Santa Rosa Plums

The good news/bad news saga continues now with the plum crop. We have been able to provide some tasty plums to our commercial clients in the Bay Area. But since the plum crop was light, just like the apricots, we didn't get the yield we normally expect. The rain also affected the earliest Santa Rosa plums, causing some of the cracking and spoilage that we had in the cots. As always, though, our Santa Rosas have great flavor. The tangy purple skin surrounds juicy flesh that tastes sweet, bold and complex.

That being said, there are a few culls available for canners and bakers to enjoy. Give us a call if you are interested in them.

Last year we recommended a Santa Rosa Plum Compote recipe that is found on the web at epicurious.com. Here it is again:
Santa Rosa Plum Compote

This year we tried a recipe for Santa Rosa Plum Galette from Mary Jo Thoresen, famous pastry chef at Chez Panisse. Her recipe and detailed instructions can be found online at this link:
http://www.jojorestaurant.com/news/chronicle6-2000.html

A slice of this dessert topped with the best vanilla ice cream you can find is an incredible combination of flavor and texture, combining tart and sweet to perfection.

We are all indebted to Luther Burbank for cultivating this superb plum. In California, Arbor Day is celebrated on March 7, the date on which he was born in 1849. Now is a good time to make a plum galette, freeze it unbaked, bag it in a plastic bag with all air removed and place it in your freezer. On March 7, 2012, pull it out and bake it.

In addition to the Santa Rosa culls, we have Texas Pink Grapefruit available and a small supply of first crop Black Mission figs. Our phone is 707-448-4792.