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Nectarinelove SWEETBASILANDTHEBEE According to Wayne Sherman, a horticulturist at the University of Florida, a nectarine is a mutation of peach from fuzzy skinned to not- fuzzy skinned. Peaches and nectar- ines essentially have the same genes. A peach tree will produce peaches if it inherits the dominant, fuzz -pro- ducing gene, but it will make nectar- ines if it gets the recessive or hair- less version of the gene. The recessive gene also produces more red color in the skin, rounder shape, smaller size, more sugars, more acids and higher density, which pretty much describes all the things I like about nectar- ines: More flavor, less fuzz; they are both sweeter and more acidic than peaches, and they are firmer when they are at their peak ripeness and flavor. Ripeness is an important consid- eration: A ripe nectarine is sublime, while an unripe one is insipid and woody. Ripen nectarines on a plate in a cool dark area of the house for a day or two. Best is to buy them from a farmer who has picked them at the edge of being ready-to-eat, wait a day, and enjoy. Another virtue is by default: It's harder and harder to find a really great peach; nectarines seem to be more consistently good. The most civilized way I've found to get good-looking slices out of a nectarine is to stand it on its bot- tom with the seam facing you, then slice off the plump, round east cheek, the round west cheek, the north and south narrow longitudinals and fi- nally that nubbin between the pit and the nectarine's bottom. Viola! Presentable nectarine slices with very little waste. It's not necessary to peel nectar- ines; the skin enhances the flavor and adds color to the dish you are pre- paring. Nectarines are best eaten out of hand, but feel free to substi- tute nectarines in any recipe call- ing for peaches. They can be grilled, poached, infused into drinks, baked in cakes, pies, and tarts, layered with biscuits for shortbread, layered in a trifle, and chopped into homemade ice cream. Nectarines are compatible with apricots, cherries, almonds, citrus, berries, and spices like vanilla, cin- namon, and cloves. In savory dishes, pair nectarines with basil, cilantro and arugula, hazelnut and pistachio nuts and oils, aged cheeses like Par- mesan and fresh cheeses like ricotta and burrata, sausages. bacon and grilled salmon. A truly outstanding variety is the Red Lion King of Nectarines brand sold only at Safeway. Oversize, and deep red, the Red Lions have a seduc- tive aroma that will stop your cart in produce, until you find the source. Ripe in store, Red Lion nectarines are the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, says Lionel Serimian: "It's easy to go for a nectarine that's super sweet, but you end up with a flavor that's mild and bland." ——— Tess Ward's recipe for nectarine and goat's cheese tartine with basil reminds her of summer holidays in the south of France. "At almost every meal we would have some variety of ashes-goats cheese, melting camembert and sliced fresh fruits to flop onto thick hunks of crusty baguette. It is quick tasty lit- tle bites like this that re-affirms my belief in simplicity with food. Clean, bold flavors that sing together. If you are new to the idea of nectarine and goats cheese, let me tell you, it is a match made in HEAVEN. "Weallknow theoldclassicofched- dar and apple. Well, this is a more fancy version." Nectarineandgoat'scheese tartine with basil Makes1 INGREDIENTS: 1largesliceoftoastedsourdoughbread 1/2 ripe nectarine (you can eat the other half) so goat's cheese a few basil leaves Extra virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper METHOD: Toast your hunk of sourdough. Slather it with goat's cheese, top with thin slices of nectarine. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, a good grinding of pepper and some baby basil leaves. ——— This next recipe from Sunset mag- azine combining barbecued chicken, nectarines and goat cheese with nut oils would be a perfect summer din- ner on a hot night. Grilledchickenandnectarine salad Serves 4 INGREDIENTS: 2/3 cup pecan halves 2quarts salad greens (8oz.), rinsed and crisped 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup walnut oil (or more vegetable oil) 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 4boned chicken breast halves with skin (2lb. total), rinsed, patted dry, and fat trimmed salt and pepper 2firm-ripe nectarines (12oz. total), rinsed, pitted, and thinly sliced 5ounces fresh chèvre (goat cheese), crumbled PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 350°. Spread pecans in a baking pan and bake until golden under skins, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Mound salad greens on four dinner plates. In a small bowl, stir vegetable oil,walnutoil,andvinegartoblend.Set aside. