It's time for the latest round of fruity taste tests! I love it when we visit different farms and can get lots of different varieties of fruits. It's only when you taste them all together that you can really appreciate the differences between them and get the best idea of what you really like. We've tried dozens of different kinds of apples from New York, Colorado, and Napa, California Dates from Palm Springs, and Oranges from Florida.
We're in Fresno and on the Fresno Fruit Trail! One of the places we visited, Friesen Family Farms, had 7 different varieties of peaches and nectarines that were ripe and ready! Let's try them all!
The girls at the Friesen Farm Fruit Stand were so nice. They let us sample everything we wanted, helped pick out the best fruits to fill the case we were buying, and even offered to carry it out to the truck for us!
Theresa got everything washed and cut for our taste test.
Ian - Nectarines?
Why?
Ian - I don't like the fuzzy skin on the peaches.
Theresa - Who likes fuzzy in their mouth? I don't like fuzzy in my mouth.
So which should we try first?
Kids - Peaches!
Sierra Rich Peach
First up is the Sierra Rich Peach. Alli - It's a little crunchy!
Theresa - It's a little underripe, so it's a little crunchy. The flavor is also a little mild.
Ian - Best one so far!
Joe - It's the only one so far!
Theresa - It's a little green inside.
Zee Rich Peach
Next we try the Zee Rich Peach. Theresa - That's a lot stronger flavor! It's a little sour.
Alli - It lost all its crunch. 2nd best one so far!
Joe - I like the flavor of it better.
Theresa - That one is actually ripe.
Bright Princess Peach
Ian - Third best one so far.
Theresa - That one has no peach flavor. I can't taste any.
Ian - I can't taste it either.
Joe - It's missing the flavor. It's got the texture and skin, but no flavor to it!
July Flame Peach
Theresa - Ooh, you can see the flame inside of it! It's a little sour.
Joe - The flame isn't giving you any flavor?
Ian - I have flavor.
Alli - Fourth place!
Ian - Let's try this thing.
Theresa - Much better skin. It has a mild flavor, but it has some flavor.
Alli - Good taste!
Summer Flame #24 Nectarine
Ian - Mmm.
Theresa - You said Mmm before you even tasted it! That one's a little tangy!
Ian - I tasted it!
Theresa - It's dry compared to the other ones.
Joe - Yeah, I can see that.
Ian - Oh wow! Yum!
Alli - Yuck!
Joe - Really? What do you like about it Ian?
Ian - Flavor!
Joe - What do you hate about it Alli?
Alli - Texture!
Ian - This is so good. I like it softer and mushier.
Joe - I'm not making a good face. It's too squishy.
We've got to vote! There's 7 different fruits here. Which one is best?
Ian - Zee Rich is first. Summer Flame #24 is second. Summer Flame #27 is third (because it tastes a little like a plum, and I like plums).
Alli - My favorite is the Sierra Rich. Then Summer Flame #24 (cause it has good flavor and a tiny bit of crunch). Then Zee Rich (it's a tiny bit mushier but I still like it).
Joe - Zee Rich (because it has a lot more flavor).
Theresa - Zee Rich, followed by the Grand Bright. It's got a little bit of flavor and juiciness, and not softness.
Looks like the Zee Rich wins the day with 3 out of 4 first place votes!
Plus they can get bruised easily and cause them to be mushy too. But it was good to get them right from the farm!
Thank you Friesen Farms!
Theresa - Time for me to eat a whole plate of peaches!
And for those we couldn't eat within the next couple days, I sliced and froze them. They'll be amazing in smoothies when the weather gets hot!
Excellent idea on freezing the extra peach & nectarine slices for future smoothies...that sounds like a refreshing, delicious smoothie to anticipate in warm weather! Kind of hard to get the "real" flavor if a peach or nectarine is under ripe...glad most of the fruit was ripe for eating. Never thought of "yellow peach" stickers as being generic but you're right, considering all the different varieties that exist. I've had some good and not some good yellow peaches & nectarines...maybe it was due to the variety I happen to eat, not realizing it all along! Have you tried white peaches or white nectarines? The (ripe) white ones (at least the ones I've eaten) are usually better (to me) in flavor and texture than the yellow ones. Too bad there weren't any on the Fresno Fruit Trail. Nevertheless, the yellow peach/nectarine taste test was delicious (and healthy!). EOM
ReplyDeleteWe've had white peaches and nectarines from the grocery store, but it's the same problem about not knowing which variety we're actually tasting! Just a generic White Peach I guess. We'll be keeping an eye out for candidates for the next fresh fruit taste test!
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