Market Notes
August 24, 2017
OCA SIGHTING
This wonderful tuber is a member of the sorrel family and has only grown in demand since domestic production has stopped. Oca has many names (in New Zealand they are simply known as yams) but are unique enough to use their unusual name. Oca, while being similar in nutrition, is not a potato. It is a tuber and a strange looking one at that. From a glance you might think that yellow Oca looks like turmeric or some exotic spice, but this tuber is very easy to work with. Boil with some citric acid to retain color or microwave it and done. That simple. The potato, carrot, sour cream flavor will amaze. Oca is also used for marmalade and while the tuber is the most popular, the stems and leaves are edible too. Oca is on display in the LA Market and this New Zealand import is packed in five kilo cases. Colors include, yellow, red and apricot. Expect this to be available for four to six weeks.
OFF-SHORE AND A LITTLE MORE
The problem is the peas, both snow and snap. Seasonal heavy rains in Guatemala have limited production causing Peruvian product to soar in demand. Price and availability are challenged. Asparagus remain expensive and larger sizes are being allocated as growing regions in Central Mexico shut down. While Northern Mexico has excellent production, that area cannot cover the deficit created by the south along with the Peruvian Winter. French beans and peeled carrots are steady and strong. Peruvian baby lettuce is covering while California heat stricken fields recover. Mangos and papayas are steady and strong from Peru. On the domestic side passion fruit and starfruit have begun Florida production.
FINGER LIME – MINE ALL MINE
Finger Limes are in season and have been for about a month. While we are struggling with our retail program due to production issues we have numerous sources for shipping direct. One of those options is the whopping one acre of our very own Finger Lime trees which are now ready for harvest. This is a bulk program only and it is nothing fancy, just pounds in a box. But the pricing is great, the product is organic and next week they will be ready to ship.
NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHAT AM I??
Don’t call me Spud! I am a card carrying member of the Convolvulaceae family and deserve your respect. I’m as old as the hills, and your species has only traced us back 12,000 years, (we knew the remains in the Peruvian caves were a clue), but we are a lot more than prehistoric Dino food. We are native to Central America. It was that lowly pirate Columbus who sacked us and stole away to Europe, his home, not ours. As far as the interlude in Polynesia goes, we’re still not talking. By the 15th Century, I was well known in China and the Philippines. By the 16th Century, I had become established in the southern United States. Above ground, I am a long creeping stem that can grow up to 16 feet and produce leaves that are often used in place of spinach. Although I have over 400 relatives, we are usually classified into two different categories, either firm and dry, or soft and moist. Always cooked and usually consumed whole as a starch, our amazing sugar content (3%-6%), inspires additional uses in cakes, pies, breads, puddings, marmalades, cookies and muffins. I have a thin edible skin that can be rough and can be white, yellow, orange, red, or purple. My flesh ranges in color from white to yellow to orange. The darker my color the greater my content of Vitamin A, of which I am an excellent source. I am also a good source of potassium and vitamin C.
Answer To Last Week’s Quiz…PURPLE…Congrats To All Winners
Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702
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Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2015