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pep- per. Lay on a lightly oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium-hot coals or medium-high heat on a gas grill. Close lid on gas grill. Cook chicken, turning oc- casionally, until meat is no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 15 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a cut- ting board. Remove skin if desired. Slice chicken across the grain inch thick; arrange over greens. Tuck nectarine aroundchicken.Scattergoat cheese and pecans over the top. Stir dressing; pour over salads. Add salt and pepper to taste. By Nancy Lindahl Straight-up,Iconfess—I love nectarines. It's an infatuation that has come late in life, and now that you know my bias, let me extoll their virtues: No fuzz. Nectarines have a firm grip on their pits. Slicing off the "cheeks" is the best way to free the fruit from the seed. PHOTOS BY NANCY LINDAHL Nectarine and goat's cheese tartine with basil. Can you imagine a world without IPAs? Wel- come to Europe. Here, craft beer culture is growing, with arti- sanal brew- eries pop- ping up rapidly in certain parts of the conti- nent. However, IPAs have yet to dominate the mar- ket — at least not in south- ern France and Spain. I just returned from three weeks there. I drank wine and cider, hunted mushrooms and rode a bicycle over the Pyre- nees mountain range. I also spent plenty of time browsing supermarket beer departments, look- ing for something to drink with my campsite dinners, and in the course of my travels I encountered a to- tal of four IPAs. Two of these were on draft in a snobby craft beer bar in Barcelona. An- other I found in a Barce- lona supermarket. The fourth was a double IPA from a small brewery in France's Perigord region, famous for its truffles, wal- nuts and foie gras. OK, so I exaggerated. France and Spain are not without IPAs. There are at least a few of them here. But to a born-and-raised Californian accustomed to seeing supermarket aisles stacked to the ceiling with IPAs, that is the staggering thing: There are just a few. And of the IPAs here that I found, they barely tasted like IPAs as we know them on the Ameri- can West Coast. They were malty and nutty, with some obvious hop-induced bitterness, but lacking the loud tropical fruit notes that American IPAs tend to carry. Alan Atha, at Baeltane Brewing Co. in Novato, fo- cuses mostly on making European-style beers. "But when it comes to making IPAs, I am all West Coast — low malt profile, clean yeast and tons of hops," Atha says. I could have used such a refreshing-sounding beer on a blazing hot af- ternoon in the small Perigord village of St. Julien de Lampon, af- ter hunting for chante- relles all morning in tick- thick forests. But the Dor- dogne Valley Double IPA, frankly, did not hit the spot. It was good — but it wasn't the zesty IPA that Californians have been conditioned to crave. Though it was brewed with classic West Coast hops — Amarillo, Sim- coe, Chinook and Centen- nial — it drank like a bar- leywine, a dirty brown ale with upfront caramel, butterscotch and nut fla- vors. It was another 10 days before I spotted my sec- ond IPA, in a small coastal suburb of Bar- celona. It was another scorcher of a day, and as my brother and I ped- aled our luggage-heavy bi- cycles through the Span- ish heat, we stepped into a posh supermarket look- ing for our midday pic- nic makings and found the Art Cervesa La Indi- ana IPA Catalana. It was the only IPA the store had in its beer department, and we grabbed it. Again, however, it tasted less like a thirst-quenching West Coast IPA than we hoped it would. The beer was dominated by those nutty, malty flavors, with just subtle traces of bit- ter hop flavors — the clas- sic marks of what brew- ers know as the English- style IPA. Dave McLean, founder and brewmaster of Mag- nolia Brewing Co. in San Francisco, follows English and German brewing tra- ditions. He has traveled and tasted beer in Eu- rope and says only some nations — including Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the Scandinavian coun- tries — are showing inter- est in craft beer. In these areas, IPAs are not nec- essarily dominating the market. McLean points to Italian brewers. "They're using ingre- dients like chestnuts and certain herbs, but they aren't really moving in the big hop-centric IPA di- rection," he says. As for southern France and Spain, McLean says it may be too early in the craft beer revolution to know what sorts of beer the people there prefer. That's because, aside from a few mainstream brands, they barely drink beer at all — not like we do, any- way. "I think you need a big- ger sample size," McLean suggests. Perhaps I will return next year and browse the French and Spanish su- permarkets again, study- ing their beer collections and watching closely for local IPAs. My guess is that, for many years to come, one will be hard- pressed to find an IPA in these parts, and that it will be easier to find chanterelles in the woods. ContactAlastairBland'at allybland79@gmail.com. THROUGH THE HOPVINE Not everyone loves IPAs as much as Americans Alastair Bland PHOTO BY ALASTAIR BLAND This French double IPA was found in the Dordogne Valley town of Souillac. Of the IPAs here that I found, they barely tasted like IPAs as we know them on the American West Coast. 365-7194 or 365-4322 OPEN 7 DAYS 6am-10pm 8080 AIRPORT ROAD Your full service: Meat Department, Deli & Groceries www.kentsmeats.com On-site HARVESTING CUTTING & CRYOVACING FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 22, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4