Peaches - Local and Not

Peach season is pretty much done now. Through out August and into September, however, one finds fresh locally grown NJ and eastern peaches. I found them in the produce aisle of the local Stop & Shop. I really do not know where they were coming from but based on how ripe these peaches were, I think they really were local-from NJ and the general region,

This brings me to an all to obvious but true benefit of locally grown food. In short, the locally grown produce, whether it is peaches or anything else, is the ripest and tastiest. It is that simple. Fresh locally grown just allows fruit to ripen and be at its best.

Such fruit, ripened on the tree could not survive the long road trip from southern states, or California, much less South America. So farmers in such locales, shipping their fruit to places such as White Plains NY, harvest early. Fruit harvested before being ripe will make the trip-at least it will not be bruised. It allows us to have peaches, nectarines and other fruits through out the year.



That said, however, I have yet to figure out how to ripen such fruit. I have tried special ripening vats and putting the fruit in the direct sunlight and various other solutions. These solutions are pretty much worthless. The fruit remains rocky and then turns to mush. It seems to pass quickly from one to the other.

So come August and early September, I am looking for my peaches. They quickly disappear. When they do I might be tempted to try the peaches from other locales only to again be disappointed. That is the problem of locally grown. Fresh, ripe and sweet fruit and season come and go, but for that brief moment when I see those signs for NJ peaches, life is good. The only thing better would be to have a a peach tree or orchard next door.

An Introduction

Locally Grown and Organics Foods are two of the biggest trends in the food and restaurant industry today. Although they are two distinct trends they work nicely together You saw and heard about them when Michelle Obama's started her White House Garden.

My own experience with them was intimate. My mom has been an organic gardener for years and it was often my job, back when I was a kid, to turn over the compost pile. I remember her arguments with my grandfather regarding the value of fertilizers versus a compost pile. She never converted him but the corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers from the her garden won me over. More recently the best pizza I had was a simple diced plum tomato pie with fresh garlic and basil all from the pizzeria owner's garden! Again, it was local and organic.

Today however, the term "organic: no longer just refers to the none-use of fertilizers and pesticides. Today it is a whole industry with defined standards and requirements for a food to be certified "Organic". With that you have a a range of terms from "farm-fresh" to "hormone free" to "range raised" in addition to and supplementing the term "organic"

Locally grown is a newer and in some ways a simpler idea. It simply means relying on the foods and food producers around us - local farms. It encourages a closer relationship between the farmer and those preparing and consuming the farm i.e. food products. So today you see chefs searching out local foods and produce to include on their menu. Likewise the emergence of a farmers market in many towns and cities today.

Both have been a response to our food industy and agriculture's reliance on synthetic chemicals, hormones, and over-processed foods. Both have been at times a response to or a criticism of agribusiness and its abandonment of the traditional family farm model. In short, they remind us that foods and produce come from the soil and farms as opposed to a supermarket. All that said, today you see agribusiness responding and embracing both the organic and locally grown movements and the produce and products of both are commonely found in supermarkets such as Whole Foods and restaurant chains such as Chipotle that only use organic foods..

With all of this, we feel it is important to offer a section dedicated to the locally grown organic foods and produce. We feel that Bona Pinasa / bonapinasa.com can help restauranteurs, the food industry, and food suppliers, farmers and others to can connect on and bring both organic and locally grown foods to their tables and customers.

We hope the folowing links and other resources are of value and welcome any ideas you have regarding this section and how we can enhance it!