Have you ever been to the J & P Cosentino Family Farm? If you’re a foodie who’s been in the Bay Area for a while, you might remember the incomparable quality of groceries at the Cosentino’s Markets or the insightful broadcasts on KLIV radio’s Produce Report by Mr. Produce himself, Phil Cosentino. While the famous fresh food family has stepped back from the spotlight in its members retirement years, you can still enjoy the taste of delicious Cosentino quality produce from the J & P Cosentino Family Farm!
Drop by 4977 Carter Ave in San Jose’s Cambrian district and you’ll see a welcoming, permanent, open-air farm stand offering fresh-picked produce at J & P Cosentino Family Farm. On busy weekends, you’re more likely to meet a member of the family working the stand or adding fresh produce and, if you’re lucky, sharing nuggets of their bountiful fresh-produce know-how. Usually the stall is unmanned with a slot for cash payments or a recently added Venmo for digital payment, and you can take a flier home with the production season schedule on it so that you’ll never miss persimmon or loquat season again.
What can you buy at the J & P Cosentino Family Farm?
The majority of produce available at the J & P Cosentino Family Farm is tree fruit, with unbelievably juicy, sweet varieties, many of which are from rare heirloom trees. The farm also sells local honey year-round, as well as dried apricots, and other seasonal fruits and veggies, such as grapes, garlic, and summer squash, as they come into season.
This is possibly the last working orchard in San Jose proper (although the Tsukuda Fruit Stand in North San Jose may be another). Established in 1945, the J&P Farm may feel like a figment of the past that was the Valley of Heart’s Delight. As the Valley developed, the farm was pared down from 10-acres to 2 (source) and it’s neighboring farms changed to suburban homes and highway 85. It’s new neighbors, however, are big fans and hope to enjoy Jean and Phil Cosentino’s gourmet foods for a long time to come.
Back in 2019 we went to J&P Farms on a mild Sunday in August when the stall was bustling with people picking and packing gobs of fresh fruit. When we asked Phil about the orchard, he invited us to walk through it ourselves (do not go into the orchard unless you are invited to do so). The photos in this post are from that visit. As you can see, both the trees and the stall were bursting with produce!
The Farm is still open daily at this time, and to shop safely they require only one household at a time to shop in the stall and provide hand sanitizer. We have been there a few times since March and have felt perfectly safe, especially since we’ve been using Venmo to have a no-contact shopping experience.
J & P Cosentino Family Farm is sometimes referred to J & P Farms Gourmet Foods
4977 Carter Ave, San Jose, CA 95118
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