New, fresh products will be available throughout the fall season.
When are your beloved Braeburns in season? Read below to find out more about what varieties we have and when you can look forward to eating them.
Sweet, juicy with loads of flavor. This variety tends to be smaller sized, but makes up for size with luscious taste. Bellaires are ripe in early August.
One of the first early season peaches that has the flavor to compete with any other variety. Smaller sized, but juicy and sweet. Look for Newhaven in early August.
Excellent flavor when fully ripe. Glohaven is a more difficult peach to grow since when it is almost ripe it has one ripe side and one green side. When allowed to fully mature on the tree, the green side ripens making this peach a joy to eat. Glohavens ripen in mid-August.
Named for its color, Roza has a beautiful red hue to go with its juicy, succulent flavor. Roza ripens in mid-August.
A peach with a long history of great juicy flavor and pretty red color. Grown in the area for years, this peach is a flavor mainstay of our industry. This is the peach David Mas Masumoto wrote about in his book Epitaph for a Peach, except that in Colorado this peach develops such nice color that you wouldn't know it was the same peach as the California Suncrest. Look for Suncrest in late August or early September.
Big, juicy and consistently good. Cresthaven is one of the more frost resistant varieties and has more reliable cropping from year to year. With great, juicy flavor, Cresthaven is great for fresh eating, freezing and canning. Look for Cresthaven in early-to-mid September.
Big, red and full of flavor. The last peach of the season for us in the high country. JH Hales have been grown in this area forever and have proven themselves as a solid, full flavored peach. They can grow to be huge - we've had some that weighed nearly 1.5 pounds and with juice that will soak your shirt! A great peach to end the season with and make sure that you can't wait for another peach season to start. JH Hales pick in mid-September.
An aromatic, sweet apple with a burst of flavor. The taste has hints of banana and strawberry. The dense flesh makes it lively and snappy when eaten. Gala is a premier fresh eating apple. They hold their shape when cooked, making them nice for sweeter pies, garnishes or dried. Gala's are the first apple of the season, starting around the first of September.
Sweet, very crunchy with a rosy blush. Golden Supreme ripens earlier than regular Goldens and has a higher sugar content. Great for eating on their own (make sure you have good teeth!) and for using as a “sweetener” in baked goods. Golden Supremes start picking the first or second week of September.
Tart, with a balanced sweetness when picked at full maturity. Colorado is famous for its Jonathan's, a variety not grown in many parts of the United States. Our warm days and cool nights give this variety great flavor and color. Jonathan is incredible during September and early October, but it is not a good keeper. Eat it at its peak and then savor the thoughts of its flavor until next year. Our several selections of Jonathan mean that we start picking them in early September and finish near the end of September.
Sweet, with a tang! Jonagold embodies the sweetness of its parent Golden Delicious, and the tart zip of its other parent, Jonathan. Picked properly, its hard to beat a Jonagold for all around flavor. A favorite at our markets where couples that like both sweet and tart find a place to agree. Like Jonathan, it is does not keep well and is at its peak in September and early October. Look for Jonagold starting in the middle of September.
Also known as Swiss Gourmet, this sweet, aromatic apple isn't commonly found in supermarkets. It is loved by consumers in Europe. People at local farm stands ask for this apple each fall. Arlet is picked in late September or early October.
Crisp, juicy texture with wonderful flavor. Honeycrisp has been an immediate hit with customers wherever it has been sold. Introduced in 1991, this is a brand new variety, but one that is likely to be seen on store shelves in the near future. Honeycrisp are picked in early October.
Goldens are a crisp, sweet, succulent apple with a creamy blend of tastes. The smooth texture makes it a delight to eat. Many people are jaded about Goldens because they can be bland when picked early or stored for a long period (i.e. supermarket, mass production Goldens). A properly picked Golden should have a flavor that explodes in your mouth and makes you want to eat more. Goldens are one of the best all purpose apples - they are wonderful eaten fresh or when used for pies, sauce, crisps, dipped in caramel or dried. Goldens start in early October.
A classic fall apple that is sweet with subtle flavors. While some prefer Rome fresh, it is generally regarded as a processing apple. While Rome has fallen out of favor in supermarkets, it is still a great apple for sauce, pies and as an addition to processed goods. Look for Romes in mid-October.
Sweet, spicy and crunchy! A late season apple that has very dense texture, keeps incredibly well and is a delight to eat at any time. Fuji develops a deep red color in our Indian summer days and cool fall nights. The sweet flavor continues to develop even after the apple is picked. This apple is a wonderful keeper and can be used through the holidays for eating fresh or made into pies and sauce. Fuji's are picked in mid-to-late October.
Tart, with full luscious flavor. Braeburn is often the last apple of the season to be picked, right after Fuji. The tart flavor makes your mouth tingle followed by its sugar that makes your mouth smile. Another very good keeping apple that develops more sweetness as it is stored. A great Christmas apple that is wonderful fresh or in pies and sauces. Look for Braeburns in mid-to-late October.
Creamy, sweet and wonderful. Many people say they don't like pears because they have never had a good pear. We let our pears develop their sugars on our trees and then pick them so they ripen perfectly. A good pear should have firm texture, but be smooth, juicy and a delight to eat. Look for Bartletts after Labor Day.
A sweet, juicy, smooth textured pear that stores well into early winter. Bosc is known for its russet skin. Wonderful eaten on its own or with cheese. Bosc's can be found in October.
People remember our sweet cherries because they taste so good. As cherries are one of the first fruits of the markets, we believe in making a splash with flavor. Red, juicy and full of succulent sweet flavor, we let our cherries ripen on the tree to perfection, unlike many people that pick them once they start to turn red. Our cherry trees are old and not very good croppers, so this is our most unreliable crop. We have planted new trees and will have cherries reliably in 2005.
Cabernet Franc wine grapes are known for their strong, fruity flavor. Often mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc grapes are wonderful on their own. Although they have seeds, they are delectable to eat fresh. Our toddler son will eat whole bunches in one sitting! Made into both wines and jellies, these grapes personify what true grape flavor can be.
With over ten varieties of raspberries and blackberries grown on our farm, we are likely to have some available from the end of June into late fall. This is a new crop for our farm and we pick them so that they are ripe and ready to eat right now! You can be sure that the berries we sell are picked the week that you see them at the market.
We plant fall bearing strawberries that ripen with our other fresh fruits. These berries tend to be small, but develop flavor that makes you wonder why you ever bought strawberries in the store. With taste that makes you think of wild strawberries, these will make you look forward to sitting down to a bowl of strawberries and fresh cream.
Even though our main crop is fruit, one of our hallmarks of fall is a vine-ripened, red tomato. To us, life just isn't complete without tree-ripe peaches and home grown tomatoes. We let our tomatoes ripen until they are juicy, flavorful and ready to eat. Try them with balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and red onion cut over them, with soft mozzarella cheese, or on top of a hamburger.
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Ela Family Farms, 30753 L Rd, Hotchkiss, CO 81419.
phone: (970) 872-3488. email: info@elafamilyfarms.com