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TWIN SPRINGS FRUIT FARM GROWING BETTER SINCE 1980


CrimsonCrisp
For what's at market this week see the bottom section.
For times and locations please

Our Second Tomato Field

     We are now picking, after the lull in production last week, good numbers of field Beefsteak "type" tomatoes. Arturo tells me that the amount of #1 tomatoes is about equal, this week at least, to the number they are grading out as #2 tomatoes. When we had our "Big Tomato Sale" a few weeks ago, the first planting was at its peak, there turned out to be very few seconds; and more that a few of you were a bit disappointed.
    This time around, however, there are quite a few very nice #2 tomatoes from which to choose, so get on out and can or freeze a couple more batches! A week or so ago a couple of ladies ordered two bushels of Roma tomatoes to can, which I brought down to Takoma for them. I let them go in cardboard tomato boxes, and happened to mention that we could use them back, as we put bagged carrots and potatoes in them.
    Lo and behold they were returned about two hours later, upon which I asked how the canning was going. I was told, "Oh, they are all done". I was quite amazed at how fast the process went. With a small investment in equipment and containers you can preserve the summer's bounty for use out of season, just as our forebears did; not a bad hobby.
    I do remember, however, advising that they forgo the traditional dipping in boiling water to remove the skin, advising instead that to retain the maximum nutritional value of tomatoes, and most fruits and vegetables, the skin should be retained, where possible.  I indicated that one could simply halve them, cook down for a while and then pulverize with an immersion blender. That is what they did, also going so far as to leaving in the core as it disappeared into the pulp. They proceeded to can according to regular directions for doing so, and voila, they were done in record time.
    As I've mentioned numerous times (perhaps, ad nauseum) the skin and the flesh just underneath contain the highest amount of nutrients, especially phytonutrients such as anthocyanins; these are especially powerful anti-inflammatories, valuable on so many levels.         Tomatoes, for instance, contain a lot of Lycopene, especially deep red tomatoes. Remember *Jo's advice: "Cooking tomatoes converts lycopene into a form that is easier to absorb. Cooking concentrates the flavor of tomatoes and makes their nutrients more bioavailable...Use the skin, juice, and seeds of tomatoes whenever possible. The skin and seeds are the most nutritious parts of a tomato, and the juice is rich in glutamate, a part of the flavoring ingredient monosodium glutamate (MSG)." Which probably explains why tomato paste is considered "Umami", a substance which, when added to other foods, will up the flavor disproportionally to the amount added, as with putting a bit of anchovy paste in a recipe.
* Jo Robinson, "Eating on the Wild Side", p. 157
    My assumption is that the area hit with the most sunlight is where those substances develop; it is presumably a reaction to an assault, which the sun gives the plant. In apples the area hit with the most sunlight often develops the most color, denoting the presence of the phyto-chemicals, for that reason I recommend that you look for strongly colored apples, at least in varieties which show color; even our Golden Delicious will show a strong blush where hit with a lot of sunlight.
Speaking of apples:

New Apple Varieties

     We are just starting to harvest some of the relatively new varieties which we planted a few years ago to try what's newly developed by busy plant breeders. (Keep in mind that Twin Springs hasn't, and won't, plant any genetically modified plant varieties. All that we grow come from normally developed plants and seeds.) HoneyCrisp created such a stir in the apple industry that many teams are attempting to develop, or perhaps find, the next big hit with the public.
     The first variety I wish to mention has its origins with the same institution, Purdue University, from which HoneyCrisp emerged. A more recent development, and having that key word "Crisp" in its name is the CrimsonCrisp, a lovely deep red apple with a nice tang to it. As the catalogue from our nursery , Adams County Nursery, says: "CrimsonCrisp� has a very firm, crisp texture with a tart, complex flavor." I wish I were chowing down* on one at this time so that I could describe the flavor and texture to you, but, alas, they are just now being picked.
     The website <orangepippin.com> describes CrimsonCrisp as: Small to medium. Very bright mid-range red over yellow. Extremely crisp. Very good, rich flavor. Sweet/sharp flavor, spicy. Originally known as Coop 39. It also notes its ancestry as Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Malus floribunda (a crabapple), Melba and Red Rome.
    *(I do, however, have a HoneyCrisp right here, my favorite at this time, and it is just superb, of course, but must be experienced, as much of its appeal is texture, as well as the explosive way it bursts into juice and rather tender, as opposed to dense or chewy, flesh. While it can be described as crisp, most certainly, it isn't hard as some crisp varieties can be described, such as York Imperial. The flesh just seems to melt away, making you ready for the next bite.)
 
