Orchards and farms in Brentwood on the urban boundary are popular summer time u-pick and farmstand destinations. The cherry season is here and producers have started opening on weekends this month. Last Friday I headed to a couple of farms, both new to me, to see what's in season.
The cherry crop is light this year and some orchards that normally offer a u-pick option are only selling picked fruit this year. Seko Ranch is one of them. Its farmstand had Coral and Early Brooks cherries for sale at $5 per pound. They're large in size, graded into one-pound bags, and really good for early season cherries. I'd say they're 10X better than the Brooks cherries from Tulare I bought the previous weekend at a farmers market. The Corals are darker in hue with deeper flavor and sweeter. The Early Brooks have a lighter color, crisper texture and a bit more acidity that seems to bring out complex nuances in flavor. Refrigerated at home, they held up well over the five days it took me to consume them. The folks were nice here and the bags had about 10% more than the weight I was charged.
Then I stopped at Chan's farmstand. It offers strawberry u-pick. But I had to buy and run, picking up fresh shallots with the tops (50¢ per bunch) and sugar snap peas ($2 per pound). Some of the peas still had the top stem and leaf attached, but for that price, I wasn't picky. The peas were fresher holding their candied sweetness longer than what I can get on Grant Avenue.
What are your favorite Brentwood farmstands?
When to go, where to go, and what to bring on a cherry picking day trip from the Bay Area.
I bought a pound of corals from Seko at the Brentwood farmers market today. My husband and I just finished off the pound in one sitting while watching GSW make an amazing comeback in the 4th tonight. They are possibly the best cherries I’ve ever eaten.
Just moved to Brentwood from the east cost. Think I’m going to really like all this fresh produce so close at hand!
I picked up a couple of pounds of Linden cherries at the Farmer's Market in Stockton yesterday. Not sure what variety they were - there was a language barrier between the vendor and me. They were huge, delicious, and most of the 2+ pounds are already gone!
What was the price per pound?
Yesterday I bought some cherries grown in Linden at the Irvine farmers market. They were Bings and Rainiers with good sweetness and texture for $8 per pound. No language barrier with the staffers. But funny thing, when I asked where the orchard was, the guy said near Stockton. I asked for the specific town, and he went into an explanation about how it's in between Sacramento and Fresno. Then I explained that I was from San Francisco and knew exactly where Stockton's located, as well as Lodi, Galt, Manteca, etc., but wanted to know which town. He laughed and said he was more accustomed to SoCal people having no idea where Stockton is, let alone Linden.
On June 9th we went to Bloomfield farms where they had Lapin, Sweethearts and Corals? for U-pick. Workers were not too helpful on telling us where we can find each type or how the trees were marked, so just picked Sweethearts. The trees in the front had smaller and not quite as ripe as the ones in the back. Sampled and checked out about a dozen trees before finding two that had good size, crunchy and sweet cherries that you could get with the ladder. They were quite a few farms still open that weekend for U-pick cherries, so maybe some are still open for this weekend. Price was 3.50 and we picked 25 pounds, way too many for 4 of us, but had a nice time sharing with friends who didn't go. Stopped my Rancho Zaragaza to pick white peaches for $2. Very small family farm with goats and chickens that were hanging around as you walked through the orchard. Peaches were med size, but very sweet. Liked that it was a very small farm, people were very helpful and friendly. McKinney farms also had white peaches and was also $2 but this was closer to Bloomfield.
by Jen Wheeler | Need a spring vegetable guide to what's in season? Consider this your spring produce cheat sheet—complete...
by Rachel Johnson | Whether the kids are still distance learning or returning to a classroom, with school back in session...
by Kelly Magyarics | You’ve sprung for a gorgeous piece of enameled cast iron cookware; protect your investment by cleaning...
by Debbie Wolfe | Home chefs love wood cutting boards because they are durable and reliable. Wood boards are attractive...