33933 Tue Jan 25 16:46:02 -0800 2005 12 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 152362 As far as I can tell, the citrus of northern California is bad. While this is true of blood oranges, navel oranges and other citrus, my jeremiad focuses on satsumas. I've tried all of the satsumas and clementines sold at the Ferry Plaza Saturday market over the last two seasons and they are, except for the produce from one farm, lacking in the requisite abundance of sweetness, tartness and acidity. A good satsuma has a tender skin (not peel), gives off a marvelous fragrance when peeled, and dances on the tongue like champagne. These simply do not exist in northern California, except when the wonderful farmers at Fairview Garden drive them up from Goleta, as they've done the last few weeks for the Ferry market. But delicious as those satsumas are, they are not locally produced. They reach me (as do the amazing dates from Thermal sold nearby) at great expense of gasoline, which bothers me. There was a guy who sold very good satsumas and clementines at the market last season. He set up heat lamps in the spot next to that currently occcupied by the Fairview folks. What has become of him? I miss him. I want him to sell me fruit. I want to find out that he grows it within twenty miles of San Francisco. I am a dreamer. The satsumas and clementines sold at the Santa Monica farmers market on Wednesdays are almost without exception divine. Tue Jan 25 16:46:02 -0800 2005 0 Poot 1 152390 Well, you can't have everything. The climate within 20 miles of San Francisco is not really ideal for most forms of citrus. Just be happy you don't live in a part of the country where there's no fresh local produce in the winter. Tue Jan 25 19:00:50 -0800 2005 152362 0 Ruth Lafler 2 152429 I love the pears, the apricots, the brassicas, the apples, the potatoes, the grapes of Russian River and Sonoma and Napa, the marvelous fungi of Golden Gate Park, the poppies growing out of cracks in the pavement, the Cooper's hawk in my back yard, the sound of the foghorns mounted on the bridge towers. But I do not and I can not love northern California's citrus. Tue Jan 25 21:54:42 -0800 2005 152390 0 Poot 3 152435 I wouldn't lump all Northern California citrus together -- being able to walk out back and pick Meyer lemons is fabulous, and since Meyers are usually more expensive and harder to get than Satsumas, and have a longer bearing season, it's a fair tradeoff in my mind. Tue Jan 25 22:16:08 -0800 2005 152429 0 Ruth Lafler 4 152478 This discussion reminds me of a really, super, excellently neat-o neighborhood organization that started up a few months ago in North Oakland called AmityWorks. One of their stated goals is to gather surplus produce from the neighborhood (which, in Temescal, primarily means lemons) and redistribute it to the people and, possibly, local restaurants. They gave me a sack of lemons just the other day. i am going to preserve them in brine and hand a few jars back to them. I only wish I had more time to participate in things like this, and more produce/eggs to offer unto the neighborhood agriculture kitty. Last winter there were lovely, fragrant, sweet Owari-rootstock Satsumas available at the Market Hall produce market, but I don't know where they were from, and I haven't been as impressed with anything since. Link: http://www.amityworks.org Wed Jan 26 12:53:10 -0800 2005 152435 0 patrick 5 152522 #1 That Tamascal Garden redistribution is a great idea! #2 Meyer lemons perserved in brine is a TASTY item. #3 I agree that the only good Meyer lemons come from norcal, but I still buy much of my citrus from outside of the area. While I try to buy northern california as much as possible, I consider most everthing on the West coast local. How far are we supposed to take this whole buy local thing;-) #4 I have noticed that the citrus season in general seemed to come in a bit late this year. Over the past couple of weeks I have been getting some really great citrus (better than last year). Before that, things were still pretty tart. #5 I haven't had a really good blood orange in a few years. They got way too popular. That said I have gotten a few a rainbow this season that at least taste like blood oranges as opposed to red colored tart valencia's which is what I have been tasting over the past couple of seasons. #5 I have been