     Another new offering, being picked this week, is the Crimson Gold, another variety we planted to keep up with new developments in apple breeding. To again quote the catalogue: "The fruit colors nicely with a near full red-orange blush on a yellow background and the flesh is white, firm and juicy. Apples are medium in size with a sweet-tart flavor." Once again, they must be sampled to get the full picture. I have already had a few inquiries from customers who had a few last year and were looking forward to the new crop. Please come our to market and have a sample.
     Please see below for all apple varieties now being offered.

Some advice, also from Jo Robinson, comes from the below recipe, to be found in the above cited book. I am including it, with my usual obvious changes, primarily to show how she makes use of the apple skins, which if included in many recipes may be found to be a bit unpleasant.  You may try adapting it to your own favorite pie recipes; perhaps other fruits, like peaches, may be handled in a similar fashion, to keep maximum nutrition.

Apple Crisp with Apple Skin

Apples 
2 1/2 pounds TSFF apples, deeply colored cooking varieties (Jonamac, CrimsonCrisp etc.)
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, or rice flour.
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Topping
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour...
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed, (or 1/2 cup honey)
1/2 cup, (1 stick) unsalted or salted butter
Instructions
   Preheat the oven to 350F. Peel and core the apples, but reserve peels. Slice the peeled apples into 1/4 inch slices and place into a large mixing bowl.
   Combine 1 cup of the siced apples, the apple skins, the honey, 1 Tbs. flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in the bowl of a food processor. Process on high speed until the skins are finely chopped, about 3 minutes. (This will seem like a long time.) Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
   Stir the chopped mixture into the bowl of sliced apples, then spoon into a greased 8" square baking pan. Set aside.
   To make the topping, combine all the topping ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until blended, then spoon over the apples. Place the pan in the middle rack of the oven and bake 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the apple slices are tender.          Cool 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  Variations: Add a tsp. of grated lemon peel to the apples. Add 1/4 tsp. ground allspice or ground cloves. Use pecans instead of walnuts. 

Canary and Christmas Melons

     A tip on these incredibly sweet and flavorful end of summer melons. Try cutting one in half, seeding it, and placing a spoonful, it doesn't take much, of high quality Vanilla ice cream in the middle. Spoon it out with a great big grin! Below is pictured a Canary Melon ripe for hollowing out and filling with ice cream.


 Thankfully we are finally getting some rain!
Aubrey and co-workers, 
Twin Springs Fruit Farm
 WHAT'S AT MARKET THIS WEEK
HERE IS A LIST OF WHAT WE EXPECT TO CARRY AT ALL LOCATIONS THIS  WEEK.

Zephyr, White Nectarines  - We will have plenty for the next couple of weeks. 
Tomatoes - Our Beefsteak tomatoes are back to "coming in" strong. The only difference being that we will have way more #2 (seconds) available; so now may be the time to can, freeze, make sauce or soup, gazpacho, you name it. The guys are picking, washing and sorting them for the weekend, and the week ahead, and have "created" an almost equal number of firsts and seconds. Unlike the past 6 weeks or so you will see large numbers of very nice tomatoes at our "Discounted Items" section, at about half the price of the top of the line #1s.
Peaches - Yellow Freestone Peaches are still coming in strong, but will only be around for about two more weeks. You may want to get your fill, and if you have plans to can or freeze any, now is the time. We are picking mostly "Laurol" this week, a lovely and somewhat smaller end of season peach, which would be perfect for "putting away".
I don't know the history of the name, but have speculated that someone thought it would be clever to get all of us to write "Laurol" on signs so that customers would think "See, those dumb farmers can't even spell correctly."
Melons - Canary and Christmas Melons are abundant, and perfect in ripeness, but will keep for a week in the refrigerator. Being as we are confident in our ability to pick only the ripe ones I recommend that you go for the large ones, after all "first come, first served", you are also welcome to see what may be under the table.
Here is what Mitch, who runs, along with Debbie, the Central Markets, had to say about some of our stuff: "THANKS, AND THE MELONS AND PEACHES ARE THE BEST I THINK I EVER HAD!!!

