Gravenstein Apples - A Labor of Love

"It has often been said that if the Gravenstein could be had throughout the year,

no other apple need be grown."

 – Luther Burbank, horticulturist and ag science pioneer

As you peek into your Farm Fresh To You boxes this week, you'll find a special summer treat worth saving and savoring! Gravensteins, highly treasured heirloom apples, are crisp, juicy and delicious, and yet for many reasons, are in danger of becoming extinct.

In the era of big ag and convenience growing, the Gravenstein became an endangered species. The Slow Food movement took up the cause of “saving” the Gravenstein by encouraging restaurants and retailers to buy this heritage apple and by designating this variety an Ark of Taste food, “a catalog of 200 delicious foods in danger of extinction.” Slow Food also established a Presidium that “works to promote and protect farmers who nurture their apples from tree to table.”

In 2011, an article about Gravensteins in The New York Times summarized it nicely, “Like all classic heroes, however, the Gravenstein has a fatal flaw — or two. The apple ripens earlier than most, but does not travel or age well, unlike big-time brands like the Red Delicious, meaning that getting them to distant markets can be a challenge.”

We could not be more proud to partner with farmer John Kolling of Solana Gold Organics, whose extreme dedication and care for the Gravenstein has fulfilled our dream of finding enough of these rare apples that we are finally able to share them with you, our CSA members!

Interesting Facts from John about his "Gravs":

• His “Gravs” come from many trees that are over 100 years old, with 30-foot canopies. 
• He purposely doesn’t irrigate because forcing the trees to seek moisture builds character, crunch and intensifies aroma and flavor.
• Gravs need to be hand-picked very carefully as they bruise easily in every color stage. 
• The apple's skin color progresses seven different times over the life of the apple. It starts off a bright lime green then transitions to a medium orange color with faded red over-markings.
• Gravenstein trees have three sets of chromosomes instead of the usual two, making the trees very large compared to other apple trees. Crutches are used to support the weight of their branches.

Due to an extra set of chromosomes, large Gravenstein trees often have to use crutches
to support the weight of their branches.

Gravensteins were first planted in California by Russian traders in the early 19th century and for over 100 years, they have found their home in Sebastopol. In addition to Sonoma County, this apple does well in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia.

What makes Gravenstein apples so unique?

• Perfectly balanced flavor - sweet and tart!
• Versatile fruit - great for cooking and baking.
• Aromatic - sweet, floral smell
• Early bloomers - these apples are some of the first of the season, and are harvested in July and August.
• Passionate followers - There is a high demand for the apples and major supportive groups and events such as Slow Food, Apple Blossom Festival, Gravenstein Apple Fair.

Reasons why Gravensteins are on the endangered list:

• Tall trees - difficult to reach the apples that are on the tallest parts of the trees.
• Short, weak stems - causes apples to fall from the tree prematurely.
• Diminishing farm land - higher demand and higher profit margin for wine grapes or real estate.
• Uncertain harvest cycles and short shelf-life.

John Kolling takes us out into his orchard. You can tell how much we love his trees too!

Gravensteins, both sweet and tart, are great for eating raw, making applesauce and cider, and of course, baking in a pie. They are also known to make a delicious vinegar. The apple is crispy, juicy and aromatic.

We could not share these apples without the amazing work of John Kolling and his farm, Solana Gold Organics.  A big thank you to John for his labor of love! 

Coming Back & Catching Capay Tomato!

As you'd imagine, we've gathered some great memories from farm events over the years. What you might not know is that it's the stories shared by those who visit, by many of you, that really allow us to experience the event in a whole new way - that make the very best stories.

Here's one such story shared with us by Nicola, on her own blog Growing Berries, and graciously reposted here so we could share it with all of you! 

By Nicola of Growing Berries
We have just returned to France, where we are living for a couple of years, after a four week visit to our home in California. When we first arrived back in the United States, for the home visit it seemed like we had so much time stretching ahead of us and I expected we would fill much of it doing some of the touristy things we never got around to whilst living here, like visiting Alcatraz or walking across the Golden Gate Bridge in its 75th anniversary year. The four weeks flew by though and those activities will have to stay on our bucket list as we chose to spend our time staying local, near friends and our favorite swimming pool, with my older daughters attending camps and more sleepovers than we could count!

On our final weekend though, we did fulfill a long held desire to attend the Tomato Festival, at Capay Farm. We started getting a Farm Fresh to You box about four years ago and it completely changed the way we ate. I already loved cooking at home, but starting our menu planning with the vegetables we had available rather than the meat seemed to be a much healthier approach and never quite knowing which seasonal vegetables were going to turn up in our box really got the whole family trying new foods on a weekly basis.

