UC ANR South Coast REC 2015 Cherimoya Blind Taste Test

The South Coast Research and Extension Center opened up it gates to invited guests, the California Rare Fruit Growers Assoc. and the UCCE Master Gardeners on Friday, January 23, 2015. Attendees were treated to the fourth annual cherimoya tasting held at the UC ANR South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine.

A crowd of (107) were lined up out the door to evaluate this tropical treat grown at the Center. Through a blind tasting, evaluators were asked to rate the (10) varieties using a basic one to five scale based on texture, flavor, and overall performance.

The cherimoya collection at the South Coast REC contains various cultivars that are not widely available, and sought after by avid fans of this fruit. The varieties that were evaluated included ‘Big Sister', ‘Booth', ‘Chaffey', ‘Concha Lisa', ‘Deliciosa', ‘El Bumpo', ‘Nata', ‘Orton', ‘Ott', ‘Oxhart', and ‘Pierce'. The harvest at the time of the tasting was limited this year due to the cold temperatures and rain in December and early January, in addition to the uncharacteristically dry June during pollination.

Unlike the previous open tastings where ‘El Bumpo' reigned as the unanimous winner, there was a shift in the favorites.

South Coast REC 2015Cherimoya Tasting Top Three Varieties
2015 (Blind)	Texture		Flavor		Overall
1	Orton		Orton		Orton
2	Deliciosa		Booth		Booth
3	Booth		Deliciosa		Deliciosa

C-h-e-r-i-m-o-y-a. Never heard of it? Come join us January 23rd from 10am to 12pm at the UC ANR South Coast REC for our annual Cherimoya Tasting Event and find out what these delectable tropical delights grown at the Center are all about.

 

More Than Numbers……………..

The stats are in for the  2014 UC ANR Urban Landscape and Garden Education Expo! We had 627 visitors sign in, and more than 100 who eagerly went straight to the demonstration landscapes bypassing registration. Visitors came from everywhere between San Diego and the San Fernando Valley. We distributed 1,480 pieces of UC outreach literature. We had 31 vendors, including the UC tables. Five vendors were new to the events. Ninety seven volunteers and 10 staff members energetically putt together the days events.

 

Numbers don't tell the whole story, however. Many UCCE Orange County Master Gardener volunteers worked to maintain the landscape all year long logging in over 1,500 hours.   Additionally, volunteers came out in the summer to paint the School Garden storage container, water plants in the hoop house, and prune trees.   Master Gardeners passionately promoted the event by inviting their friends and neighbors, distributed postcards to nurseries throughout the county, and hotline volunteers promoted the event when answering queries. It was working together as a cohesive organization that helped the event to be such a success.

As a volunteer, whether you bagged hypertufa mix, potted succulents in containers, painted, weeded, dug, cleaned, raked, directed traffic, interacted with the public, or got things organized, you were an important part of this undertaking. We can all be proud of how things turned out and work together to make next year even more spectacular.

Mark your calendar for next year's event: September 26, 2015

Regrettably, I am writing to inform you that we will be cancelling the persimmon tasting this year. Due to the drought and unseasonably warm weather through-out the year, our harvest is much lower than anticipated.

If I may , I would like to suggest an alternative persimmon event that may be of interest should anyone ask. Pitcher Park, 204 S. Cambridge Street in Orange, holds an annual "Persimmon Party", typically on the third Sunday in November. According to their face book page, the date is November 16^th, 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. It looks like a fun event for the whole family.

Our apologies for any inconvenience and hope you will join us for future activities.