Single Tree News: May 2024

Lucious Loquats

I ran out of fig jam. I really didn’t want to go back to the market with only two flavors of jam to choose from, but what fruit ripens in April? The answer: Loquats. If you are like me, I had never tasted a loquat before. But there are a couple of loquat trees at the entrance to our neighborhood. By the time I got to them, most of them had already been harvested, but I was able to get one that looked pretty good. When I took a bite, I was amazed at the experience. The flesh was fairly firm, similar to a pear. But the flavor was strong, tangy, and citrusy. I decided right then and there that I had to make some loquat jam.

But where to find a loquat donor? I had been posting in some of my social media groups that I was looking for a loquat tree owner that wanted to unload their surplus, but no luck. One day I was going for a walk, and I noticed a loquat tree in a neighbor’s yard, just a few houses down from mine. I knew the owners (Fernando and Jacqueline) but I did not have their phone numbers. As I went to knock on the door and inquire, I saw Jacqueline walking with her grandchildren, so I struck up a conversation and asked about her loquats. See told me that they would be happy for me to take as many as I wanted. Jackpot!

It turned out that they had three loquat trees, and I was able to harvest about 15 pounds of loquats from two of them. I washed them all, removed the stems, and set them out to dry. The next day I got to work. Some recipes include the loquat skin but for a smoother jam I decided to peel mine. One at a time I quartered each loquat and removed both the seeds and the peels. It was a time-consuming process that took me a few days to complete. Once the loquats were prepared, I froze them until I had an opportunity to make the jam to avoid spoilage.

Finally the day came to make the jam. I had studied the Ph and natural pectin levels of loquats and researched several recipes. From all this information and from my own experience from eating loquats, I formulated my own recipe. I had reserved one cup of prepared loquats to test my new recipe to see if it needed tweaking before making a larger batch. But I LOVED how it turned out! After considering some possible changes, I decided to keep it exactly as it was.

My 15 pounds of harvested loquats became 15 jars of jam. One for Jacqueline and 14 for me to sell. The flavor is nothing short of incredible. Bright and tangy, sweet and citrusy. I had told another of our neighbors about the project I had undertaken, and she asked me what the jam tasted like. I was at a loss for words, so I gave her a taste. After tasting it she said, “Save a jar of that for me.”

As I expected my new loquat jam turned out to be a best-seller at the Tallahassee Downtown Market. Most people were like me, having never tasted loquats (let alone loquat jam) before. But one mind-blowing taste was all it took to result in a sale.

I am going back to the market this weekend with only 3 remaining jars of loquat jam. Next year I plan to pounce on the loquat crop early as they only last on the tree for 1-2 weeks. It being such a good seller, I need to make a lot more. If you want to taste something really wonderful, order your jar of loquat jam from the Single Tree website today, while supplies last. I expect it will all be gone by the end of the market on Saturday.

In Other News…

• As noted above, I have a brand-new jam flavor: loquat! But it’s almost gone.
• My niece sent me this picture of her charcuterie from a recent party she had. She got rave reviews from her friends about the fig jam and the kumquat marmalade.
• Sadly, my peach tree has been thinned to the point that there are enough to make peach jam this year. Maybe next year.
• Quote of the month: A woman marched up to my tent at the market like she was on a mission. The first words out of her mouth were, “I blame you for the 5 pounds I’ve put on!” As she was purchasing another bag of granola she commented, “I wish I’d never met you.” I’m still not quite sure, but I think it was a compliment.