Stone Fruit Superb

Where melons may have sometimes disappointed, I've yet to come across any stone fruits that fail to amaze this season. Cherries, apricots, nectarines, plums, peaches, they have have been full of flavor and sweetness, whether local and shipped cross-country.

The late West Coast sweet cherries have surprised me. Both those I've purchased at Whole Foods and Iovine Brothers' Produce at the Reading Terminal Market have been delectable examples of cherry-ness: firm, juicy, flavorful. (I can't vouch for the local cherries, since I was in Norway when they were in season.)

The stone fruits available now are at least as good. Plums have been magnificent. So have the peaches, regardless of the variety. Same goes for the nectarines. Among the farmers I've bought them from have been Beechwood Orchards (Rittenhouse, South Street, Headhouse markets, among others), Bill Weller (Fairmount), and Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce (RTM), whose fruit is pictured above. I should bake with them, but these fruits are just so good when eaten out of hand!

Melons

Melons are always a cr-pshoot. I've had both the best melon I've ever had and some rather tasteless ones this season.

The best came from Bill Weller at the Fairmount Farmers' Market. His cantelope (muskmelon) was simply the best of that variety I've ever tasted: not merely sweet and juicy, but well-flavored. Likewise the tiny Minnesota Midget cantalopes raised by Sam Consylman and sold at Livengood's (South Street and Fairmount) were excellent.

It was looking forward to tasting some of the unusual melons sold this past Sunday by Tom Culton at Headhouse (photo at left). Alas, the two I've tried so far have been watery without flavor and barely sweet. Maybe it's my melon picking skill. These were priced at $5 for three melons, any size.

First Stop: Fairmount Market

Like a siren, my neighborhood farmers' market called on our first day back in Philadelphia after the Norway sojourn. It took great restraint to limit my purchases to some blueberries from Bill Weller and carrots, Brandywine tomatoes, and endive from Earl Livengood's stall (left). Especially since corn is in season. But that will wait until the weekend.

Sam Stolfus, as seen in photo, had plenty of stone fruit: apricots and peaches in addition to a full assortment of veggies. The produce vendors also offered musk melons, blackberries, a variety of lettuces, fresh onions, scallions, potatoes, a variety of string and pole beans.

Had I been in the mood for more pølse (see Norway blog) I would have indulged in the encased goodies provided by Renaissance Sausage, which started frequenting the Fairmount market after my mid-June departure to Scandinavi. Other vendors at Fairmount yesterday included Wild Flour Bakery and Country Meadow Meats.