Bella Viva Orchards

Facebook | Bella Viva Orchards, Inc

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Colombo) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:59:00 +0000

Facebook | Bella Viva Orchards, Inc
Good News! Bella Viva now has a Face Book page where you can get the latest updates of what’s going on in the orchards.

Some of the great things about following Bella Viva Orchards on Face Book is that you will be among the first to get the updates form Bella Viva. Currently I mentioned on Bella Viva’s new profile some of the newest products Bella Viva has come up with and will soon put online. Another great thing is that you will easily be able to communicate with us. Can’t wait to hear your thought and questions!

Michael Colombo
Bella Viva Orchards, Inc.

Sun Dried Pears

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Colombo) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:22:00 +0000

Drying pears is a fairly simple process. After the pears are sliced, they are protected from oxidation. Sulphur dioxide works as a powerful antioxidant to prevent oxygen molecules from bonding to the fruit’s vitamins and other beneficial properties.

The natural compound sulphur is placed in a small pot and lit on fire which creates Sulphur Dioxide. Sulphur Dioxide is still hungry for one more oxygen molecule. This oxygen-hungry compound will allow these pears to dry in the sun for 4-5 days as it absorbs the oxygen molecules that try to oxidize the fruit.

We have also developed a way to dry pears naturally. Usually when drying fruit naturally, you will run into oxidation issues and the fruit will turn brown and loose flavor. A proprietary process, developed here at Bella Viva Orchards, has allowed us to dry pears with out any preservative and they taste fantastic!

Here is a little secret: If you keep your dried fruit in an airtight container and store in a refrigerator. It will likely last much longer than the 90 days shelf life it is given.

Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market, San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Colombo) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:33:00 +0000

YouTube likes to show the odd pictures of my face Ha!

This last July has been great for fresh fruit. Here is a little tour of the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market in San Francisco.

~Spraying Fruit Organically
~Picking & Packing Peaches for Market
~At the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market
~The First Farmer’s Market
~½ OFF Fresh Fruit in San Francisco on the 15th

~Spraying Fruit Organically
The other day, I drove up to the farm, hopped out of my truck, and I thought I smelled someone making a huge bowl of pasta sauce with lots of garlic. I followed my nose into the organic peach orchard where I found a tractor spraying the trees to keep mites from wanting to crawl on them. Mites will climb up on a tree and suck the nutrition from tree’s leaves. Apparently we don't have Italian mites because they really don't like the smell or taste of garlic as much as I do.

~Picking & Packing Peaches for Market
When Peaches are picked for market, one needs to be very attentive to what is being picked. It is important to only pick the ripest fruit because not all the fruit will ripen on a tree at once. Fruit brought to the farmer’s markets is supreme, it’s not shipped in from some other country or even another state. It was grown right down the road and allowed to ripen to perfection on the tree. Because the fruit is so ripe when it is picked, we never stack the fruit more than one layer tall in each box. If fruit this ripe was stacked on top of other fruit and transported to market, it would easily bruise and begin to spoil. After the fruit is picked, it is sized so all the peaches in a box are the same size. The fruit is also looked over once more for defects when it is sized.

~At the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market
If you ever have the chance to visit the The Farmer’s Market in San Francisco, you need to check it out! On Saturday, the Ferry Plaza Building on Union St. is packed with farmers who grew the decadent produce which is exuberantly filling their both. It is a dream-come-true for foodies. As you walk through the market which is in a breathtaking atmosphere that sits at the base of San Francisco’s sky scrapers and overlooks the monstrous Bay Bridge and beautiful San Francisco Bay, you are overwhelmed with so many types of food. Just to name a few, there are all sorts of sea-food, amazing fresh bread (I love Acme Bread Co.!), dozens of mushrooms to pick from, countless squash, all sorts of large and small melons, and even freshly picked flowers of all kinds!

When I was at the market last, I ran into Darya, the creator of www.SummerTomato.com. Darya is a scientist, foodie, and advocate of locally grown foods. If you want to get some good tips about healthy eating and want to know what’s good at the farmer’s market, you have to check out Darya's blog! She shared some good advice in the video. In the summer, there is so much sweet fresh fruit that we don’t need to be snacking on chocolates and other sweets. Her website is constantly updated with new foods and recipes. I think you’ll enjoy it!

