Harvest is on in Blenheim. In wine speak they call it ‘vintage’ meaning wine that is primarily grown and produced from the same year. The town is abuzz with people; seasonal workers,traffic and heavy weight machinery passing through town on a daily basis. The rumble of harvest machinery is a regular hum during the night and early hours as wine makers move to pick vast amount of grapes in a short time.
We’ve had our own mini harvest going on at Rowley Homestead too. Since January fruit trees in the little orchard have been laden and the birds too have known what’s good. Nets are on the cards next season if we’re to get a look in for plums and nashi pears… trees were depleted in a flash. Golden Queen and Black Boy peaches finished last week and only a smattering of apples and Packham pears left now. I’ve been in the kitchen experimenting with dehydrating fruit as an alternative to conventional preserving. Trial and error the first time; but the key is to slice fruit the same thickness for even and perfect drying. It’s a long process – it takes all day (8 hours) to dry 5 stacks of fruit but the end result is totally worth it. Tangy dried fruit…big flavour that beats the shop bought variety. Apples and pears were winners. Peaches didn’t dry so well…… too ripe I think.
Nut farming is big in Marlborough too….walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds are harvesting now and Pinoli pinenuts harvest during the winter months. New Zealand has ideal conditions for nuts; soils that are undercultivated, long warm autumns and cooler winters. They are full of good protein and fats for cardiovascular health too. We are fortunate to have eight beautiful vintage walnut trees on the north west boundary and since mid March the trees have rained walnuts. Collecting twice daily with a wire wheely gadget (it saves the back!), then laying out to dry on two old fashioned spring bed bases in the garden shed. I’m getting the hang of this and have had advice from my neighbours ( who are expert producers of walnut products and the Uncle Joes brand), they have advised that drying should be for at least a couple of weeks before nuts are ready for cracking and eating, and then can be stored in aerated sacks for up to a year. The rate they’re falling we’re gonna have sack loads. Lovely! Ready for guests to enjoy in the winter.
Quince and crab apples are fruiting now as well as the beautiful fig. Tis fig season and they really are the ‘food of gods’…..the shape, colour and flesh are delectable – a perfect match with blue cheese, baked with a drizzle of honey or in a tangy chutney. Figs need sun and it’s a short fruiting season so you need to make the most of them. I couldn’t resist buying a tray of perfect figs from Old Road Estate this week to make the annual batch of fig chutney. Figs are packed with minerals and soluble fibre and a good source of antioxidants vitamins A, E and K – great for health! but equally figs look beautiful grouped on a plate au naturale.
