HMC News – October 23, 2019

PMA Fresh Summit was a great opportunity to catch up with many of our customers, vendors, and other produce industry contacts. Thank you to those who took the time to stop by our booth and also view our Nickelodeon™ ready-to-eat grape packs in the Fresh Ideas Showcase! We hope you enjoyed a glimpse into what’s new and what we have coming soon. If you didn’t have an opportunity to visit us at Fresh Summit, contact your HMC Farms salesperson for more information on our new products and plans for the coming year.

Crop Update: 

Timco, Allison, and Vintage red seedless grapes and Autumn King green seedless grapes are in active harvest. The forecast shows sunny days with high temperatures in the mid to high 80s over the next few days, dropping off over the weekend to start next week in the mid 70s. There is still no rain in the forecast, which is a little unusual at this point in the year, but we will continue to monitor any chances of precipitation as they arise.

HMC News – October 16, 2019

PMA Fresh Summit is this week in Anaheim, California! Stop by our booth to say hello and learn about our peaches, plums, nectarines, and table grapes. Our Nickelodeon™ ready-to-eat grape packs featuring SpongeBob™ and PAW Patrol™ characters are part of the Fresh Ideas Showcase, so be sure to check them out at the expo! If you haven’t scheduled a meeting with HMC yet, contact your HMC salesperson to confirm remaining time slots.

Crop Update:

Timco and Allison red seedless grapes and Autumn King green seedless grapes are in active harvest. Vintage red seedless grapes are beginning harvest as well. The forecast shows mostly sunny days with high temperatures in the 70s, and overnight low temperatures in the high 40s. This weather pattern of warm days and cool nights is conducive to grape maturity. While there is no imminent threat of precipitation in the forecast, we will continue to monitor any chances of early rain that may arise in the coming weeks.

HMC News – October 9, 2019

On Friday, October 4, Harold McClarty received the Award of Distinction from University of California, Davis. This award is the highest recognition given by the university to individuals whose achievements and contributions enrich the UC Davis image and reputation and enhance its ability to provide public service. Harold, who served on the university’s Board of Trustees for six years, and the McClarty family are long-time supporters of UC Davis, making this honor particularly special. Click here to read more on this topic.

Crop Update:

Fall post-harvest fertilizer is currently being applied to our peach, plum, and nectarine orchards. The fertilizer helps replenish the trees’ nutritional reserves, and is essential for fall root development. In spring, these reserves will provide an important energy source as the trees come out of dormancy. Timco and Allison red seedless grapes and Autumn King green seedless grapes are in active harvest. The weather is cooperating well with table grape growth.

Roasted Grape and Ricotta Crostini Appetizer Recipe

Grapes are a go-to choice when making a fruit salad or charcuterie board, but they are so much more versatile than that! One of the most surprising things about grapes is how great they are when roasted. This super easy recipe using HMC Farms grapes is a great way to elevate your appetizers and small plate offerings from home gatherings to catered events.

What you’ll need for about 16 pieces of crostini:

  • 1 bunch of HMC Farms red seedless table grapes
  • Fresh ricotta cheese
  • 1 medium-sized loaf of rustic bread
  • Fresh thyme or rosemary
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Optional: honey, balsamic glaze, or walnuts

Steps to roasted grape crostini bliss:

  • Start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse the grapes and let them dry. Tip: We chose to use HMC Farms sliced grapes, but you can choose whether to slice the grapes in half or leave them whole.
  • Spread the grapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Top with thyme or rosemary sprigs, sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with olive oil. Toss the grapes a bit on the pan and then place in the oven for about 8 minutes, checking after 5 minutes.

    Tip: It’s okay for the grapes to split or wrinkle up, but avoid letting them burn.

 

  • While the grapes are in the oven, slice the bread to desired thickness (we prefer about ½”), brush one side with olive oil, and grill in a pan or on a griddle. Brush the other side with olive oil and flip. Remove from the pan when both sides look lightly toated.
  • Remove grapes from the oven and set the pan out to cool.
  • Spread fresh ricotta on one side of each piece of toasted bread. Add 4-5 grapes to the top of each piece, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme or rosemary.

Tip: These are great just the way they are, but there are also lots of options for additions to top off the appetizer. Try drizzling a little honey, olive oil, or balsamic glaze over the top, or even adding a few chopped walnuts!

 

HMC News – October 2, 2019

Allison red seedless table grapes are now in harvest! The crunchy texture and sweet flavor of the berries make Allison a memorable varietal that brings people back for more. Contact your HMC salesperson for more information on pack styles and availability.

Crop Update:

HMC Farms tree fruit season is winding down, but table grape harvest is still going strong. At this point, all vines have been covered for rain protection. Timco, Allison, and Krissy red seedless grapes are in harvest, as well as Autumn King green seedless grapes. The forecast shows a few cool days leading up to a warm start to next week. The overnight lows are in a range that should help move the color along in our red seedless grape varietals.

HMC News – September 25, 2019

We are currently in the process of placing vine cover on our late season grape varieties. Vine cover protects grapes from early rain in September and October. The timing of the cover placement is important because we don’t want to cover the vines in very hot temperatures and trap heat around the grapes, but we also want to protect the grapes from rainfall as early as possible. We normally begin covering our grape vines in early to mid September, when we begin to see chances of precipitation in the forecast.

