The Pressure of Spring

    Last evening at sunset, I saw Matt in the beautiful new greenhouse he and the men built, watching over the little seedlings that he started from seed a month ago like a mother hen. We talked about what we’d have and when it would be ready. Will the Early Girls be ready by late June or mid July? Is there still time to start Fresno chilies from seed? I left there feeling the anticipation of many good things to come although with butterflies in my stomach. I know exactly what Roger’s and Hammerstein meant in the song, “It Might as Well be Spring”; “…I feel so gay, in a meloncholy way…”  It’s springtime. It’s beautiful and exciting, a time of renewal and new life. But it’s also a time of increasing pressure for all of us on the farm and probably you too.

    It’s a law of physics that a coil spring needs pressure in order to push up, and it is a law of nature that we all need pressure as well to propel ourselves into the next phase. The blossoms “push” open, as the high pressure systems of spring begin to sink down from above and warm the air around us. Sometimes, I imagine it actually pushing down on me. Suddenly it’s too late to get all the things done that I wanted to do in the winter months. A month ago, I felt as if I had all the time in the world and now I feel like it’s slipping through my fingers. That slow time, when everything and everyone moved as if in slow motion is gone and now time is accelerated. Summer is just around the corner, when it seemed so far away just a few weeks ago. The kids will be out of school soon, (what do I do with them?!) and the fruit will be here. There will be more people everywhere; at markets, at my house and on the farm. I was calling the shots there for a little while, but not for long. Now, my days will be about trying to keep up, stay ahead of the juggernaut of summer fruit that will be coming our way. It’s time to get out; out of the sleepy, dreamy days of winter and into the bright, light days of spring. I am excited by all that coming, the long, warm days and the deliciousness of summertime. We have a lot to look forward to.

-Chef Becky

 

Chef Becky gives her blessing to the olio nuovo, the first pressing of the 2012 olive crop, and says it may be our best oil ever!

Our inspiration for planting olives was a trip to Tuscany in November of 2001. We stayed at a B&B in Tuscany during olive harvest. On a warm, sunny day, with our host, Georgio and 4 members of his family representing 4 generations we picked olives by hand, into nets beneath the trees. While we picked they prepared a lunch of grilled sausages and lardon, salad, bread and red wine. We ate right there in the olive grove where we picked; nothing fancy, but delicious and totally unforgettable. After, we took the olives to the mill with Georgio and watched it being pressed. I’ll never forget the green color of that oil and its’ peppery taste. Our dream is to make oil that good and this year’s oil is a very good advance in that quest.

“Bright and fruity up front, followed by piquant grassy notes, and finishing with a little ‘bite”. Becky strongly influenced my decision to pick the olives earlier this year, wanting “greener” oil, a more traditional Tuscan flavor profile. It definitely worked!

            I was also influenced by more practical reasons: First, since greener olives yield less oil, with such a large crop, having enough oil to sell is not an issue.  Second, this year’s olive crop is huge, and I knew it would take a week longer to pick it. (By the way, the olive oil pressed from the olive picked first week will have a slightly different character than the oil pressed from the last week and we are going to see if we can taste the difference.) Third, this years’ California crop of olives is heavy meaning there will be more competition getting mill slots scheduled. And last, with such a large quantity of oil, it will take longer to sell, so storage is a factor; greener oil, with higher polyphenol content has a much longer shelf life than the “golden” oils (and more anti oxidants and more health benefits.)

            This years’ crop is unbelievable! Our trees, 400 in all, planted along roads and property lines in single rows,  look like weeping willows, with their branches, laden with olives, bent to the ground. One tree alone had 300 lbs of olives and it took my best picker an entire day to pick it! Our crew picks the olives using their hands, finger tips wrapped in duct tape, like a rake sliding the olives off the branch into the picking tote. We then rush them to the mill in Petaluma within hours which is critical in assuring the highest quality oil.

So how do you know if your oil is high quality? Here are a few tips on taste testing oil.

The 4 Ss:

Swirl -This releases the oil’s aroma molecules. Keep one hand on the bottom of the glass to heat the oil and the other hand covering the top to keep in the oil aroma.

Sniff – Uncover the oil and quickly inhale from the rim of the glass. Take note of the intensity and the description of the aroma.

Slurp – Take a small sip of the oil while also “sipping” some air. This slurping action emulsifies the oil and helps spread it throughout your mouth. Take note of the retro-nasal aroma as well as the intensity of bitterness.

Swallow – An oil’s pungency is judged by a sensation in your throat so you must swallow at least a small amount to thoroughly evaluate it. If the oil makes your throat scratchy or makes you want to cough, it is a pungent oil.

 

What positive attributes do you look for when sampling oil?

Fruitiness – This refers to the aroma of fresh, undamaged fruit in the oil.

Bitterness – This is the primary flavor of fresh olives and is perceived through the taste buds located on the back of the tongue

Pungency – This is a biting sensation felt in the throat that will often time make you cough.

 

What negative attributes do you look for?

Rancidity- Naturally occurs as oil age.

Musty/humid/earthy – Caused by mold spores that develop when olives have been stored in humid conditions prior to milling.

Heated or Burnt – Occurs when the olives are exposed to excessive temperatures during processing

Frozen – When oil is extracted from olives that have been damaged by frost prior to harvest.

Briney – Occurs when oil is extracted from olives which were preserved in brine.

Grubby – The result of extracting oil from olives damaged by olive fly infestation.

 A rose by any other name….

