
And if I am recommending places like The Sojourner, (although since Chef Eddie left, I’m not sure if it’s still the same), The Natural Cafe (in a couple of locations), I find myself not being able to leave out Lazy Acres (a market that is pretty good, with specialty items buried on the left side of the freeway as you drive through Santa Barbara) and of course the Farmer’s Markets both on State Street and in Montecito.
Memories…. memories of me and Irma and Michel cooking in the suite we rented near the market at the Montecito Inn, which by the way, is the only Suite with a kitchen at that place.
Michel is a world class chef originally from Belgium, with books under his belt. He actually was the Executive Chef at The Golden Door when I first met him and in his retirement, (lol) he landed part time at the sister spa in Mexico just over the border. Forget the name…. I think it’s Rancho La Puerta…..and I understand from Irma the spa is equally good. Spa? Relaxing? Massage? Good Food? What’s NOT to like? Am I right?
YOU’RE RIGHT CHEF MARIAN!
Anyway, there’s something to be said about getting together with friends, shopping together and then going home to cook together. A nice bottle of wine for the chefs….. and we’re off to the races!
You don’t have to be a chef to cook. Consider it for this weekend. We’ve got the Farmer’s Market on Cedros in Solana Beach, I think there’s one on Vulcan in Leucadia…. and I know there’s one down in La Jolla (La Joe La).. lol.
Well, why don’t I just give you some names and addresses of other areas too. Would you like that?
YES! CHEF MARIAN! AND WE WILL EVEN PUT IT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE OR TWEET IT OUT!
Cool. You are ~ so ~ very ~ cool.
You have earned a map! lol
But from this point forward, consider yourself in the twilight zone. Ya see, when you take a map and Farmer’s Market info off the web, there’s ALL KINDS OF crazy html…. which I have tried, Tried, TRIED to manipulate…. to NO success. So, just make the screen larger for the map…. and tolerate all the spacing weirdities… OK? YES CHEF MARIAN. WE’LL TOLERATE TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY FOR YOU> Thanks. Buds.
So here’s what the LA Times is saying is in season:
Strawberries, near peak now from San Diego to Santa Maria, are the dominant spring fruit in their ubiquity and mass appeal. Experienced shoppers look for berries red all the way to the top and richly perfumed. But plants produce sour berries one week while concentrating on vegetative growth and sweet fruit a few weeks later in a frustratingly inscrutable cycle; the only useful strategy is to sniff and sample, although this is not infallible, since vendors typically offer their best fruits as tasters.
Rhubarb, strawberry’s classic partner, is likewise available year-round but peaks in quality and seasonal appeal this month.
Local production of blueberries, once rare, has surged in recent years. A trickle is available year-round, but prime season for coastal growers, including most farmers market blueberry vendors, is April and May.
Cherimoyas are in peak season now from northern districts in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Prime specimens are a taste treat blending banana, pineapple and papaya, but many vendors offer small or misshapen culls. For superior quality, look for well-filled-out fruits, ideally lightly bronzed by the sun.
Loquats can show up from March to June, but April and early May, just before stone fruit, is their time to shine. Look for fruits that are deeply colored yellow or orange, depending on the variety. Often the best specimens are slightly bruised. No one sells lots of loquats, but it’s worth looking for them.
Finding the best citrus in spring can be tricky because a given variety, or similar-looking varieties, can be immature, at peak or overmature, depending on the growing area and horticultural factors. Earlier in the season, buying citrus at farmers markets is typically an advantage because commercial packers more often pick too early, when fruit is sour, to get the best prices; farmers market growers are more likely to wait until fruit is reasonably mature. The advantage can continue late in the season, if farmers let fruit hang as it continues to get sweeter and richer in flavor.
To get the best quality late-season citrus, shoppers must recognize the signs of overmaturity: The rind becomes puffy for the variety. Texture can become overly soft or dry (granulation) with gaping cores and sprouting seeds. Musty off-flavors develop. Most crucially, acidity drops so that the fruit turns unidimensionally sweet, sometimes bland and watery; peak-quality citrus needs counterbalancing acidity to impart welcome punch and tang.
Mandarins, at best the noblest and most flavorful of citrus, are also the most perishable and difficult to select properly. Satsumas, Fairchild and Lee are past by now, period. From Southern California groves, some clementines can still be good, but they’re mostly on their way out; ditto for Fremont and Nova. W Murcott and Tango are in the seventh inning, past peak, but often still good. Pixies and Gold Nuggets generally are still in fine form.
The classic Washington navel orange can still be good for a month or so, less so pink-fleshed Cara Cara. Late-maturing navels such as Lane Late, Powell and Autumn Gold are not often sold or identified at farmers markets but are worth buying when they turn up.
Valencia, the leading juice orange, also delicious fresh, hangs so late that some growers just finished picking their old crop. The new crop is in full swing from San Joaquin Valley groves; from Southern California, Valencias are getting good from warmer districts like Pauma Valley, but are still tart from cooler areas like Ventura County.
Grapefruit from desert growers such as Everett DaVall and Flying Disc Ranch is at its sweetest and juiciest, with perhaps a month of peak quality left. San Joaquin Valley grapefruit, as from Arnett Farms and Peacock Family Farms, is in full season, although pink varieties are more advanced than whites. Grapefruit from the warmer Southern California districts (Redlands, Pauma Valley) has just sweetened enough to be delicious to most palates; intermediate areas (Valley Center, Fallbrook) are typically a few weeks off; and the coolest areas (Ventura County) are months off, unless you’re looking to strip paint.
Chef Marian