Stone Fruit Season is the Best Season

Napa Valley, CA – July 8, 2016 – Oak Avenue Catering’s chefs, service staff and sales team are thrilled to announce that stone fruit season is in full swing. Peaches, pluots, cherries, plums, apricots, and nectarines are ripe and ready to adorn every course.

The time to enjoy the finest the fruit kingdom has to share is fast and fleeting. Mid-June through early-September, that’s it. Three months. No second chances. No do-overs. If it is missed, you are left paying astronomical prices for homogenized varieties imported from the far reaches of the globe. But, if you take full advantage of the small window of deliciousness Mother Nature provides, you can bask in the variety of colors, flavors, and preparations.

Oak Avenue Catering’s creative minds spin over the best Napa Valley has to offer. From the red-fleshed and shy of tart Indian Blood Peaches to the rose-streaked and lush Dapple Dandy Pluots, the possibilities of preparation and enjoyment are almost endless. Jams, chutneys, mostardas, pies, pickles, salads, spreads, sauces, and grilled, dried, poached, stewed, and macerated stone fruit recipes keep the mind bewildered and eager. The Oak Avenue Catering Napa Valley menus are best complemented by stone fruit season.

Try Executive Chef Shannon Kelly’s southern pickled peaches.

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups raw sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ½ cups distilled white vinegar
• 16ish medium sized peaches
• 8 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• ¾” medallion of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp mace (nutmeg will suffice)

Directions:

1. Sterilize 2 one-quart canning jars and their lids and sealing bands.
2. Bring water, vinegar and sugar to a boil, whisking until sugar dissolves.
3. In batches, cook peaches in pickling liquid. Cook 4-5 minutes until softened. Transfer peaches to a bowl.
4. Remove pickling liquid from heat.
5. Divide spices equally between sterilized canning jars.
6. Halve and quarter peaches, removing pits and brown spots.
7. Pack canning jars as tightly as possible.
8. Return pickling liquid to a boil. Pour pickling liquid over peaches until covered. Clean the rim of the jars with a lint-free dish towel and seal the canning jars.
9. Place the jars in a canning rack; submerge the rack in a canning pot of boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes.
10. Using tongs (very important) remove jars from the canning pot and cool overnight. Refrigerate any jars that did not seal (use within 4 weeks) and store the rest as long as you like.
11. Enjoy with vanilla bean ice cream, burrata salads, fried chicken, or with just about anything.

To discover more about Oak Avenue Catering and their work, please contact their team today at 707.963.9278 or for more information, visit www.oakavenuecatering.com.