land of fruit and nuts n. California. Editorial Note: A reference to both the agricultural bounty of California and the stereotypical image of Californians as being other than normal, fruit n., ‘a crazy person’ and nuts adj., ‘crazy.’ Usually jocular but sometimes derogatory. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
If you’re madder than a peach orchard boar you’re angry indeed, or otherwise engaging in wild, unrestrained behavior similar to boars or pigs being let loose to gorge themselves on fallen fruit. Variations include crazier than a peach orchard boar...
The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook (Bookshop|Amazon) by Niki Segnit features delicious writing about combinations of foods and spices to inspire culinary creativity. This is part of a complete...
I can’t cite any old print references, but that phrase was current in the 1940s.
This is, indeed, an oldie but goodie – we used to say California was like granola- nuts, fruits and flakes.
The only time I’ve ever heard of this phrase was in direct reference to San Francisco. Where fruit meant gay people and nuts meant crazy people. Perhaps because I grew up in California I’ve only heard this version.