Published in the November 25 – December 8, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Mike Monroe
Mike Monroe
When there is a tingle of chill in the air and the clouds with their life-giving moisture sail through the skies, it seems almost instinctive to pay a visit to Andy’s Orchard in Morgan Hill. I enjoy a warm feeling inside my heart considering how fortunate I am to live in the Valley of Hearts Delight.
When I think of autumn, I imagine a simpler time when farmers gathered their crops and the countryside seemed so full of the bounty that the soil has provided. The harvest labors are almost done and the orchards are preparing for a well deserved rest. This is the season when Andy Mariani opens his family business for all to enjoy the fruits of his land.
Right after Thanksgiving, Andy’s Orchard’s Holiday Open House runs each weekend until Christmas. All his customers and friends are treated to a cornucopia of dried fruits, nuts and candies along with hot apple cider and eggnog. It doesn’t get much better than this.
I just had to stop by for a sneak preview on a rainy, blustery Sunday to say hello and ask if sugar plums were ready for tasting. I was not disappointed — they are so amazing. Andy told me that in times past that sugar plums were the most popular confection ever. His recipe for the filling is a combination of dried apricots, walnuts, almonds, fresh lemon juice, pure honey and raw sugar. This mouth watering, decadent mix is then wrapped in a large, sweet dried plum. You must savor the richness of his sugar plums at least once in your lifetime.
Andy’s father, Joseph Mariani, arrived in the Santa Clara Valley in the early 1930s during Prohibition, which meant that his background with wine grapes and hopes of developing a vineyard business were not going to happen right away. Joseph worked as a commercial fisherman, but his love was always for the land. In 1957, the family purchased 40 acres on Half Road in Morgan Hill and farmed an orchard of mostly apricots.
Morgan Hill seemed to have the perfect climate for stone fruits such as apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums. With warm daytime temperatures but cooler evenings than the Central Valley, the local climate allows the fruit to remain on the trees longer and intensify the complex flavors of sweetness and acidity that burst upon the taste buds.
As a side note, Andy did tell me that 2015 was a poor harvest year because of the mild winter we experienced which especially impacted his cherry crop. Cherries need to have a certain number of days of freezing cold temperatures for the fruit to develop properly.
The number of varieties of fruit Andy’s Orchard produces is staggering — about 250 different types. And each is tree ripened for maximum flavor and picked five to seven times in small quantities by hand. I cannot express how much I enjoy the Blenheim apricot, a luscious fruit which is not fresh marketed because it is so delicate and because after they ripen spoilage comes quickly. Fresh is best, but Andy also dries the this ‘cot, setting the cut fruit out on large drying racks near his packing shed and letting the sun quickly preserve the flavor and nutritive value. They are just like candy to me.
If you are not able to join us on Dec. 13, I suggest paying a visit to Andy’s Orchard become an “action item” on your to-do list sometime this holiday season. You and your family might just make attending his open house an annual family tradition.
Keep on sauntering!
Mike Monroe is a business owner and naturalist. He is a docent for Santa Clara County Parks.
