SWEET SOUL APRICOT

The summer heat brings folks out for fresh fruit and Charlie Olson has been in the business for over 70 years, bringing apricots to Sunnyvale residents since his family moved to California over a century ago.   The apricot season is just two months long, June and July. The original family tradition was to open the day after the Fourth of July, however, now global warming brings early seasonal heat making the fruit ripen quicker. Now the season starts closer to the middle of June. “The heat makes the apricots cook on the trees,” he says “We have to pick them right as they change color.” A typical day runs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days per week. There are six hands to help sort the apricots which are picked and loaded into the tractor running from the orchard to the stand. “We have to sort by soft, sunburnt, small and regular.” Charlie says sorting is crucial to different tastes. For example, a sunburned apricot is generally sweeter with a crispy skin. These fruits are discounted as they do not keep as long as the younger apricots. Despite the hard work, he says the effort is worth it. “It really is a labor of love. It’s in my soul. Our goal is to make people happy — and we do.”