Mmmm, I love peaches! 🍑🍑🍑 And it's even sweeter when they are Niagara peaches! As part of my 2019 ambassador partnership with Produce Made Simple, my fellows and I are treated to various food production and farm tours to get the inside scoop on the meticulous operations that go on behind-the-scenes- from field to store. So that we can share it with all of you! At this event, we learned what it takes for our proud dedicated Ontario stone fruit farmers to grow the best of the best rivalling those produced around the world. And we have 200 tender fruit growers right here in Ontario, with 10,000 acres of farmland producing peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries (in the Simcoe area)! Being close to Lake Ontario creates a micro climate that is perfectly suited to growing tender fruit. With our short growing season, we must take advantage while we can! Learn more on Ontario Tender Fruit.
With the opportunity to hear from farmers first-hand, we gained insights from the operations in the orchards to the sorting/packing facility to the table-- I am talking about two here specifically. The first was at a beautiful catered al fresco Niagara luncheon after our tour and the second- The Neighbourhood Table, at my summer program cooking in a church with kids. You will also see a delectable myriad of peachy inspirations along the way! There's no excuse for not finding ways to enjoy the fresh juicy sweetness of our local peaches, but if you want to eat them straight, juice dripping down your hand, well... that's probably the best way to savour them!
Top grade fruit is sold to large retail chains, seconds are sold to the local market direct to consumers for cooking, and home preparation. There are also some new distilleries in the area that are starting to use the lower grade fruit for alcohol. Less waste- YAY! #lovefoodhatewaste
Our next visit was to Vineland Growers Co-operative. They started 106 year ago by four local growers who decided to work together to have a central place for packing and transporting fruit beyond the local region. The company today serves the same purpose. They also provide packaging materials to their 50 grower members and provide sales and transport to major grocery chains. We visited the larger of their two facilities.
Quality Assurance QA meticulously sorts and grades the stone fruit in this room. Size, weight, scale insect and weather damage, such as hail are all factors for consideration.
Currently, about half of the peaches are sold in plastic clam shells, the other in cardboard. There has been a recent push back on plastic by consumers.
Our last stop before lunch was at Tregunno Fruit Farms, the largest tender fruit grower in Canada. Owned by Phil and his sons' Ryan (operations/packing) and Jordan (Orchard management), they manage 850 acres for growing peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, table grapes and now wine grapes. They grow organic too with 25 acres for peaches, and 50 acres for grapes.
Their new packing facility is equipped with state of the art technology for sorting and grading fruit; monitoring for size, weight and even using infrared technology to detect hidden flaws.
Out on the field. Tregunno pick from trees directly into small bins to protect gentle fruit and these are carefully unloaded on the lines. (approx. 20 lbs each small bin). They hire about 120 employees on the farm during peak harvest.
A beyond ga-gorgeous Niagara al fresco lunch after our Produce Made Simple peach and tender fruits orchards tour over at picturesque #hiddengem in Virgil with Zooma Caters.
This is my second venue with Zooma catering, and they are known to create delish bold craveable flavours and indeed they did with an innovative yummy stone fruit-inspired menu. 🍑🍑🍑 Starting with single-serve refreshing peach gazpacho, then a communal family-style servings of Korean rice noodles salad with grilled nectarines, Raddichio and stone fruit salad with gorgonzola and lavender syrup, and Smoked chicken, brie and peaches flatbreads followed, finished with a peach shortbread crumble and Chantilly cream 🤤.
Stone Fruits Mixed Greens Salad
Makes 6-8 servings
1 125 g spring mix- about 5 to 6 cups
1 125 g baby arugula- about 5 to 6 cups
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 small bulb fennel, finely sliced
1/2 small red or Vidalia onion, finely sliced
3 ripe nectarines or peaches, pitted and sliced
1 small package of pea shoots
Note: Add toasted pecans, walnuts or almonds
Vinaigrette: (Yields 2 cups)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. liquid honey
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
pinch of ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil or sunflower oil
Place all salad items into a large serving bowl and just before serving, incorporate about 1 cup of the dressing until tossed well. Add more dressing as needed to coat the salad. Sprinkle with nuts if using.
TIP: Leftover vinaigrette can keep refrigerated to be used until the next day.
