Cayenne Pepper

Named after the town of Cayenne in French Guinea this cultivar of capsicum annuum generally rates between 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scolville Unit. Normally used in its dried and ground form, fresh it is a staple of Szechuan cuisine. Not normally available commercially, I grew these from seed in my apartment in Irvine, CA. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Chokecherry / Prunus virginiana / Capulín / Capolcuahuitl

A relative of the cherry and native to North America and Mexico, about size of a blueberry these guys tasted like a sweet cherry with a tannic bite. I was excited to find these since I have never seen them available commercially. Found on the tree in Garden Grove Ca thanks to Noe. Photo by Chris Mathews

Loquat

This was my third run-in with Loquats. However, this was the first time that I experienced their true flavor profile and felt they were worth writing about. Typically harvested too early due to their extremely fragile nature, the ones that I have tried in the past have not been representative of their real taste. Additionally, they are normally overpriced. With the fact that they are grown in backyards all over Southern California it's weird that I have never tasted a good one, but these were a different story. I found these at a Persian market in South Orange County and they were obviously from a local backyard orchard. Additionally, these were affordable at about $4 per pound and sold in prepacked clam shell boxes. The taste is similar to an apricot, apple and orange blend, and had the consistency of an apricot with a thick skin that I decided to remove. They were light and refreshing. Found at Crown Valley Market Mission Viejo, CA. Photo by Chris Mathews.

Black Velvet Apricot

This golf ball sized aprium (apricot plum hybrid) has a cool looking almost black skin with fine fuzz, a sweet apricot flavor and a tangy plum skin. Found at Gelsons Irvine Ca. Photo by Chris Mathews

Lychee

Originally native to China and about the size of a walnut, theses had a sweet perfume tropical flavor with a juicy dense flesh. Found at Crown Valley market in Mission Viejo Ca . photo by Chris Mathews

San Francisco's China Town

red and green grapes, mini ataulfo mangoes, golden kiwis, Hawaiian papayas, red prickly pears, cherries, lychees and longans. photo taken at sf china town by chris mathews.

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