May Grand Red Gold Red Jim
Royal Giant Spring Red Summer Grand
Early Sungrand
FoodFood InformationFruitDeciduous
The nectarine originated in ancient China. It is botanically classifiedas a drupe and is akin to the peach, plum, apricot, and almond. While thereis some difference in opinion among pomologists as to whether the nectarineis a fuzzless peach, a cross between a peach and a plum, or a distinct variety,there can be no question that it is one of our finest flavored, most succulentsummer fruits.
Ninety-five percent of our total output is produced in California's SanJoaquin Valley. Their season lasts from May through September. In December,January, February, and March we import nectarines from Chile, where theygrow the same varieties as we do in California and are getting better atit each year. Despite the long distance that the Chilean nectarines haveto travel, some of this fruit compares favorably with our finest Californianectarines. As a rule, these imports bring top dollar because they arrivewhen there is a dearth of other fresh fruit in the market. The only monthsof the year when nectarines are not available in the market are April, October,and November.
Nectarines were not always as popular as they are today. Until the late1940s, nectarines that were commonly available were rather drab and palegreen with a red cheek. They were small in size, white in flesh, and clingstone.They were very juicy and quite tasty with a pleasant tart-sweet flavor,but had one bad flaw: They were very fragile and tender. Because they bruisedvery easily and had a very short shelf life, nectarines were grown on avery limited scale and shipped locally, random-packed in half-bushel basketsvia unrefrigerated vehicles. Often the fruit was damaged in transit. Whenthey arrived at the stores, decay set in quickly because of the lack ofproper refrigeration.
Today nectarines are a far cry from those of yesteryear. Their flesh isgolden rather than white. They no longer are fragile, have a long shelflife, and are carefully hand-picked, pre-cooked, graded by size, packedin cushion-celled cartons, and shipped to market in refrigerated trucks.
The first golden-fleshed nectarine was developed in Le Grande, California,and made its debut in 1942. More than one hundred new varieties have beendeveloped from the original Le Grand, which was a large, not toocolorful clingstone, but its claim to fame was its golden-colored flesh.The original Le Grand and a later-blooming variety called the Late LeGrand are still shipped to market, but since the newer varieties havebetter color and flavor and are superior in yield per acre, the Le Grandsare being phased out.
Domestically grown nectarines are now in season for five months of the year.The California season is kicked off early in May with the arrival of theArmking variety. While this variety isn't nearly as good as someof the later-blooming varieties that follow, the Armkings are in great demandand are usually quite costly as a reward for their early arrival. In themonth of June, far better flavored, juicier nectarines sell for half theprice of the Armkings, so it may pay to wait. The last arrival of Californianectarines are also not quite up to the quality of the ones in the marketin June, July, and August. However, in September there are some superb nectarinesfrom Pennsylvania and Washington State that are as good as any producedin California.
The flavor peak of season for nectarines is June and July. The varietiesthat arrive then are freestone and are sweeter, juicier, and more flavorfulthan the clingstone varieties that come to market in August and September.Although a few undersized nectarines from Florida and Georgia precede theearliest arrivals from California, they are at best only fair in quality.South Carolina, which grows some of our finest peaches, has an emergingcrop.
The different varieties are not identified at the retail outlets. However,for the record, the best varieties are freestone and arrive in June andJuly. In order of arrival they are Early Sun Grands, Firebrights,Independence, Sun Grand, Moon Grand, Flavor Top, and Fantasia.They are replaced in mid-August by the clingstone varieties which, althoughthey have better size, aren't quite as tasty and juicy. These include RedGrand Le Grand (the granddaddy of them all), Gold King, Late Le Grand,and September Grands.
Thanks to experimental work by growers and agricultural schools we havecountless new varieties of nectarines. Of all the fruits that have beentinkered with, by far the best results have been achieved with this one.The improved nectarines capture a larger share of the summer-fruit marketevery year. People in the produce industry predict that by the year 2000the nectarine will have surpassed the peach as our number one stone fruit.
As superb as the nectarines that you purchase in the peak of season are,they don't quite compare with the flavor and succulence of those that aretree-ripened. However, a tree-ripened nectarine is too fragile and delicateto ship around the corner, let alone across the country.
When shopping for nectarines, select those that are highly colored, velvet-skinned,not bruised, and unblemished. Buy them while they are quite firm and allowthem a day or two to ripen at room temperature. When they are ripe, andnot before, store them in the refrigerator. Chances are that if you purchaseready to eat nectarines they may be bruised. Size doesn't play too importanta role as a clue to quality, but the medium-sized fruit are usually thebest buy. Do avoid very small fruit because they may have been picked beforereaching maturity. Oversized fruit are more apt to be bruised and nearlyalways carry a higher price tag.
WHEN TO BUY: At peak: (from United States): June, July, and August Atpeak from Chile): February and March
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Colorful, not bruised, medium- to large-sized fruit
HOW TO STORE: Ripen at room temperature; refrigerate when ready to eat
Deamer 5/97