Sometimes things that seem super simple turn out to take a long time to make happen. I should know that. After all, it’s Natural Law #11: “It generally takes a lot longer to make something great happen than people think.” After trying for something like 10 years, we now have some of the more special California citrus we’ve been trying to get our hands on for ages! It was worth the wait! Unlike commercial citrus, these have a limited growing season—a season that might go only for a matter of weeks now—and a whole lot more flavor!
Much of it is coming to us from the remarkable Rising C Ranch. In 1988, Eric and Kim Christensen purchased an orange grove outside of Reedley, California. Reedley is 22 miles to the southeast of Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley. The town is named for Thomas Reed, a Civil War veteran who moved west to farm. Later in life, in the same sort of spirit of generosity that we aspire to here with our Perpetual Purpose Trust, Reed donated roughly half his land holdings to the township. Today, the town has the moniker of “The World’s Fruit Basket,” and the Rising C Ranch citrus certainly helps fill that bill.
After buying the farm nearly 40 years ago now, the Christensens quickly decided that they could pack and sell some of the great fruit they were growing without following the usual route that runs through large-scale packing houses. Their food philosophy is very aligned with ours—they work with old varieties, flavor comes before finance, and they only sell properly tree-ripened fruit (a lot of fruit is picked early to save money and time). People all over the place sing their praises, and for good reason. Their oranges really are outstanding!
Most commercially available oranges today are modern adaptations, hybrids developed to be blemish-free for better appearance, higher yields, lower costs, improved shipability, and longer shelf life. What we’re getting from Rising C Ranch predates all of that. The navel orange originated in a monastery in Bahia, northeast Brazil, in the early 19th century. The heirloom navel oranges we now have in-house are direct descendants of those first navels brought from Brazil to the American West Coast in the 1880s. Cara Cara oranges, a distinct variety, originated in Venezuela and were introduced to California’s San Joaquin Valley about 50 years ago. Sweet, complex, and juicy … as many of the folks who love them say, they “taste like what an orange is supposed to taste like.”
At the Deli, there’s a super tasty Winter Citrus Salad that’s made with the heirloom navels, Cara Caras, and blood oranges along with grapefruit, cabbage, cilantro, almonds, and more. There’s also a lovely citrus salad called Grand Fennel-y that includes Cara Cara and blood oranges, fresh fennel, Greek Kalamata olives, sunflower seeds, spices, and then some. While you’re at it, check out Ari’s recipe for Fennel Salad with Orange and Anchovies!
