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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Stone Fruit
CHERRIES
Seasonality
West Coast
California cherries last from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, while the ones from the Pacific Northwest tend to last through July.
Northeast
Here in the Northeast, we usually see sour cherries in late June through July. Sweet cherries tend to arrive in early July and last through the month.
Varieties in Stock
These guys will be a mix of Brooks, Bing, Tulare and Coral varieties that change with seasonal availability. They have a sweet flavor and can be variable shades of red and pink to deep mahogany depending on the season.
Notable for their yellow to blush coloring, the Rainier is delicately flavored with off-the-charts sugar levels.
Standard Pack Size
Conventional cherry sizes are mystifyingly described in “rows”. This is what they really mean:
9 Row: 29.8 mm
9.5 Row: 28.2 mm
10 Row: 26.6 mm
10.5 Row: 25.4 mm
11 Row: 24.2 mm
11.5 Row: 22.6 mm
12 Row: 21.4 mm
PEACHES, APRICOTS, PLUMS + HYBRID VARIETIES
Seasonality
West Coast
Stone fruit on the West Coast typically starts in May, peaks in June and July and lasts through September.
South
In the South, Stone fruit season gets going in May and last through early August. Florida, South Carolina and Georgia are the primary players in this region.
Northeast
You can expect to see local stone fruit start in July and last through September. While New York State and New England grow some incredible fruit, New Jersey is the state to look out for if you’re on the hunt for the first local peaches of the season!
Standard Pack Size
Apricot
Apricots typically come in 36 or 48 count flats depending on size. Here’s a break down on sizing:
- Extra jumbo: 8 per lb.
- Jumbo: 10 per lb.
- Large: 14 per lb.
- Medium: 16 per lb.
Peaches and Nectarines
Peaches and nectarines come in either single-layer or two layer trays. We provide weight conversions for most of the counts in the stone fruit product descriptions on baldorfood.com.
Plums
Plums tend to be packed in volume filled containers by size.
- Small: 224-252 plums (1/12 inch diameter)
- Medium: 140-168 plums (2inch diameter)
- Large: 84-112 plums (2.5 inch diameter)
Varieties in Stock
From one of the most respected organic stone fruit growers in the business, these California apricots are perfection. Frog Hollow Farm ships them at peak ripeness, so use them fast!
We consider this the first good white peach of the season. From California stone fruit wizards at Kingsburg Orchards.
Also from Kingsburg, these early summer nectarines have a perfectly balanced flavor with lots of bright acidity.
Hybrid Stone Fruit
Be Careful Who You’re Calling GMO!
We wanted to include a word on the hybrid varieties that we have in stock right now. There seems to be some confusion around the difference between a hybrid and a GMO. All of our hybrids are naturally bred in a traditional method that has been used by fruit growers for centuries. They are not GMO. To produce a pluot, farmers cross pollinate plum and apricot trees, often painting the pollen from one tree onto another by hand.
Varieties in Stock
Another early season hybrid between a plum and an apricot with deep cherry/pomegranate flavor.
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This early pluot variety is ¼ apricot and ¾ plum. It’s juicy, richly flavored with black skin and dark, red flesh. From one of our favorite California stone fruit growers, Kingsburg.
Also from Kingsburg, this peach/nectarine hybrid starts in early June and goes through the month. A good blend of sweetness from the peach and acidity from the nectarine.
