It’s been a little quiet over here, but now the season is starting and the fruit is flowing! Everything listed below is for pickup at the farm. I can be persuaded to ship green walnuts, so if you are interested, just drop me an email (nadine at birdsongorchards.com).
Star of the Hour - Amazing Puget Gold Apricots
Unlike Blenheims, these beauties are picked hard and then must be left on your counter a few days to ripen to perfection. When they are soft to the touch, they are perfect to eat. You can also store them in your fridge for a few weeks and take a few out at a time to ripen. Purchase here for pickup at the farm.
Fragrant Green Walnuts
Green walnuts are the immature form of the walnuts you already know and love. They have an intense and unique aroma and flavor. Specialty produce describes them as:
"Beneath the skin, the walnut is white and underdeveloped with a gelatinous, sticky, and syrupy consistency. Green Walnuts are highly aromatic with a bright spiced-citrus flavor intertwined with notes of pine and bay leaves. The nuts have an astringent taste with orange, nutmeg, and all-spice notes and a strong, bitter finish."
Our ancestors figured out how to capture their essence in various ways, the most famous of which is nocino, an indescribably rich liqueur. Here is a recipe. They can also be pickled, turned into jam or molasses.
Their season is short, and are available for purchase at our store now throughout the end of the month.
Goumi Berries
Goumi berries, Eleagnus multiflora, are a super food originally native to Russia and Asia. Unlike goji berries, I think they actually taste delicious, with kind of a tart rhubarb flavor to them. They are also a good source of vitamins A, C, E, flavonoids, fatty acids and a heart healthy antioxidant called lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, but goumis actually have more.
The bush itself is super easy to grow, no pests, low care, drought resistant and a nitrogen fixer for the soil. What’s not to love? Well, they have an extremely short shelf life, which is why you have probably never seen them in a store before.
So, I am offering them as you pick. I’ll provide the pint boxes and you can select the reddest plumpest berries to go home with you. By the way, don’t eat the pit in the middle. It’s not poisonous, but it’s not tasty either. If you would like to preserve their goodness, they make a great jelly.
$5/pint - you pick
make a purchase and select a time to pick them at our store
