Bare-root fruit trees and vines can be planted at any time during their dormant season between leaf-fall and bud-burst–late fall to early spring–as long as the soil conditions are right and the ground is not too wet or frozen. Frosty weather and freezes need not stop fruit planting as long as the soil surface is […] More
If the idea of serving your own fresh-picked strawberries next summer sounds good, spring is the time to get your strawberries growing. Strawberries are a perennial plant which means once you’ve got them in the ground you will have them for two or three years to come. There are two types of strawberries: June-bearing strawberries […] More
Slice the persimmon down to the stem base once and then twice and lay it open like a flower. You can then enjoy its delightfully sweet and cool flesh spoonful by spoonful. Some say the persimmon has a pumpkin flavor mixed with allspice and cinnamon. You will surely find it exotically sweet and very juicy. […] More
Sour cherries are great for cooking. They are richly flavored and firm of flesh so that they don’t go mushy during cooking. Use sour cherries for pies, cobblers, clafoutis, dessert sauces, preserves, and jams. There are two types of sour cherries: amarelle-type cherries are yellow-fleshed with clear juice; morello-type cherries are red-fleshed with red juice. […] More
Kumquats have a sweet rind and a zesty tart flesh. You can eat them raw out of hand like a grape or slice them and toss them in a salad. Kumquats look like small oranges. They are seldom larger than 1¼ inches (3 cm) across, about the size of a quail’s egg. The rind is […] More
Sour oranges are also called bitter oranges. These are oranges that are not sweet tasting. The best known sour oranges are Seville, Bouquet de Fleurs (also called Bouquet), Chinotto, and Bergamot. Sour oranges are harvested beginning in late fall and the harvest continues through spring depending upon the region and climate. Sour oranges have both […] More
The blood orange is a type of sweet orange that has red blush skin and a streaked to full scarlet, crimson, or purple flesh. It is juicy and has a sweet-tart taste that is rich, flavorful, and often hints of berry. Blood oranges are sometimes called the connoisseur’s or gourmet’s citrus. That is because the […] More
The navel orange is a type of sweet orange that is large, seedless and has a rich, juicy flavor that is delicious for eating out of hand. There are several varieties of navel oranges. They all have thick, rough, bright orange skins that are easy to peel. The segments of the navel orange are easy […] More
There are three types of oranges: sweet oranges, bitter oranges, and mandarins. Sweet oranges are mostly commonly used for eating fresh and for juice. Bitter or sour oranges are used for making marmalade and orange-flavored liqueurs, and mandarins–which are also called tangerines and are not really oranges but a separate citrus—are used for eating fresh. […] More
The Eureka lemon and the Lisbon lemon are two bitter-flavored lemons. The Eureka and the Lisbon can be used to flavor both sweet and savory dishes. They can be used in sauces or as an accompaniment to fish and poultry. They can be used in baking and desserts, and their slices or wedges can be […] More
The first or earliest harvested mandarin orange is the Satsuma mandarin. Satsuma is a small bright orange mandarin with a delicate, sweet flavor. It is seedless and contains less acid than most other mandarins. If you have ever bought a can of imported mandarin oranges, you have probably tasted the Satsuma. At the farm market, […] More
Mandarins oranges—in all their forms–are probably descended from wild oranges that grew in northeast India as long as 3,000 years ago. From India, mandarins made their way to China and from China to Europe, North Africa and Australia before they traveled on to other parts of the world. The first of these small, loose-skinned oranges […] More
Stephen Albert