THE NECTARINES HAVE SO MUCH FLAVOR...OMG!

YOU GUYS AREN'T INJECTING THEM WITH SIMPLE SYRUP ARE YOU?"

 

Bartlett Pears - We will have a few of our Bartlett Pears again this week. They are not the most beautiful pears but if you catch them when just ripe they are hard to beat for flavor and sweetness, just don't let them get overripe.
Next week we will move on to our Magness - more on them in the next newsletter.
Sweet Peppers - The field peppers, orange, red and yellow, are coming in strong; and we are making them as inexpensive as they ever are, appropriate for the peak of the season. It may be time to roast some and freeze them for use in the winter.
Yum Yum Mini Peppers - These little beauties always seem to fly under everyone's radar, unless we put out a sample. The flavor is unique, not at all hot, though they can resemble some hot pepper varieties. 
Apple Varieties - Honeycrisp, of course; and we have a beautiful crop, which will probably be enough to carry us into November. Three additional varieties will be offered at this time: The old reliable Red Cortland, from which we make our ever popular apple sauce, and the new CrimsonCrisp and Crimson Gold; in a week or so we will also add Crimson Topaz. In addition we will be offering: Buckeye Gala, Star Gala and Jonamac.
White Peaches - Snow Giant, a very large white peach, will dominate this week. We are picking so many that we are considering lowering the price so that they may be sold with the yellow varieties.
Shallots - We have a nice crop this season and should have them for many weeks.
Heirloom Tomatoes - Purple Cherokee and German Slicers; these are both terrific varieties, with superb flavor.
Red Raspberries - We are picking very good numbers, though with cooler weather they will be slowing down somewhat.
Beets - Fresh bunches of red beets, with the nutritious greens left in place
Arugula - There are new rows beginning to mature and we will have plenty at all locations.
Bok Choy - Arturo says we will be back to having plenty for all markets.
Garlic - Our fine variety named German Hardneck. A reminder, in Jo Robinson's book "Eating on the Wild Side", she sites research which demonstrates that for maximum nutrition, when using garlic that you will be cooking, it is best to crush, press or dice it, let it sit for ten or so minutes, then introduce to heat.
Basil - The perfect companion to tomatoes, our freshly harvested Genovese Basil is available, in good numbers this week. They are living plants with the roots left in place. Don't refrigerate these, just treat them like cut flowers by putting them in an inch or so of water on the windowsill; they will actually grow a bit if you don't use it all up right away. It may be best to strip off a few lower leaves as they will turn black if left sitting in the water.
Cherry Tomatoes - We will have quite a few of the super-sweet SunGold cherry and the very "tomatoey" Dasher, baby pear tomatoes at all locations, now retailing for $4.00 a pint or a quart for $7.00, a dollar savings.
Manar Cucumbers - Cucumber numbers are about perfect this week.
Watercress - We will have just a few Watercress plants; as with our Basil and Lettuce it has the roots left in place. While the Basil is best left out of the refrigeration both cress and lettuce should be stored in the fridge with roots left in place, in a plastic bag, to prevent drying out.
Vivaldi and Red Norland Potatoes - Both just dug as "new" potatoes, small, tender and delicious. 
Onions - Both our red onions and sweet onions will be available for the foreseeable future.
Lettuce - There will be some of the very popular Green Butter-Crunch, as well as just a few Red Butter-Crunch. Remember, we leave the roots in place, which makes it keep for an unusually long period; don't remove the roots, just refrigerate in a bag.
Carrots - Our carrots are available in 2 pound bags for the orange ones. One pound bags will have two additional colors: yellow and white.
Pink Lady Dried Apples - Very popular as a good-for-you delicious snack, our dried apples have no sugar or preservatives added; many commercial ones use sulfites as a preservative.
Twin Spring's Own Products - Jarred Peaches, Hot Pepper Jelly, (Chipotle Ketchup is temporarily gone due to the big "give away"), Marinara Sauce, Apple Butter and Apple Sauce. All may be purchased individually, or by the 12 jar case, for 10% off.
Speaking of the Marinara Sauce, I had yet another customer on Wednesday, at Mt. Vernon, say just how good our Marinara Sauce is.
Discounted Produce - While we have always offered this at most markets, especially my two, for some reason, Mt. Vernon and Takoma, where they sell like hotcakes, we will send some nice #2 quality fruits and vegetables, where appropriate, at about half price. 
     For instance, dinged and dented apples, still perfectly good, will sell for $1.49 per pound, or $18.00 a half bushel; the same is mostly true for peaches and tomatoes. Broken or twisted carrots may appear at half their regular price. As noted above, under tomatoes, we have a lot of very nice #2 tomatoes at this time; and if you are the least bit frugal take a look, as they are, indeed, better than other's firsts, and our flavor can't be beat.
     Consider purchasing from the discounted section to save a few dollars, especially for cooking, canning and things like making apple sauce or apple butter. 
     Be assured, however, that anything in good shape left at the end of the day goes to gleaners, whether "down there" or "up here", where we send a skid of stuff, weekly, to SCCAP (South Central Community Action Program's Pantry).



