Autumn

What’s picked in autumn

Autumn is when everything starts. After August, the only month when citrus rests completely, mandarins come back in September and within a few weeks the shop is full again. It is by far the time of year with the most variety: the fruit that’s starting and the summer vegetables, which are still going.

September and October: mandarins and persimmons

Mandarins are the first. Okitsu opens in September, and Oronules and Marisol arrive in October. Their colour is still patchy, because the skin finishes taking on its tone with the cold nights, and early in autumn those haven’t set in yet; the flavour, on the other hand, is already there. October also brings Persimon persimmons, which have the shortest season in the whole catalogue: October, November and December, and then not until next year.

November: the first oranges

Navelina opens the orange season in November, or at the end of October if the year comes early. It’s the easiest variety of all: sweet, low in acidity and easy to peel. Clemenules overlaps with it, and that’s the best moment to order the mixed box: oranges and mandarins cut on the same day.

The market garden, between two seasons

The summer vegetables carry on until October: aubergine, Italian frying pepper, green chilli, habaneros and hot peppers. At the same time the winter ones begin: Chinese cabbage and roasting pumpkin come in during October, and butternut squash carries on from the summer. It’s all in vegetables.

Why September fruit isn’t the same as January fruit

Citrus gains sugar from the contrast between a mild day and a cold night. Early in autumn that contrast is still gentle, so the fruit is good but not at its peak; in December and January, with properly cold nights, it tastes more concentrated. It’s not that one is bad and the other good: it’s the cycle, and that’s why seasonal fruit makes sense when it’s eaten at its moment.

If you order in the first weeks

Mandarin skin may come with green patches and persimmons arrive firmer. Neither is a defect —skin colour depends on the night-time cold, not on how ripe the fruit is— but it’s worth knowing so you’re not surprised when you open the box.

When to order

Because we cut to order, there’s no stock that sells out by mid-afternoon: either it’s in season or it isn’t. What does change is the quality within the season itself, so if you’re especially fond of something, order it in its good weeks rather than at the end, when it’s already on its way out.

Between cutting, packing the box and the courier leaving, 24-48 hours go by, in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. You can put several things in the same delivery: tell us in the order notes how much of each you’d like.