Crop Update:

Harvest continues to slow for HMC Farms tree fruit. Table grape harvest is in full swing. Timco red seedless grapes have begun harvest. Allison red seedless and Autumn King green seedless grapes will harvest soon. The weather on our farms has jumped back into the 90s for a few days, but the forecast shows a progressive drop in high temperatures, putting highs in the 70s to start next week.

Stone fruit galette recipe, as seen on Indy Style morning show

Stone fruit harvest is beginning to slow down at HMC Farms, so we are squeezing in as many ways to enjoy our delicious bounty as possible. One of our favorite quick and easy recipes for a dessert that’s sure to impress is a stone fruit galette. If you haven’t heard of a galette, it’s similar to an open-faced pie. It can be made using a single type of stone fruit, like peaches, or a variety of your favorites. In this case, we used peaches, nectarines, and plums to make a mixed fruit galette.

This recipe was featured on the Indy Style morning show by Lori Taylor from The Produce Moms. If you missed the episode, click here to watch how easy it is to make this crowd-pleasing dessert or brunch addition.

What you’ll need:

  • 6-8 pieces of HMC Farms peaches, nectarines, plums, plumcots, or summerwhites
  • Pie crust (pre made crust works just fine, but you can also make it from scratch)
  • 1/3 cup of sugar + 1 Tbsp for sprinkling (raw sugar can be used here)
  • 1 Tsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tsp lemon juice
  • 1-2 Tbsp flour or cornstarch to thicken the filling
  • Beaten egg or cream for the edges of the crust

Steps to the easiest impressive dessert you’ve ever made:

  • Preheat the oven to 375° and roll out pie crust on parchment paper on top of baking pan or stone.
  • Slice the HMC Farms fruit.

Tip: A lot of our HMC Farms peaches and nectarines are clingstone varieties. We’ve found that the easiest way to create pretty slices of fruit is to place the fruit on a cutting board with the stem side down and slice straight down on each side around the pit. These larger pieces can be sliced more easily that trying to separate each slice from the pit individually.

  • Combine all ingredients (except for the egg or cream wash and the 1Tbsp of sugar) in a large bowl and gently stir.
  • Place the mixture from the bowl in the center of the pie crust.
  • Fold the crust in about 2” in overlapping pieces to create a pleated look.
  • Brush the top edges of the crust with the cream or beaten egg, and sprinkle the remaining sugar on it.
  • Bake for about 45 minutes, checking every 5-10 min beginning at 30 min.
    Tip: some of the juices will run out from the galette in the oven. Don’t be alarmed by this, but do prepare in order to prevent a mess in the bottom of your oven..
  • Remove galette from the oven and cool on a rack.

HMC News – September 18, 2019

Holiday plums are here! We wait all year for this HMC Farms proprietary red plum that has green undertones, speckled skin, and a sweet and distinctive flavor. Contact your HMC Farms salesperson for more information on availability.

Crop Update:

Harvest is slowing for HMC Farms tree fruit. Scarlet Royal and Krissy red seedless table grapes and Autumn King green seedless table grapes are in harvest. Timco and Allison red seedless grapes will harvest soon. The forecast shows high temperatures ranging from the low 80s to the low 90s. We are closely monitoring any chances of early rain, which tend to pop up in the second half of September.

STEM activity sheets – learn with grapes!

What is STEM?

STEM stands for an idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. It is an applied, blended and cohesive approach that encourages a hands-on experience while allowing students a chance to gain and apply relevant “real world” knowledge in the classroom.

STEM has become a critical component to nation-wide Academic Standards. Together with The Produce Moms and a middle school science teacher, we developed two STEM projects for middle school students using grapes. Because why not combine a science experiment with one of the most popular fruits?

The best part about our two grape STEM experiments…you can download them and print them off for FREE.

Grapes for STEM Projects

Grape Smash. Our Grape Smash STEM Project is designed for students to practice classification along with learning about the Law of Conservation of Mass.

Download the free HMC Farms Grape Smash STEM Activity Sheet

Dancing Grapes. Our Dancing Grapes STEM project focuses on using the POE (Predict-Observe-Explain) strategy.  Predicting, Observing and Explaining incorporates the fundamental processes associated with all discovery learning. This project allows students to use all 5 senses and allows them to communicate and demonstrate their understandings through written and visual explanations.

Download the free HMC Farms Dancing Grapes STEM Activity Sheet

To learn more about The Produce Moms, visit their website.

HMC News – September 11, 2019

HMC Farms just won the Buyer’s Choice Award with our new SpongeBob™ and PAW Patrol™ grape multipacks at the California Food Expo! For more information on these products, contact Chelsea: chelseak@hmcfarms.com. These products will be in the Fresh Ideas Showcase at PMA Fresh Summit, where HMC Farms will be present at booth #3079. Contact your HMC Farms salesperson if you’d like to schedule a time to meet at PMA regarding this or other topics.

Crop Update:

Harvest is slowing for HMC Farms tree fruit. Holiday plums are now available! Krissy and Scarlet Royal red seedless table grapes, and Great Green green seedless table grapes are in harvest. Timco and Allison red seedless and Autumn King green seedless grapes will harvest soon. The forecast shows fluctuating temperatures. At this point in the year, we have to watch out for chances of early rain.