Product Overview
Guava
One of the most gregarious of fruit trees, the Guava, of the Myrtle family, is almost universally known by its common English name or its equivalent in other languages. In Spanish, the tree is guayabo or guayavo, and the fruit guayaba or guayava. A small tree to 33 feet high, with spreading branches, the Guava is easy to recognize because of its smooth, thin, copper-colored bark that flakes off, showing the greenish layer beneath; and also because of the attractive aspect of its trunk, which may in time attain a diameter of 10 inches. The leaves, aromatic when crushed, are evergreen, oval and somewhat irregular in outline being from 5 to 15 centimeters long. They are wide, leathery, with conspicuous parallel veins, and more or less downy on the underside. Faintly fragrant, the white flowers, borne singly or in small clusters in the leaf axils, are 1 inch wide, with 4 or 5 white petals, which are quickly shed, and a prominent tuft of perhaps 250 white stamens tipped with pale-yellow…
Gold Nugget Mandarin
In Season from December until February. ‘Gold Nugget’ Mandarin is consistently seedless in mixed plantings with a wide variety of other citrus cultivars, including mandarins, pummelos, and oranges. The fruit has a rich, sweet taste and bright orange rind at maturity. The fruit are slightly flat, about 2 inches high and 2.5 inches in diameter, and weigh 2.5 to 5.3 ounces. Younger trees tend to have larger fruit than older trees, but it is likely that the size of fruit on older trees can be increased by pruning or thinning. In Riverside and the San Joaquin Valley of California, fruit reach maturity in January or February and hold well on the tree with little granulation into April or even June in some years. Early in the season, fruit may develop rind color, acceptable solids and acid ratio but still have a juice percentage too low for acceptable eating quality. Rind color changes from green to bright orange between December 15 and January 10 in most years. Rinds tend to be coarse,…
Sweet Lime
Sweet Lime is native to Eurasia and North Africa, and also cultivated in the Mediterranean region. It goes by many names, including Mediterranean sweet lemon, sweet limetta and also just sweet lemon. The fruit is edible, and contains essential oils; the tree is used for ornamental purposes. It is not known where or how the sweet lime originated, but it is thought to be a hybrid between a Mexican-type lime and a sweet lemon. The fruit is not at all similar to the Mexican lime. Sweet limes look very similar to regular limes, but are more yellowish-green in color. The tree, its foliage, and the form and size of the fruit resemble the Tahiti lime. It is a small tree, which may reach up to 26 feet in height. It has irregular branches, and relatively smooth, brownish-grey bark. It possesses numerous thorns, which grow up to 3 inches long. It has leaflets rather than leaves which are serrated and wingless. These leaflets are obovate and 5.5 to 17 centimeters long, while being 2.8 to 8…
Meyer Lemon
The Meyer Lemon is native to China and was introduced to the United States in 1908. It is commonly known as the fresh cooking lemon. Thought to be a cross between a true lemon and either a mandarin or a common orange, the Meyer Lemon has a sweet and mild lemon flavor. Thinner skin means that this special lemon has a large quantity of juice for its size. Like most things grown on a smaller scale they are tastier. The smooth skin is a bit thinner and wonderful for candied zests or any recipe calling for zest. Meyer Lemon trees are around 6 to 10 feet tall at maturity, though they can be pruned smaller. Their leaves are dark green and shiny. The flowers are white with a purple base and fragrant. The fruit is yellow and rounder than a true lemon. The skin is fragrant and thin, colored a deep yellow with a slight orange tint when ripe. Meyer Lemon fruits have a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common Lisbon lemon or Eureka grocery store varieties. The pulp is…
Kumquat