A huge thank you to PMS and Vineland Growers Coop from the church and the families over at The Neighbourhood Table. We appreciate your support very much!
Rebecca from Snapd joined us for a round about impromptu photo session to capture the great moments, volunteers and guests at our Back-To-School theme session last Thursday.
Need more peachy inspiration? How about a stack of buttermilk blueberry pancakes with a side of sliced Niagara peaches to brighten up a dreary rainy Saturday this past weekend? Served of course with maple syrup, from my sis-in-law's family sugar shack in Quebec!
Here is a beauty shot of my pretty peach salad recipe with sliced fennel, arugula and tomatoes. When I whip out this lovely Victorian-style runner, you know something good is up.
With so many recipe inspirations of food that seems to leap off this page, there's really no excuse for not enjoying our fresh juicy Ontario peaches! The thing is don't wait! Savour them now while you still can! 🍑🍑🍑
Niagara Region is a great area for growing peaches; the high
and low temperatures help create flavour. “Fruit likes to suffer a little bit
to get great quality.” Meaning that the hot and cold fluctuations tend to yield a better tasting fruit. I liken it to "the fittest survive", and when you do, you can't be compromised in any way, shape or form!
PG Enns is a grower member with Niagara Orchard and Vineyard Corp. Rob Enns is 3rd generation Ontario peach farmer, his son
also works in the business (4th generation).
 |
| Yup, that's Rob shown on the far right on their packaging label! |
Peaches are hot when they are picked and need to be cooled quickly
to maintain freshness and help them last longer. Therefore, they’ve invested in a new cooling system where fans push cold air through vented bins. All of the
fruit can be cooled to 3 or 4 degrees Celsius in about 3 hours. Then it can be
stored in a cooler before being packed.
 |
From L to R: @abhishekdekate @susanssavourit @rhubandcod @irene_matys
@stemsandforks @justcrumbs @thevietvegan @theyummyfarm with Rob Enns.
Photo Credit: Produce Made Simple
|
Top grade fruit is sold to large retail chains, seconds are sold to the local market direct to consumers for cooking, and home preparation. There are also some new distilleries in the area that are starting to use the lower grade fruit for alcohol. Less waste- YAY! #lovefoodhatewaste
Our next visit was to Vineland Growers Co-operative. They started 106 year ago by four local growers who decided to work together to have a central place for packing and transporting fruit beyond the local region. The company today serves the same purpose. They also provide packaging materials to their 50 grower members and provide sales and transport to major grocery chains. We visited the larger of their two facilities.
 |
| June from Vineland Growers Coop. |
Controlled atmosphere rooms are used to “put fruit to sleep”
for a period of time, to support market supply/demand. Also, frequently used
in the apple industry. They expel oxygen in the rooms to 0.2 percent; creating
higher levels of nitrogen - to put the
fruit to sleep. Fruit can be kept like that until ready to sell. CA
controlled atmosphere fruit will not last as long as fruit that is not exposed
to this, but it helps to extend and control supply into the market.
Their original building had two cold storage rooms; it’s been expanded twice.
Quality Assurance QA meticulously sorts and grades the stone fruit in this room. Size, weight, scale insect and weather damage, such as hail are all factors for consideration.
Currently, about half of the peaches are sold in plastic clam shells, the other in cardboard. There has been a recent push back on plastic by consumers.
Our last stop before lunch was at Tregunno Fruit Farms, the largest tender fruit grower in Canada. Owned by Phil and his sons' Ryan (operations/packing) and Jordan (Orchard management), they manage 850 acres for growing peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, table grapes and now wine grapes. They grow organic too with 25 acres for peaches, and 50 acres for grapes.
 |
| Tregunno Farms Phil and Ryan |
Their new packing facility is equipped with state of the art technology for sorting and grading fruit; monitoring for size, weight and even using infrared technology to detect hidden flaws.
 |
| What an impressive massive bustling facility! |
Guess what machinery this is for?
 |
| If you said for defuzzing peach skin, you are correct! |
 |
| Photo Credit: Produce Made Simple |
Look at those peach skids mechanically rotating above the workers.