    A lot of people ask me why we use “conserve” to describe our jams instead of just “jam” or “preserve”. There are a lot of misnomers around what a jam or preserve is. There is what we all think of as jams, preserves, marmalades etc. and there are legal “standards of identity” and as in this case, they do not always coincide. The Food and Drug Administration’s Standards of Identity have been in place since 1940. According to Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 150 a “jam or preserve” must have a minimum of 45 to 47 parts fruit ingredient, by weight, be added to each 55 parts, by weight, of  sugar or other sweetener. The fruit and sweetener mixture, along with other optional ingredients, must be concentrated to achieve 65% soluble solids (brix). Our conserves only have about 20% added sugar and usually brix in 45-46 range and we wanted to keep it that way. So, this left us with only one option; call it a “spread”. We didn’t really like the name “spread”, we felt it was unappealing. So, a friend suggested that we call it a “conserve”, because of the large chunks of fruit it was more like a conserve than a jam or preserve anyway. In order to be compliant with the FDA’ s labeling laws and standard of identity, we still needed to have the word “spread” on the label so, as small as we could we put “a spreadable fruit” underneath the products name.  This may be more euphonious but not very accurate; our conserves are so chunky that most of them are anything but spreadable. Still, we must comply with the FDA’s archaic laws where it comes to food. Conserve is a little confusing as well. For those that do know what a conserve is, and there aren’t many, they usually associate it with a mixture of fruits and often dried fruit and nuts, not unlike chutney but without the acid (vinegar). There is no actual “standard of identity” for a conserve; its definition has been molded by canning history and traditions. Definitions may vary from country to country and region to region. The following is an excerpt from the “Art of Preserving” a book that I co-authored listing the names with commonly accepted descriptions. .

Jams: Chopped or crushed/mashed fruit cooked with sugar until desired jell point or set. Set varies depending on personal preference and pectin content of fruit. A "Jam" may or may not have added pectin. Generally used for accompaniment to breakfast pastries or breads but can also be used for savory sauces. The best jams with the best set are ones made with medium to high natural pectin.

Preserve: Whole or whole pieces of cooked fruit suspended in a soft jelly or syrup. May include spices, wine or spirits and can be used for both savory and sweet dishes. The fruits that lend themselves best to preserves are ones that have little natural pectin or are best preserved whole due to time consuming processing, pitting cherries etc.

Jelly: Clear gelled fruit juice with added sugar and acid if needed. a perfect jelly should be clear not cloudy, jiggle when touched but not be hard or rubbery. Sometimes leaves or flowers can be added to jellies for appearances but by definition jellies do not have any pieces of fruit in them.

Marmalade: Chopped, pureed or sliced citrus cooked with sugar. Ideally, marmalade should have the right ratio of soft jelly from the juice to soft pieces of cooked peel suspended in it.  The Marmalade can have one or be a combination of different citrus.

Conserve: Usually a combination of 2 or more fruits, often with dried fruit and nuts, cooked with sugar. Conserves are usually have chunky texture and are served often with cheeses and meats.

Butter: Pureed fruit cooked slowly with little sugar until all liquid evaporated and mixture becomes dark,

    Were it not for the sugar requirement we would call our conserves “jam “.When we first started making jam, we tasted everything on the market. Most commercial jams are ridiculously sweet. I believe this is because they are using fruit that has no flavor and sugar is after all, the best preservative; these jars last a lifetime in the refrigerator. Ours however, do not have the longevity that those jams enjoy because of the reduced sugar. This is why we went from a 12oz jar originally to our current 7.75 oz jar; we hope that you will finish it before spoilage is an issue and, this is usually the case. How quickly it begins to show signs of spoilage depends on your refrigerator and where it placed in it, the colder, the better.
But, whatever you call it we have tried to make it as full of fruit flavor and as low in sugar as we could without compromising it’s shelf life. It’s all about the fruit and we’re using the best fruit there is.

We had quite the day at the farm yesterday. Our good friend and Top Chef alum, Ryan Scott, came out to Frog Hollow to film an episode of his forthcoming television series Food Rush.   

 

Ryan and his film crew arrived ready for a day on the farm. Ryan, along with cameraman Dave Corona, drove in first with country music turned up loud and “yee-haa’s” being screamed from the car.

They were followed by Live Well Network producer Jason Fong and the rest of the team.  Ryan’s Make-Up artist, Megan, drove in singing “Peaches” by Seattle alternative rock band, The Presidents of the United States of America.  They made quite the entrance though I hope they weren’t disappointed with the fact that there are no farm animals here at Frog Hollow.  

Their day at Frog Hollow Farm included a tour of the orchard with Farmer Al and some peach picking.  Ryan borrowed a pair of Farmer Al's Overalls just for this occasion. 

 

After picking some peaches with Farmer Al, Ryan and crew headed over to Farmer Al's house to prepare dinner with Co-Owner and Farmer Al’s wife, Chef Becky.

The menu included Becky’s Pancetta-Wrapped Peaches on the Grill and Plum Glazed Portobello Mushrooms served with a Quinoa-Dried Plum Salad.  Ryan took care of dessert, making a delicious Peach Crostata. We’ll be posting Becky’s recipes to our blog soon. 

Farmer Al, Becky, and Ryan enjoyed the meal outside before Ryan and crew packed up for their drive back home. 

 photo taken by @chefryanscott

 Food Rush starts airing Sunday, September 10^th at 8pm on the LIVE WELL Network (Check your local listings).  Their visit to Frog Hollow Farm will be featured on episode 4, to air sometime in early October.