getting what I think are called che che oranges (same word repeated, but I can't remember the name) recently that have been great. They have a pinkish color insdie and are super juicy and sweet. Its no summer mellon season, but I'll take it..... Wed Jan 26 15:28:20 -0800 2005 152478 0 shameless 6 152530 Perhaps you mean Cara Cara oranges, which are pink inside. Wed Jan 26 16:12:16 -0800 2005 152522 0 Ruth Lafler 7 152561 Yes, that is it and they have been great. Wed Jan 26 17:42:19 -0800 2005 152530 0 shameless 3 152446 I do not like them with a fox, I do not like them in a box.... I will not, cannot, enjoy northern california citrus. This "food miles" thing seems to be about ready to heat up. The Driscol strawberries they were selling at Whole Foods today were in a Watsonville carton, with a confession of their Mexico origin on a separate piece of paper. I thought they were going to be blah, and they were. Most folk don't know what the "best" is supposed to taste like, so they develop a palate based upon products which represent only a shadow of their full potential. "Best" means optimally ripe, and in this condition travel does not improve flavor. What you're ultimately talking about is terroir, and you've found yours. Don't lament it. Jump on Southwest, fill the sky with fumes and noise pollution and eat so many satsumas that you develop a food aversion. That will solve your problem. Wed Jan 26 00:29:07 -0800 2005 152429 0 K. Gerstenberger 1 152399 I've never lived in LA, so I can't compare, but I have been (mostly) happy with the organic citrus from Twin Girls Farms - I've tried the navels, mandarins, pommelos. Sometimes amazing, sometimes ho-hum, so if you tried their stuff and it wasn't good, you might want to try it again. They're at a bunch of farmer's markets. All that said, however, their farm is in Dinuba, which is south of Fresno - within 20 miles of SF they ain't. Tue Jan 25 19:30:39 -0800 2005 152362 0 Chris Willging 1 152403 I am a fellow satsuma lover. Have been buying 5lb a week for the past month and eating them myself! While I admire you for trying to buy local, I would give yourself a break about the localness of your citrus -- it is still in California, and isn't for Florida ... or Israel (like the organic bell peppers currently being sold at Whole Foods). That said ... a couple of recommendations: De Santis Farms from the Fresno area. They have fantastic citrus. You may be happy with their satsumas. They are at the Cannery on Fridays and Saturdays, or Marin on Sundays. They are a no-spray farm. Brokaw Nursery from Ventura. You may know him as the "avocado guy". His mandarins aren't out yet, but when they are ... they are very good. His season is a bit different than the other farmers. He is not an organic farm. Available at Ferry Plaza on Saturdays, Berkeley on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Link: http://fogcity.blogs.com/jen/2005/01/vote_with_your_.html Tue Jan 25 19:49:59 -0800 2005 152362 0 jen maiser 1 152432 Before you completely write off our citrus maybe you should try Olson family farm. They are at the Saturday SFFP market in the back next to Mariquita, usually. Although the satsumas there were off for about a week or two they are usually VERY good, sweet with good acidity. Also, you could travel to Berkeley and go to Monterey Market where you may still be able to get Jim Churchill's Kishu mandarins, these are the smallest, sweetest most delicious things ever, especially when you can buy them right on the branch. Please, don't write off what you haven't yet tried. Tue Jan 25 22:07:52 -0800 2005 152362 0 rabaja 1 2080857 Definitely you need to know where in California the satsuma are grown. In Japan they grow them on hillsides where there is good drainage and the soil is not too rich. Satsuma also need cold nights and warm days. This leads to good acidity and high sugar content. If you buy satsuma from the flatlands of the central valley or from a coastal climate where there is not enough heat or chill they will not be as good. Some of the best mandarins in California are grown in the Sierra Foothills. That is why Auburn has the mountain mandarin festival every November. But you cannot tell if they are good by looking at them, you need to taste! 2 mandarins can look exactly the same but taste completely different. Fri Dec 08 03:53:49 -0800 2006 152362 58465 dgb