Mamey Sapotes now in season

Mamey Sapotes are on the tree for 18 months before they ripen - the wait is worth it. This fruit tastes like a creamy sweet potato with an avocado texture. Really unusual and a great flavour with yoghurt in a milkshake.

As you can see from the photo there are several generations of fruit on the tree at once. What is interesting at the moment is that we seem to be missing the middle size generation - there are big fruit about to ripen and small golf ball fruit which are another 12 months away from being ready to eat. It has been so dry last year that there was no flowering for the middle generation.

It's really tricky to tell when this fruit is ripe - it gets to a good size and then you have to scratch it with a finger nail to see if it is orange under the skin. Sometimes the fruit can be scratched 20 times before it changes from green to orange. Once picked it may take 1-2 weeks to soften. The right texture is the same as avocado - if you can dent your finger it is ready to eat.

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A giant leap in multimedia - The Santol

Our first film production about the farm has hit the internet, overcoming all technical difficulties to bring you 'The Santol'. You can view it right here!

Black Sapote Shots

 

Chocolate Mousse on a tree

Its the season for picking black sapotes. Standing out in the pouring rain this morning picking fruit from the trees, and the soft mousse like flesh is falling on me from above as the birds are eating the fruit above me. All the unripe fruit is covered in the sludge of brown soft 'chocolate pudding'. I have to hose the fruit down to clean it up.

What's fruiting for July

July and August are always hard months to find enough fruit for the fruit tasting. Last Thursday we had two journalists and a photographer visit the farm and taste the fruit. It was great to be able to have Abiu and Rambai on the tasting for the occasion - only enough fruit for the one tasting. Such a small crop but truly appreciated by those who were lucky enough to taste them.

Other fruit in season at the moment - rollinia, soursop, pommelo, sapodilla, longan, carambola.

Temperatures plummet

Last night the thermometer dropped to 12 degrees celsius. A fantastic cold snap to remind me of why I left Melbourne 20 years ago, and I snuggled under the feather doona that has been pressed into service after being packed away for the last 20 years.

Now brilliant blue skies for the whole day - the first day in weeks without a rain shower. We are hoping that this cold snap will force the flowering on the Mangosteens - here's hoping for a November harvest.

New season fruit - soursop

Here is the latest collection of fruit in season for the fruit tasting. We have lots of soursops to be harvested at the moment. You can see the soursop in the bowl - the green one at the bottom with the bumps all over it. We are picking about 6 cartons a week. It's great to have soursop on the fruit tasting again - everyone's favourite on the menu.

The messy bit is the processing of the fruit to get the juice. You have to push the pulp through a moule or a sieve to remove the cotton wool fibre and the seeds. What is left is the most fantastic juice - perfect for a daiquiri - and also for sauces, cheesecakes and jams. Once again soursop jam is available for sale to fruit tasters after the tasting.