Market Notes
July 11, 2019
TOMATO TORNADO
In no way do we mean to belittle the concern behind the terrible forecasted storms in the southeast. In fact we are praying for the people and property in and around New Orleans wishing them safety and no damage. So back to the tomatoes that are storming California. Heirlooms are in abundance. We have large heirlooms for slicing in a mix or by variety. Color is great and they are firm. We are have the baby heirlooms including teardrops, sweet 100’s, sun gold, red cherry, black cherry, and yellow grape. Several of these varieties are available in straight packs as well. Regular reds are available as gas green, vine ripe or hothouse. Dry farmed tomatoes have just begun and will become more abundant in the next week or two. Red plum tomatoes are abundant and the quality is great. The only tomatoes that are tight are the yellow slicing and yellow plum. They can be found but they are quite expensive and the availability is tight. So, if it is pouring tomatoes, it is misting yellows. Please contact your culinary rep for specific varieties and great deals.
FOODSERVICE PMA IN MONTEREY
The Produce Marketing Association will hold its annual foodservice conference and exhibition on Friday July 26 and Saturday July 27 in Monterey, California. As with all PMA conferences and expos of recent years, they have changed from 3 days to two days. Produce people from all near and far gather to glean from the latest and greatest innovations. Monterey offers all the benefits of a resort town including golf, boating, dining and many, many growers. Fortunately Culinary also has an office about a half hour north of the event and we would be thrilled to meet with any of our national customers. If you find yourself in the Watsonville area dealing with your berry growers we are next door. We will also meet you for a drink or a bite in the Monterey Bay area should you have time. If you have a few spare hours we encourage you to visit Andy’s Orchards in Morgan Hill. It’s an experience you won’t forget and we’ll join you. Please feel free to check with our main office for available times or contact or California office directly at 831-288-0980. We hope to see you here.
NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHAT AM I??
We’ve been raised hard, not soft. From years on the ground our skin has grown tough, not thin. You have one narrow window of opportunity to eat us, but you’ll be robbing the cradle. Some desperate folk steal our unripe, 3 to 4-inch children. Can you imagine! Our roots are thick, tough and ancient. People in Africa call some of us “woo lo gwa”. Our exact origins are a mystery. It’s a toss-up between Africa and South America, or perhaps we were old enough to have originated on Pangaea. Either way our seeds arrived from one continent to the other via ocean currents. We were cultivated in North America over 8,000 years ago and in South America/Africa over 12,000 years ago. But today we can be found growing all over the world, some of us in trees but most of us on vines. We are fruits believe it or not, and we produce flowers that are white. We come in all sizes, shapes and colors, with lumps, bumps, knobs, protrusions, warts, and grooves. With all these complexion problems we are still admired for our beauty, or perhaps our extreme ugliness. We have so many shapes that we have developed numerous functional uses. For soup, we can be the soup, the ladle, the bowl or all three. Some of us are shaped like basketballs, but we don’t bounce, so don’t try. Others of us look like bananas but you can’t bite into them raw, and they don’t peel. Our Canteen cousin is aptly named as it can be used to carry water. Many family members are shaped like a Club, and some are carved into breadbaskets. We also come in a Nine-Gallon size, my largest form. Some of us are called Apple, but not of your eye. Some of us are called snake, but we won’t slither by. We may not be as high in potassium and carotene as some of our relatives, but we are still a good source of fiber. We have small amounts of calcium, magnesium and a bit of iron and zinc. When ripe we have fair amounts of vitamin C and folic acid.
Answer to this weeks quiz will be posted on 7-18 Market Notes
Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702
Visit us at www.culinaryproduce.com.
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Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2015