June 6th, 2024 | Culinary Produce

Market Notes June 6th, 2024

A VERY CHERRY CHERRY REVIEW

Life is just a bowl of cherries, so the song goes, but what kind of cherries are they? Bing? Tulare? Rainier? Morello? Sweetheart? We decided to take a look at three varieties of Bing cherries, organic, conventional, and Andy’s in a blind taste test. We checked for sugar, firmness, and taste and aftertaste. A few things were apparent in all varieties. Cherries have a fuller richer taste at room temperature, and size does not affect flavor. Starting with conventional Bing cherries, they had a brix of 19. The cherry was firm and both the sweet and the tart were distinctive. The aftertaste was on the acid side and not pleasant. Next up are the Organic Bing cherries, they had a brix of 20. The flavor was stronger and although slightly sweeter than the conventional brix, the tartness here prevailed. Strong aftertaste some thought pleasant, others not so much. For curiosity we also tested Rainier cherries. They had a brix of 18 and everyone agreed that they were a much milder flavor, almost bland but has quite a nice aftertaste. This is a low acid cherry. Then there is Andy’s. The brix here is 23, and the blend is sublime. These cherries have complex rich flavors and a very smooth almost silky aftertaste. A notable difference that was both unique and desirable, which is great because Andy’s Orchard has these cherries available for shipping in five pound, ten pound, or clamshell cases for FOB or air freight. Like most of Andy’s fruit these Bing cherries are special indeed. Now you know. Phone lines are open, bring it! Give your life the right bowl.

TRANSITION TRANSITION….TRANSITION

Our last load of the season from Oregon shipped out and has arrived at our distribution point in Pennsylvania. We have a few hundred scheduled for LA delivery and that’s it, over, done, see ya next year. The transition will be seamless as far as availability is concerned. Our next product out of central California is ready to ship, but there will be a few differences. First, the product is museum quality. These potatoes are so clean it’s kind of hard to believe they came from underground. We have the San Joaquin Valley to thank for that, and we guess the growers had something to do with it as well. Second, the product is certified organic. And just in case you are asking, yes we are a certified organic non-handling handler. Finally, and you were probably waiting for this, the price is up. We can’t help but raise our prices as the FOB is up and transportation is way up. We have been covering slight increases and gas surcharges for years now but in order to continue to do this we have to increase the price. Think of a number somewhere between three and four and you’ll get there. Add to this we believe there will be a lot of inexpensive storage potatoes that growers hope to move but this is new crop and the differences will be obvious. We will contact each of our customers individually about the increases for this organic product ( see what we did there?) that will start distribution by the end of next week. Price hikes are never good, but we do have the quality to back it up. In the meantime, you might want to pick up the last of the Oregon product while it is still in stock.

NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???

Grown in hot regions all over the world, I am the most popular of all tropical fruits. Carib Indians hung me either whole or a crown of my leaves above the entrance to their huts as a sign of welcome and a promise of food and drink. I am native to the lowlands of Brazil and spread throughout the world easily propagated by cuttings. I have dwarf siblings whose core is completely edible, and I have monster parents who weigh over eleven pounds each. If you want me to be sweet, you better pick me ripe because I have no reserve of starch to convert to sugar. I can be used fresh, sautéed, broiled, grilled, frozen, chunked, rung, or juiced. I am famous as a cake, but you would have to stand on your head to see me. I have also been used as a sore throat remedy and a meat tenderizer. Recently, I am a headless fan of pink.

The answer to last weeks quiz is…CROSNES….Congrats to all winners Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa, Matty, or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702 Visit us at www.culinaryproduce.com “like” us @ Culinary Specialty Produce on Facebook