Market Notes
April 8th, 2021
RAMP ON!!
Ramp mania has begun. While we are still selling out every day, the amount of product will increase exponentially over the next three weeks and then wind down for the next three weeks following leaving us only with ramp bulbs. Pricing, volume and packing times will vary day by day but by the middle of next week we should be able to fill just about any size order with 24-hour notice. Be it delivery by van Fed-Ex or pick up at your favorite airport cargo facility, we can provide fresh product fast. Several customers have pre-ordered specific amounts for shipping every week to make sure they get what they need. Pricing is adjusted to reflect drops as they occur. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the deal and makes it easy. Ramps are harvested in West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan. All indications are that we will have a full season and great volume. Although nothing can make up for the tragedy of last season, this season will be healthy as our country moves toward the same. So, ramp on and ring up!
SPRING THINGS
The foraging season is getting off to a slow start this year. Everything is a bit late. Lower precipitation hasn’t created quite the spring “pop” we so often enjoy. That does not mean there is nothing out there, just slow in coming on and not large volumes. Nettles are being picked daily, miners’ lettuce (Claytonia) seem to want to stay small but we have some, and wild onions are abundant. Fiddlehead Ferns, the lady variety, from Oregon are looking good with supply growing rapidly. These are not quite as sweet as the East Coast ostrich variety that will be available in a month. However, they cook up crispy and tasty offering a great seasonal alternative. Cattail Shoots and garlic scapes in the weeks to come. Stay tuned.
SPECIALTY PRODUCE NOTES FROM ALL OVER
Baby squash is on a temporary hiatus. After disking fields and fields of baby squash growers greatly reduced the amount and the frequency of baby green and baby yellow patty pan. From what we are hearing it will be another ten days before any good volume will be available from Mexico. Guatemala seems to be following the same pattern. Purple A potatoes are scarce and it looks like it is going to be while before we see good quality product. Most of the sizes are running small and the ones that do quality have a lot of russeting. While there is new crop coming on later this month, we have not heard of many round purple crops in the ground. Expect higher pricing and limited availability until October. Morel mushroom which used to be a telltale sign of spring have globally disappeared. Dry ground is the reason for lack of domestic foraging and we are not sure why the imports have vanished.
NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???
I am a native to the Alps, but along with my 50 relatives have been grown throughout Europe and in the USA as well. We are all sweet members of the parsley family. I am totally consumable. From roots to seeds and stems to leaves there is always a use for us. I have both medicinal and culinary properties. Before dinner I am used to flavor the Vermouth in your perfect martini. During dinner my young shoots will be blanched and added to your salad, or perhaps the bread you are eating is made with dough from my ground roots. In Greenland my foliage is eaten as a vegetable. For dessert, you’ll find my crystallized stems on the cake or used as a sweetener in stewed rhubarb or custards. After dinner it’s my seeds that flavor your apéritif if you are drinking Chartreuse or Benedictine. Medicinally I am used as an anti-inflammatory, and I out sell Alka-Seltzer in China. Though my name may imply it, I still haven’t earned my wings.
The answer to last weeks quiz was…RAMBUTAN…Congrats to all winners
Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702 Visit us at www.culinaryproduce.com “like” us @ Culinary Specialty Produce on Facebook© Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2020