Posts Tagged: specialty crop

*Artichokes from Mars* turning up at farmers markets

Los Angeles Times food writer David Karp dubbed the exotic fruit pitahaya "artichokes from Mars" in a story which drew inspiration from a UC Cooperative Extension field day held last month at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center.

Karp described pitahaya - also known as dragon fruit - as flaming pink, spineless cactus fruits, with neon magenta flesh and a mild, sweet flavor. They have tiny, edible black seeds, similar to a kiwi's.

UC's resident pitahaya expert is Small Farm Program advisor Ramiro Lobo, based at the Cooperative Extension office in San Diego County. He has a test planting at the Research and Extension Center with 19 varieties. Because pitahaya, which grows on climbing cacti, requires less water than avocados, they may be an alternative crop for farmers faced with water shortages. The annual pitahaya field day this year was attended by 140 home gardeners and farmers who may be interested in cultivating the unusual fruit in California.

Much of the locally grown pitahaya is sold at farmers markets and some of the pitahaya found at grocery stores is imported. According to Karp's story, USDA permitted Vietnam farmers to export irradiated pitahaya fruit to the U.S. However, the fruit's short shelf life requires it be shipped by air, an expensive endeavor.

Mexico also presents competition for U.S. pitahaya growers. Currently farmers there grow 5,000 acres of pitahaya, and USDA permits exports from fruit-fly-free districts to the U.S.

"Most of the plantings (in Mexico) currently are not in such areas, but if that changes, the fruit may become as common as mangoes here," Karp wrote.

Artichokes from Mars (Photo: Wikipedia Commons.)

Bee writer finds hot peppers on the tree and in an eatery

Fresno Bee food writer Joan Obra doesn't stop with klatch in the kitchen, but scours research fields and neighborhood shops for her comprehensive culinary news. Her story this week focuses on a Sichuan pepper, a spice so hot it numbs the tongue. The pepper is part of an observational trial conducted by UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Richard Molinar at the UC Kearney Research and Education Center near Parlier.

Typically, Sichuan pepper is imported from China. Molinar sees it as a potential crop for Valley small-scale farmers.

Nine years ago, he planted two Zanthoxylum armatum trees, a species of Sichuan pepper grown in Nepal, according to Obra's story. The trees came from a local Hmong family growing peppercorns for home use.

"We're just watching them to see how they do," Molinar was quoted. "I think it would be worth it to expand. It's kind of like jujubes and capers. There aren't a lot of these kinds of crops being grown in the United States. They are viable alternatives for our farmers."

UCCE's Michael Yang, a field assistant to Molinar, commented on the spice's use by Southeast Asian families. "They use the pepper to flavor everything from salsas to steamed fish," Obra paraphrased Yang.

Obra also made inquiries about Sichuan pepper at a high-end cooking store, an ethnic market and an upscale Chinese eatery, where the chef buys the spice from a Bay Area wholesaler.

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