will have to retract my fairly recent take on this, after a very mild autumn we had this year, as the late nov jujus we had were super good! I now feel (too)hot summers are probably malo…especially to li and contorted.
I like and respect anyone who is over the moon for any fruit, and it is absolutely wonderful that you are so enamored of nectarines, but not everyone is. What is your favorite nectarine variety? We have some amazing nectarines here in California and I even have one trial variety not publicly available that may be the best I have ever tasted. I like nectarines. Having said that, I prefer jujubes over nectarines. I also prefer figs, pawpaws, fresh dates, persimmons, Peruvian ground cherries-physalis, apricots, some apples, cherries, blueberries, kiwis, hardy kiwis, some grapes, some cactus fruit and most mulberries over nectarines. I also prefer tropicals like mangosteen, white sapotes, mangoes, jackfruit, canistel, guava, salak, pulusan, cherimoya, mamey sapotes, papayas and the amazing banana varieties that we never see here in the mainland US.
My favorites are the Honey series from Zaigers. But they have to be properly grown to be anywhere near their best. I prefer them at 24-28 brix. To do that they have to be grown at a long term water deficit. Most of the nectarines I grew and bought when I lived near Reedley/Fresno weren’t very good. I didn’t know how to grow them at that point. The commercial ones in CA are over watered.
What is your favorite nectarine?
The good nectarines look like this.
The large smooth necatrines without sugar speckles are zeros; dark, rough, and sugar speckles are the heros.
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I like Honey May, but normally prefer the Arctic varieties. They do have to be grown properly though because the flavor does get washed out if they are watered too much. I prefer to get mine from Andy Mariani when I get the chance. He is generally better about watering correctly. I like the Mango variety also because even though its flavor is not as rich as many others at their peak, it tends to hold its flavor better than the others when over-watered or mistreated. Have you bought fruit from Andy? http://andysorchard.com/?page_id=968
stars or jays?
I prefer A Queen and A Snow.
not sure if have tried those. Hopefully they sell them here.
I’ve grown many of the Arctic series, all that I’ve seen sold by the nurseries. My favorite is probably Arctic Star. But again it is garbage at 14 brix when over watered but great above about 22 brix. Arctic Jay is also very good and very large for me. Queen is very sweet but not the highest in flavor. Snow isn’t as good in quality as most of the others unless one likes them crunchy. I prefer all my nectarines soft ripe and that’s clearly not the strength of A Snow.
Honey May can be good for being so early. But it doesn’t begin to compare to Honey Fire, Lite, Kist, Blaze, Royale, or Diva. The later are clearly better to my taste than the Arctic series. It isn’t the sweetness of the Honey nectarines that I like, it’s the incredibly rich flavor.
Apricots can be expectional fruit but again only at high brix.
Castanea I haven’t tasted all the fruits you mentioned but have many. Truth is many fruits are like nectarines, the quality is all over the map based on many factors not the least of which is growing conditions. So saying one is better than another is really a waste of time.
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I have a strong preference for the crunchy ones. Honey May is excellent when it’s still crunchy.
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The flavor doesn’t develop until nectarines soften up. Some people do prefer texture over flavor.
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in taste and nutrition, and the tree is exceptional as well if one’s weather permits. The only prunus tree which imparts a sense of permanence around here. Relatively long lived/disease-/pest-free
Some people say that about bananas but for me I like the flavor of “yellow” bananas. I do not like the flavor of banana once they start getting spots or turning brown. I don’t know that brown bananas have “More” flavor than yellow bananas. I just think they have a totally “different” flavor.
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Agree that past a certain point banana flavor goes bad. I like them ripe enough to be sweet but before the off flavors develop. I also like them still kind of firm. Not that they are ever really firm.
The low acid nectarines like the Arctic and Honey series can be eaten well before soft ripe and have a nice crunch. Much more so than any banana I’ve eaten. I like the crunchy nectarines but the flavor isn’t nearly at peak levels when they are crunchy. At low brix the crunchy stage is better because they’ll never have good flavor no matter how ripe.
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That’s one of the reasons I am not a big fan of peaches and nectarines. By the time they reach peak flavor they are often falling apart. I prefer crunchy fruit, which is where jujubes come in.
I totally agree with you about commercial bananas but there are bananas available in the tropics that develop some spectacular flavors when they age. Our commercial bananas though just get old and taste old.
So are those “aged” bananas crunchy?
and fall apart/get mushy. Some excellent bananas remain firm/have a long shelf-life even when fully ripe
LOL. Actually, some are. But none of them are juicy.
There’s a banana that I’ve eaten in Hawaii that’s actually considered to be a cooking banana. It keeps for many weeks. I like it when it’s just starting to turn soft but still has a little crunch and the flavors are amazing.
A little soft with sugar dots, can’t be beat in my opinion.
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