Another shot of our fun group with the owners!
 |
| Photo Credit: Produce Made Simple |
Out on the field. Tregunno pick from trees directly into small bins to protect gentle fruit and these are carefully unloaded on the lines. (approx. 20 lbs each small bin). They hire about 120 employees on the farm during peak harvest.
 |
| PMS photographer @jesusmazaphoto rounding up our crew. |
Flat peaches... one of 30 varieties of peaches grown at Tregunno Fruit Farms 🍑🍑🍑. The colour of a peach doesn’t indicate ripeness, rather variety. You know a peach is ready to pick when the background colour
is yellow (vs. green). Peaches can be picked firm as they will ripen after picking.
Heading to our lunch venue! A large red tractor is totally farm factor :D
A beyond ga-gorgeous Niagara al fresco lunch after our Produce Made Simple peach and tender fruits orchards tour over at picturesque #hiddengem in Virgil with Zooma Caters.
This is my second venue with Zooma catering, and they are known to create delish bold craveable flavours and indeed they did with an innovative yummy stone fruit-inspired menu. 🍑🍑🍑 Starting with single-serve refreshing peach gazpacho, then a communal family-style servings of Korean rice noodles salad with grilled nectarines, Raddichio and stone fruit salad with gorgonzola and lavender syrup, and Smoked chicken, brie and peaches flatbreads followed, finished with a peach shortbread crumble and Chantilly cream 🤤.
 |
| Photo opps left and right! |
 |
| Even the bathroom is pretty! |
 |
| Peach gazpacho and a side of pickles peaches and red onions |
 |
| Korean rice noodles salad with grilled nectarines |
 |
| Smoked chicken, brie and peaches flatbread Raddichio, stone fruit salad with gorgonzola and lavender syrup |
 |
| Peach shortbread crumble and Chantilly cream |
 |
| Photo Credit: Produce Made Simple |
Switching gears but still on the same thread, onto my summer program The Neighbourhood Table at St.Philip's Lutheran Church in Etobicoke. I was able to arrange a few skids of baskets filled with Niagara peaches from June at Vineland Growers thanks to Nicole at Produce Made Simple. Not only that, PMS also supported us with 25 goodie tote bags with kids' fooducation activity books, flexible cutting boards and cute mini shopping carts. Each family got to take one home along with some fresh Niagara peaches.
 |
| The lovely church members and volunteers at St. Philip's. |
 |
| Thank you Produce Made Simple and Vineland Growers! |
 |
| Kids building our gorgeous peach salad for 50 people. |
Stone Fruits Mixed Greens Salad
Makes 6-8 servings
1 125 g spring mix- about 5 to 6 cups
1 125 g baby arugula- about 5 to 6 cups
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 small bulb fennel, finely sliced
1/2 small red or Vidalia onion, finely sliced
3 ripe nectarines or peaches, pitted and sliced
1 small package of pea shoots
Note: Add toasted pecans, walnuts or almonds
Vinaigrette: (Yields 2 cups)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. liquid honey
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
pinch of ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil or sunflower oil
Place all salad items into a large serving bowl and just before serving, incorporate about 1 cup of the dressing until tossed well. Add more dressing as needed to coat the salad. Sprinkle with nuts if using.
TIP: Leftover vinaigrette can keep refrigerated to be used until the next day.
A huge thank you to PMS and Vineland Growers Coop from the church and the families over at The Neighbourhood Table. We appreciate your support very much!
 |
| With St.Philip's Church pastor Tuula on right. |
Rebecca from Snapd joined us for a round about impromptu photo session to capture the great moments, volunteers and guests at our Back-To-School theme session last Thursday.
 |
| Read the original article here. |
 |
| Snapd Etobicoke- The Neighbourhood Table |
Need more peachy inspiration? How about a stack of buttermilk blueberry pancakes with a side of sliced Niagara peaches to brighten up a dreary rainy Saturday this past weekend? Served of course with maple syrup, from my sis-in-law's family sugar shack in Quebec!
 |
| buttermilk blueberry pancakes |
Here is a beauty shot of my pretty peach salad recipe with sliced fennel, arugula and tomatoes. When I whip out this lovely Victorian-style runner, you know something good is up.
 |
| Peaches Mixed Greens Salad |
With so many recipe inspirations of food that seems to leap off this page, there's really no excuse for not enjoying our fresh juicy Ontario peaches! The thing is don't wait! Savour them now while you still can! 🍑🍑🍑
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.