A Bountiful Harvest of Fun
by Kay Grant
Raisins, Saroyan and heat—that’s all there is to Fresno, right? Wrong! California’s sixth largest city and surrounding county have plenty to tempt visitors.
Fresno sits between the pretty San Joaquin and Kings rivers in central California. Known for superb farming, it’s the nation’s number-one agricultural county—the industry is valued at nearly $5 billion a year. Its producers grow more garlic than Gilroy (“the Garlic Capital of the World”), more grapes than The Wine Country’s Napa and Sonoma Counties combined, and more raisins than anywhere else in the world. Almost anything can grow here. With a bounty of more than 360 different crops, including the only stands of sugar cane in the western U.S., chances are that at least some of whatever graces your dinner table tonight came from Fresno County and the Central San Joaquin Valley.
The ingredients for a successful visit to Fresno lie in its fertile agriculture industry. Stir in a dollop of Saroyan, add a pinch of one or two museums, and your visit will be good enough to eat.
This is a perfect place to experience the burgeoning slow-food movement (which stresses good food, its source, preparation and flavor—in contrast to fast food). In addition to tasting and touring at tempting farms, visitors will want to loll at area restaurants featuring foods fresh from the gardens of local growers.
A dash of food festivals and farmers’ markets make a visit complete. The Vineyard Farmer’s Market is open year-round and features the freshest products (many are organic) from more than 30 local establishments—such as free-range organically fed chickens and eggs from Foothill Farms, pasta from Guido’s, beeswax from Bee Bob, fromage from Fagundes Old World Cheese, orchids from Eddon, and pesticide-free figs from The Fig Lady.
With a Blossom Trail, Fruit Trail and Fall Foliage Trail, be assured that you’ll find new routes to take and sites to see whenever you visit. Spring is, of course, prime time for blossoms. The Blossom Trail is an early spring drive through a smorgasbord of colors, fragrances and sights that can include apple trees heavy with white blossoms, vibrant pink peach buds, ivory almond petals, pink apricot flowers, citrus blossoms from orange and lemon trees, snowy plum plants and colorful wildflowers—notably, fields of golden-orange California Poppies, the state flower.
The equally delicious Fruit Trail, open May through September, offers more than 50 attractions. You’ll find everything from soup (all the ingredients are here) to nuts. (Almonds, pistachios, Spanish peanuts and organic walnuts abound at Poindexter Nut Co. & Country Store.)
This trail is the place to find ripe berries, juicy nectarines, sweet corn and fresh-cut gladiolas. Fruit Trail participants present a variety of activities and products—everything from the expected succulent oranges, plump raisins and award-winning olive oil to uncommon varieties such as Minneola tangelos and pummelos (Chinese grapefruit). Southeast Asian specialties like bok choy, daikon and kiwi fruit are also found at local farmers’ markets and seasonal roadside stands.
After a do-it-yourself ramble through the countryside, it’s easy to bring home exotic flavors, colors and fragrances. For those so inclined, guided Fruit Trail treks are available. Squaw Valley Herb Gardens presents several specialty tours for groups, including a Farm to Fork Culinary Tour, followed by tastings, recipes and lunch. On their Childrens Tour, youngsters engage all their senses to learn about farm products. The Lavender Tour gives recipes and remedies, all steeped in that wonderful scent.
Wiebe Farms offers a two-hour group program that includes a summer tractor ride through the orchards. Luke’s Almond Acres puts on cooking demos and educational seminars enhanced by delicious samples. Take home some nuts, almond butter, or dried fruit in a crate that is custom-made at their farm.
Simonian Farms is a fourth-generation family operation that harvests more than 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables. They have a catalog offering everything from Apricots to Xmas trees (what, no zucchini?). Their produce market is also a museum, with farm memorabilia, vintage gas pumps and a turn-of-the-century model train running on 200 feet of overhead track.
Many facilities also have gift boxes of dried fruits, jams and nuts. Visitors discover that at most of the farms, the mouth-watering fruits and vegetables available for purchase were picked earlier that very day. Same-day packing and shipping is also customary.
If your taste buds yearn for something different, consider the state-of-the-art mushroom facility at Sun Smiling Valley Farm. Or, for a little non-edible diversion, stop at Aspen Acres to meet emus, miniature horses and geese. It’s also possible to buy an adorable live pygmy goat kid to take home. Just remember, it won’t fit in the plane’s overhead compartment.
To float over Fresno’s verdant landscape, contact Magic’s Fantasy Hot Air Balloon Team. They ferry passengers above the San Joaquin Valley for an unforgettable scenic tour. Afterward, visit the Art Stand— an appetizerfor the eyes with paintings, sculptures, jewelry, pottery and more. If you visit Fresno in March, plan to tour the scenic countryside aboard Hillcrest Farms’ 15-inch gauge steam train. It runs every March weekend.
A good meal deserves a first-rate wine, and Fresno has plenty of palate-pleasers. California State University, Fresno (aka Fresno State) is the only U.S. licensed commercial winery on a college campus. Its hands-on viticulture program has been operating for 40 years and produces 20 different wines. Students study all phases of enology—from planting the grapes to bottling the delicious nectar. The school has reaped numerous wine awards (32 in 2007 alone). Find the university’s intriguing vintages at various local restaurants. Or purchase them at the Fresno State Farm Market. There, you’ll also encounter other campus products including cheese, meat, nuts, jams and ice cream.
Tivy Mountain Vintners Winery and Bed and Breakfast offers beautiful grounds—the perfect place to enjoy a glass of its estate wines. An array of other wineries pose similar opportunity. For example, Cedar View Winery and Sequoia View Bed and Breakfast has an estate vineyard and tasting room while Engelmann Cellars has been growing grapes and making wines for a century. Customers enjoy tastings at its Cellar Door Club.
With a belly full of Fresno’s fresh agricultural products, and a deeper appreciation for the people whose hands lovingly nurture them from seed to serving, you will leave Fresno’s banquet satisfied and happy.
Bon appetit!
For more information on Fresno County, as well as Fruit and Blossom Trails brochures, visit www.gofresnocounty.com. The Fruit Trail brochure lists participating farms and their hours, 888-549-4900.
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