2003-2004 Season

“There are few places for me more exciting or more rewarding to experience than California’s San Joaquin Valley, especially in the blistering heat of an afternoon in late summer when everything seems to be happening at once.  It has been called “The world’s richest agricultural valley”, a technological miracle of productivity where dog-eat-dog competition is at its keenest.  Yet even Californians tend to take this big, flat world for granted.”
                                            -James J. Parsons,

1987 Carl Sauer Memorial Lecture
                                   

Pearson Ranch celebrates James J. Parsons (1915-1997) a     

great Cultural Geographer and friend of the San Joaquin Valley.

 

It has always fascinated us that the orange can be any shade of green, and still be mature. It requires cool or cold temperatures in order to turn orange. The San Joaquin Valley in California has a micro-climate so perfectly suited for orange ranching that it is called “the orange belt”. This orange belt is formed by the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the Eastern edge of the valley.  The cool night air rushes down into the valley every night, chilling the oranges so both the color and sugar come in so they can be harvested.  Porterville, the home of Pearson Ranch, is smack dab in the middle of the orange belt.  With the snowcapped Sierras in the background, the groves of the orange belt are the most beautiful in the world, as is the fruit they produce.

When you buy oranges, pummelos, blood oranges, minneolas or any special citrus variety from Pearson Ranch you will receive the highest grade of fruit in the world.  We, at Pearson Ranch, promise that all of our citrus products are hand selected as the most delicious and beautiful fruit available at any time during the season.

 

Pearson Ranch Park News

 

Lights.  Camera.  Action.

Thanks to Pearson Ranch’s hard work and good neighbor policy, we now have a stoplight and crosswalk on our busy corner at
Highway 65 and Teapot Dome Avenue.  This is great news for the community, as children must cross this highway to attend the neighborhood elementary school.  It is also happy news for friends of Pearson Ranch as it will be easier for our visitors to stop by and say “hello”.

Recycle.  Reuse.  Relax.

Pearson Ranch’s brightly painted historic buildings are now punctuated by wind machines that have been transformed into environmental sculptures.

These grand machines were grounded dinosaurs, replaced by more energy efficient models, and rusting in the weather.  Our home team of farmer/artists led by Tony Marquez repainted and re-imagined these machine sculptures, erecting them on our park borders.  Thirty feet tall with bright blades free-wheeling
in the breeze, they put a smile and a sigh on the lips of grown-ups and kids alike. 

 

Pearson Ranch Country Store News

Our country store is stocked with the best hand-made food and products for the home from the San Joaquin Valley.  Now, our internet customers can join the farmer’s wife who mixes Pearson Ranch Orange Honey into home-churned butter, and the healthy gourmet who savors our complexly dry, yet nonalcoholic, grape juice with his meals.  

Artisanal products fill the shelves at the Pearson Ranch Country Store. Local olives are steeped and pressed to release their delicate nutty oils. The fresh nuts are a short step away from the trees where they grew. Regional beef jerky is the best ever tried.  The preserves are made in a neighbor’s spotless kitchen in Three Rivers.  And our star seller, the best marmalade on the market, Pearson Ranch Orange Preserves is always hand-made in small kettles.  

Be sure to check our website for new products throughout the year.  We will be adding additional artisanal products from California and Oregon.  You will find them featured in our newsletter as a new item so they are easy to find.

 

Pearson Ranch Kitchen News

At lunch and dinner, hearty appetites rule the Pearson Ranch table.  Our extended family is similar to yours with everyone following a different diet dictum, everyone hungry at the same time, and all wanting something a little special. This is the daily challenge to home chefs everywhere.  

One of my favorite solutions is to whip up a batch of citrus-based marinades and vinaigrettes.  There is no comparison between a home made marinade and something that slides out of a bottle.  The aromatic oils are altered during the commercial production process.  This results in a store bought predictability that stops it from singing on the tongue.

Whether your gang eats chicken, fish, meat or tofu, these marinades can take a chop or filet and enliven it for a quick  saute or broil.  With a side of rice or couscous, and a salad and vegetable, your meal can be on the table in 30 minutes.  Then, all you have to worry about is dessert, and that’s another column.

Be sure to check out the From Our Chef section of our website for Citrus Recipes for Salads & Dressings, Marinades & Sauces, Poultry, Grains, Vegetables, Desserts, Beverages, Holiday Treats & Crafts.  If you have any questions about cooking with citrus, our recipes, or would like to share one of your own favorites, please email our chef  at mail@pearsonranch.com. 

 

Tony’s Ranching News 

 

Once again in 2003, Pearson Ranch is growing some of the finest fruit in the world!  The warm summer this year will ensure an orange season filled with delicious, and very sweet citrus.  If “mother nature” is cooperating, our navel oranges will be ready to ship by late November.  Industry wide, crop production looks excellent and availability should last well into 2004.   Our pummelo grapefruit crop is the most abundant to date.  Although this year, our “Chandler Pink Pummelos” will be a little smaller in size, the number of pieces of fruit per tree is an amazing sight to see!   In fact, our field representative has told us, that ours is the best pummelo crop she has seen in the whole San Joaquin Valley!  Harvest time for pummelos starts in November, but are sweetest in December and January. 

 

We believe that when you farm to the very best of your ability, only the very best fruit will you grow…after all, “the proof is in the box.”

Pearson Ranch promises to continue to provide the very best citrus products in the world to you this season.  We thank you for your support over the past seven years!