Excerpt from the book Harvesting Excellence by Alain DuCasse

Ripe nectarines

The academic appearance of his scattered office -- filled with books, papers, and diplomas -- belied Art Lange's trade. Although a doctor in plant physiology (the study of plant growth and reproduction), Lange no longer spends his days in University lecture halls, but walking through nectarine orchards on his Honey Crisp Farm south of Fresno, California.

The son of a dairy farmer from Washington State, Lange now specializes in growing the nectarine, a firm and fuzzless peach, simply because it is something he has always wanted to do. Recalling the impressions of his childhood, he muses, "we had our own fruit trees, that's probably when I got my first taste of good fruit, and I never could understand why I couldn't get such sweet fruit in the grocery stores."

He now knows why. Due to a short shelf life, "ripe fruit is a rare thing in our society," Lange contends. According to him, because people are not familiar with fully mature fruits, they have little idea what to do when they find them, "even if ripe fruits were on the shelves, people would squeeze them to death." He laughingly recalls a woman who, making her way through a display of his ripe nectarines, ruined every one. "When I asked what she was doing," Lange tells, "the woman responded, 'I'm trying to find a really good one."

By waiting until the last minute to harvest, at the peak of ripeness, Lange has been able to capture the most intense flavors of all the fruits he grows.

"I pick the fruits, on average, about one week to ten days after my neighbors pick the same variety," Lange asserts. "In other words, they are commercial growers."

While Lange markets the nectarines and other fruits he grows at the ranch, including peaches, apricots, and plums, he does so only to farmers' markets across California, through a professional distributor, or, more recently, by mail order. In light of the fruits' delicate condition, commercial handling would literally tear them apart.

A ripe fruit, though more difficult to manage, releases the richest concentration of flavor and juice. By virtue of staying on the tree longer, the fruit has had time to collect additional sugar. "That's what makes the fruit so delectable," Lange enthuses. The buyer has only to eat the fruit promptly to enjoy its best qualities.

The grower, on the other hand, has the more difficult task of deciding when the fruit is ready for harvest. To get the best specimen, "take the fruit when the base color is right and the skin has lost some of its shine and gently tug, but don't press. If it resists, it is probably not ripe," Lange instructs. "Smell it," he urges, noting that the flavor should come through the skin. "Take a bite," he finally directs, a slight smile curving the corners of his mouth. Some of the ripest fruit may not be the most beautiful, "but man, it's so sweet," he exhales.

Lange's older trees produce 30 different varieties of nectarines. All display different textured fleshes, colors -- varying from white to yellow -- and aromas, ranging from an almost gamy intensity to ambrosia sweetness.

Out of all his fruits, Lange favors the snowqueen nectarine -- a fragile, sweet fruit with a nice balance between acid and sugar. He smiles mischievously, "you really have to take a bit of it. It's the only way to know if it is truly ripe." An invitation few people refuse.