In addition, we will offer the following products at OUR OWN Markets, where we are the sole vendor, all of which are open to the general public, excepting Goddard Space Flight Center.

Sweet Corn Joe's sweet corn, usually there is the choice between white and bicolor varieties, will be available for about a month longer. It may be time to consider freezing some for this winter. I'm just sayin', we're all going to miss it when its gone! 
Our 
Canary and Christmas Melons, as well as Cantaloupes and Seedless Watermelons, locally grown, will be available.
Broccoli, CauliflowerCabbageFennelLeeks, both Green and Golden Zucchini, as well as Summer Squash, EggplantSpring OnionsGreen and Golden BeansBeets and Kale
Herbs - Parsley, Rosemary and Thyme will be available from John Stoner. Hey John, where's the sage?
Freshly bunched cut Flowers - at certain locations, by Lois, in Lancaster County 
Tart Cherry Juice - a very powerful natural anti-oxidant food - AKA "The healing fruit", which is especially helpful at lessening the aches and pains of arthritis (For use as a sleep aid try 8oz. about 2 hours before bedtime) 
Fresh Hard Pretzels - both Regular and Honey Whole Wheat, locally produced.
Michelle's Granola - Handmade and freshly baked in the DC area
Allen's fresh Eggs - Raised right outside Gettysburg, both brown and white, from "free walking hens". Delivered fresh to us every Wednesday.
Artisanal Cheeses - Twin Springs carries Ed's fresh local: Sharp Cheddar, Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar as well as Smoked Jalape�o; also available are his Goat Gouda and Goat Cheddar.
Local Wildflower Honey - Jim Small has kept us supplied with his pure, raw honey, much of it drawn from hives kept year-round at our farm.
Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar - tapped and bottled on the Patterson Farm in Pennsylvania.
McCutcheon's Products - We carry an extensive line of their jams, some fruit sweetened, ie. no cane sugar or corn syrup, and jellies, as well as many other great products created right in Frederick Maryland
Baked Goods - From Stonehearth Bakery, also in Frederick, all items are baked "that" morning: Baguettes, innumerable kinds of fresh breads, both sliced, and unsliced, as well as croissants, scones and cookies.