It’s that time of year again – the time all pie and preserves makers as well as any peach-lover in general anticipates all year long. The ninth annual Bella Viva Orchards’ Great Peach Event is just a couple weeks shy of arriving and it’s going to be flavorful. We’ll head straight from our orchards with truckloads of beautiful premium, fresh peaches and be at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and the Alemany Farmers Market in San Francisco on July 29, 2017. From there, it only gets better. We’ll be offering a one-day only sale of one layer LA lugs (about 12 lbs) of big, juicy peaches for around half the normal cost. Amongst
Stone Fruits & Thinning: At Bella Viva we have the best stone fruit around! This doesn’t happen by accident. Our team diligently cares for the trees all year, from soil and leaf testing to fertilizing and amending and finally pruning and thinning. Currently we are hard at work thinning the trees that will soon bare delicious stone fruit. This process ensures the maximum flavor, sweetness and size of each and every fruit left on the tree. Our passion for quality also means waiting for our apricots, plums, peaches and nectarines to reach their peak, prior to harvest. Last but certainly not least, proprietary drying
The Holidays Are Almost Here! At Bella Viva, we can already smell the holidays approaching quickly. Lately, our family has been enjoying the aroma of fresh baked goods, using Bella Viva dried fruit as a secret ingredient. We hope your home is also filled with baking, love and cheerfulness during this special season. We invite you to share some holiday joy with our lovely gift baskets, holiday trays and specialty chocolates. But for us, that holiday cheer also comes in the form of baked goods. From scones to muffins, and even fruitcake, our dried fruit and nuts add a bit of “wow” to your
Description This recipe comes from our family to yours. Beatrice Martino, the sister of our owner Victor Martino, created this wonderful no-bake fruit cake years ago and it has been a family staple ever since. It doesn’t feel like Christmas until this tasty desert is made. It has been passed on from Beatrice to Victor’s wife, Angela Martino, who makes the fruit cake every year. She calls it a “holiday must”. Happy Holidays from all us at Bella Viva! Ingredients: -2 pounds mixed of Bella Viva Dried Yellow Peaches, White Nectarines, and Apricots. -1 pound Marshmallows -1 pound Graham Crackers -¾ cup Canned Evaporated
Description Paul Decker of New York presented Bella Viva with this marvelous desert as an entry in our Online Bake Off. We awarded his recipe first prize ($100 Bella Viva Certificate) based on: taste, quality, revelant use of dried fruit and ease of baking. We invite you to experiment with any and all of our delectable dried fruits in this tasty desert recipe. Thanks Paul! Ingredients: -1 cup Bella Viva Dried Apricots or Dapple Dandy Pluots, chopped -1 cup Bella Viva Dried Peaches, chopped -1 cup Bella Viva Dried Cranberries and/or Golden Raisins -4 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced (skin on), 4-5 cups
Description At Bella Viva we love baking with our dried fruit! We have even diced our most delectable dried fruits for your convenience in the kitchen, including: Tangy Apricots, Yellow Peaches, White Peaches, Yellow Nectarines, White Nectarines, Pears, Dapple Dandy Pluots and Betty Anne Plums. Thanks to Mary A. of Sacramento for sending us this tasty recipe. Actually, I had the pleasure of making these scones with her. In today’s recipe we have used Bella Viva Diced Pears and Dapple Dandy Pluots but we invite you to be creative and use any and all of our diced fruits for your scones at home. You can
A Peachy Keen Time of the Year The sweet aroma of peaches in the Bella Viva dry yard is extra special this time of year. Although the peaches we harvest in June and July are tasty, the best ones come in August! We’re in the middle of harvest and the dry yard is bursting with a montage of beautiful, White and Yellow Peaches. With the California drought persisting, we were only able to provide half the water we normally distribute to our peach orchards. Typically, our peach trees need about 32 to 36 inches of water (per year) to yield a great crop. However,
Nectarines – A Deliciously Sweet, California Treat! The nectarine harvest is underway in our Bella Viva Orchards! Radiant colors marked with sun kissed spots let us know that the fruit is bursting with flavor and loaded with sweetness. We hand pick our nectarines, which allows us to closely monitor the fruit until they reach peak ripeness; a task that requires much more attention to detail while enduring the current drought conditions coupled with the recent high temperatures we are experiencing here in California. After the harvest, our proprietary drying process begins within 24 hours to ensure the best flavor and texture possible for our
Planting Bare Root Trees – Your Backyard Orchard The bounty of the harvest all begins with the preparation and planting of our orchards. Although our Bella Viva orchards are filled with hundreds of trees, consisting of many different varieties, it doesn’t take a lot of space to create your own “Backyard Orchard.” The best time of the year to plant your bare root fruit trees is during the winter months when they are dormant; before their buds swell and the rainy season saturates the ground. First, you will need to find an area in your yard that receives six or more hours of full
Description Thanks to Teresa F. of Iowa for share this tasty snack. It is great on toast with cream cheese. You could even try it over ice cream or frozen yogurt! Ingredients: 1 cup of water ½ cup sugar 2 chai teabags 1-2 small pieces of peeled raw ginger 6 Bella Viva dried peaches, Yellow or White Several drops of pure vanilla extract Instructions In a small saucepan, boil the water, sugar, chai teabags (Celestial Seasonings, Bigalow or store brand), and ginger together for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the peach slices and a few drops of vanilla. Let sit until peaches