~The First Farmer’s Market
It is believed that the first California Farmers Market was held in San Francisco in 1943. During WWII, farmers were having a difficult time selling their produce to canneries. Perhaps it’s because canneries were having a difficult time getting tin to can the fruit. In Marin County, pear farmers had 300 tons of pears picked and rotting away as they waited for canneries to purchase them for .04 cents a pound. Farmers knew that pears were going for .17 to .22 cents in retail markets. Through the news and media, farmers were able to communicate the problem they were facing. When people found out that they can get pears for .04 a pound straight from the farm, they loaded up their cars with boxes, drove out to Marin County, and the 300 tons of pears disappeared in one afternoon!

Because of gas restrictions, the people in the cities craving fresh fruit from the farm couldn’t get to other farmers with the same problem. So to solve this problem, farmers loaded up their trucks and came to the cities in the same way Vivian and Belle do today.

~½ OFF Fresh Fruit in San Francisco on the 15th
Here is a little secret for anyone who is going to be in the Bay Area August the 15th. We have soooo many certified organic Angela Peaches that we are taking them to the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market and selling them in peach flats for 1/2 OFF! These flats of organic peaches weigh 10-12 lbs and normally sell for $20 but will be just $10 on the 15th! Well be at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market, to the right of the clock tower. I will be at the peach sale on the 15th so say hi if you're in the area!

Hope you enjoyed the tour of the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market!
Michael Colombo

Apricots

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Colombo) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Drying Apricots
This year's apricots are juicy and sweet. We started drying apricots recently on June 24th and have many to dry yet.

When we harvest our apricots, we don't pick all the fruit right off the tree. We only pick the good ripe fruit. We will come back to a tree many times before all the fruit is picked. When the fruit is picked, we slice and dry it as soon as we can. In the video-tour you will see the large machine that slices the apricots in half before they are laid on the tray. The apricots are then laid with the inside face up on trays to be dried.

When the apricots are sorted, the most ripe and sweet apricots are set aside to be sliced by hand. These apricots are used to make Slab-Apricots, the sweetest and tastiest of all dried apricots because they are so ripe when they are dried.

Want to Sharpen your thinking?
According to studies at Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota, Apricots are loaded with the mineral zinc which aids the metabolism of neurotransmitters such as dopamine. This will enhance mental clarity helping you solve sticky situations faster.

Protect your eyes
Many times growing up I heard how good carrots were for my eyes. I began to think carrots were the only thing good for eyesight. A serving of our Dried Apricots contains 58% of our recommended intake of vitamin A which is a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent free radical damage from occurring to the eye's lens and other parts of the boy.

Drying Apricots Video
Get a glimpse of what it's like on a farm where fruit is dried. Take a look at our minute and a half video of us slicing and drying apricot.

noreply@blogger.com (Michael Colombo) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Like where YouTube decided to show the clip of my face? Great! LOL!

Before cherries can be placed on trays to be dried they go through a destemming machine which pulls the stems off of them. After the bad cherries are sorted off the sorting-belt they go through a pitting machine and are then placed onto drying trays.

There are two ways cherries are dried. Cherries can be dried naturally or with sulphur-dioxide. Cherries that are dried naturally are placed into a dehydrator to be dried very rapidly to protect them from oxidation.

The main purpose of sulphur-dioxide is to prevent oxidation. Cherries that are dried in the sun are exposed to oxygen for a great amount of time before they are fully dried. Sulphur-dioxide is a powerful antioxidant that prevents oxygen from bonding to the cherries. When oxygen bonds to the drying cherry (oxidation), not only does it take the color and flavor from the cherry but it also deplete the beta-carotene, Vitamins, anthocyanin, and other beneficial components of the cherry. To preserve oxidation, we place cherries in a closed tent. In the tent there is a bowl with sulphur that is lit on fire which creates sulphur-dioxide and fills the tent.

After this process, the cherries are then placed on trays in the sun to dry for about 3 days in 90* California Valley weather.

Dried cherries are a fantastic snack. They contain anthocyanin which helps lower cholesterol. Just a handful of dried cherries is enough to supply your brain with enough melatonin help regulate your sleep/wake cycle. One of the best things about dried cherries is they are just plain delicious!

Cant wait to hear your questions and comments
Michael Colombo