In season from December until March. Kumquats are the fruits that are produced from small evergreen trees that grow up to 10 feet. Although the trees are native to Asia, specifically in China and Indochina, they are also grown in Japan and in the United States, in warmer states such as California and Florida. Although many trees are grown for their edible fruits, they are also used as ornamental plants because of their shiny leaves and delicate white flowers that bloom in the summer. Cut branches of the Kumquat tree are also used in certain regions as Christmas decorations. Because of their diverse use, the trees are becoming popular to grow at home. The tree produces small fruits that look similar to oranges. They are juicy and have a sweet outer skin with a sour inner flesh. You can easily identify a Kumquat by its bright color, which is either orange or yellow. They are about 2 inches in length and are either oval or round in shape depending on the type of Kumquat grown. The…
Buddha Hand Citrus
Buddha Hand is a fragrant citron whose fruit is shaped into finger-like sections. It is also known as Fingered Citron or Bushukan in Japan. They grow on small evergreen trees with long branches covered in thorns. Its leaves are large and pale green and grow up to six inches, while the tree itself grows from three to five feet. The flowers on it are white and have a purplish tint and grow in clusters. It has a thick peel and only a small amount of flesh. It is juiceless and sometimes seedless yet very fragrant. Buddha Hand Citrus is used mainly by the Chinese and Japanese for perfuming rooms and also used during New Years for it is believed to give good fortune to a household. The peel can also be candied into succade. In Western cooking, it is often used for its zest. The inner pith is not bitter as with other citruses, so the “fingers” may be cut off and then sliced long ways and used in salads or scattered over cooked foods such as fish. Scholars believe that sometime…
Tejocote
Tejocote is a species of hawthorne sometimes referred to as “Mexican Hawthorne” because this small tree grows all over Mexico. The tree grows 16 to 30 feet tall, with a dense crown. The leaves are semi-evergreen, oval to diamond-shaped, and up to 3 inches long. The flowers are off-white with the fruit being a round to oval shape. They are orange-red pomes 2 centimeters long and 1.5 centimeters in diameter, ripening in late winter only shortly before the flowers of the following year. Tejocotes have three or sometimes more hard brown seeds in the center. In size and shape, it resembles a crab apple and, like apples, it is a winter fruit in Mexico. The fruit is eaten in Mexico raw, cooked and also sold canned in syrup. Tejocote is also a main ingredient used in “ponche”, the traditional Mexican hot fruit punch that is served at Christmas time and on New Year's Eve, as well as being used on Day of the Dead where the fruit as well as candy prepared from it are used as offerings…
Arrayan
In season from February until April. Arrayánes were highly valued in ancient Greece and offered to Venus, goddess of love. During the early Olympic Games winners were distinguished with a crown made from the leaves of this tree, and to this day, it is also given to brides and grooms in some countries. Eleven species of Arrayán are present today in Mexico. The name for the Arrayán tree comes from the Arabic Ar-Rayhan or Rihan. It is known in english as Sartre Guava. The Arrayán tree contains Mirtol in its leaves and fruit, because of its composition and properties it is similar to the Eucalyptus and both species belong to the same botanic family. Arrayánes are an uncommon fruit tree that may reach up to 30 feet and is a slender tree with smooth bark the color of which may vary from almost white to grayish green. Its blossoms are white and very aromatic, similar to the guava blossom but smaller. The leaves of the tree are very thin and shiny, measuring approximately 1.5…
About Us
Serrato Farms is a family owned business that has been operating since 1990 in Southern California specializing in exotic foreign fruits originating from many different continents. Involved in farm and ranch management since 1984, Jaime Serrato’s passion for farming began to grow and so did his interest for growing different types of exotic fruits that were not readily available in our country. Serrato Farms began planting two different types of Guavas, Bangkok and Mexican variety which are grown without chemicals and free of any treatments. Several years later his interest for Tejocotes grew and so the planting of this fruit began. There was a big ethnic population in Southern California, so Jaime felt there was a good market to cater to. Jaime’s interest for exotic fruits brought him to plant Kumquats, Buddha Hands, Clementine Mandarins, Gold Nugget Mandarins, Jujube, Meyer Lemon, Sweet Lime, Arrayán and Reed Avocados are amongst his favorites.
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