We had attended lots of open days at the farm in every season whilst we lived here, but the heirloom tomato festival in the summer never seemed to fall at a good time for us. This year though we finally made it with our good friends who share our love for the contents of those boxes.

The farm is about an hour and a half's drive north of our home in the East Bay and looked so green and pretty in the perfect weather that blessed the day of the festival. Tractor rides took visitors around the fields, filled at this time of year with summer squash and asparagus.

There were plenty of activities for the little ones. Arts and crafts, hula hoops, herb salt making and my daughter Florence's favourite...

...bubbles!

The main event though was the Heirloom Tomato Tasting.

Not only did the family who run Capay Organic pioneer organic farming in the region, farmer's markets and fresh produce delivery, they also reintroduced heirloom tomatoes to our table. Here's how...

What a great story!

Now, although those organic boxes have got my kids eating carrots, pistachios, spinach and even kale, my eldest daughters, India, Georgia and Savannah still maintain that they hate tomatoes and cannot usually be persuaded to eat them. I think they may have been converted though after this weekend. All three girls tried and liked the huge variety of tomatoes on offer.

Someone who doesn't need any persuading to eat a tomato though is Florence. She adores them and she was in tomato tasting heaven here.

The party continued with live music.

Just a few more tomatoes.

And dancing.

A wonderful day out in the fresh air with good food, great company and more tomatoes than you can eat.

Miam! Miam!  

Thank you again to Nicola and be sure to check out her blog for more amazing photos and tales of her family's adventures.

Original Post

Capay Tomato Festival 2012 - Our Thanks & Winners!

Thank you to everyone who came out to our 5th-Annual Capay Tomato Festival in support of the Kathleen Barsotti Non-Profit for Sustainable Agriculture (KBNP).

Opening our farm for monthly farm tours and events like our Capay Tomato Festival never ceases to move us, and remind us how very important and humbling it is to share this land with you, our community, the folks that allow us to continue growing organic fruits and vegetables and continue growing our work for a better, more sustainable food system for all. 

Thank you to all who joined us and helped to make this event such a success!   We want to once again thank our amazing employees for their hard work in readying and sharing our farm with visitors.  Many, many thanks go to all the amazing companies, organizations and individuals who donated to our Silent Auction benefiting the KBNP.  We are so very grateful!

We’d also like to thank the many partners who made the event delicious and fun...

Tacos Jesus Maria, Caffe Italia and Cracchiolo’s Market for the amazing local tacos, wood-fired pizzas and sandwiches; The Pleasant Valley Boys, Miss Lonely Hearts and Old Man Markley for their amazing talents that set the day to music. 

Add to that The Pop Nation for their refreshing popsicles; Seka Hills and Whole Vine for sharing their olive and grapeseed oils and Bay Area Bee Company for honey tasting; Dilly Dally the Clown for creative face painting, Harmony Henna for their original henna tattoos; and the Health Education Council for providing delicious, healthy recipe ideas!

As visitors danced around the twinkle-lit stage late into the night, little ones fell asleep in chairs with dirty little feet hanging over the edges. As the festival wound down, you could hear those not staying to camp marveling at the stars as they headed back to their cars.  Still today, there is quite a buzz around the farm about the fun times that were had by all.

Thank you again to everyone who came out to help us celebrate all things tomato – and to make that connection between the sustainable organic food we grow and the food you all enjoy.

Be sure to check out our photos from the event and keep reading for the Tomato Tasting and Best Picnic Winners!

 

TOMATO WINNERS:

Tomato tasting is one of the highlights of the Capay Tomato Festival. Visitors are invited to taste and vote on their favorite heirloom and cherry tomatoes from over a dozen varieties. 

In fact - we enjoyed over 750lbs of tomatoes for the event! {drum roll} This year’s winner in the heirloom category is...

Brandywine — full and rich, not too sweet or too acidic.

In the cherry tomato category, the Sungold cherry tomato — light orange colored, thin-skinned and very sweet, was crowned winner once again after giving up its title last year to Chiquita.

 

PICNIC WINNERS:

It was not easy choosing a Best Guest Picnic Contest winner - in fact, it was near impossible to decide and required bringing in additional people to take part in tie-breaking!

This year’s Guest Best Picnic is awarded to Tom and Company who displayed a great variety of goodies including cured meats, olives and artichokes, fresh fruits and cheeses, wine and beer, an assortment of handmade salads, cookies and muffins, and even a pie for Tom — the birthday boy! Congrats Tom, and thank you to all who joined in on the picnicking fun!

Congrats Tom and Company for winning three Farm Fresh To You deliveries!  You can see more picnic contest photos on our flickr page and see to whom we awarded honorable mention prizes! We just couldn't help ourselves!  http://bit.ly/picnicshots 


Thank you to all who participated - Hope to see you again next year!