Market Notes June 18, 2020
POTATO NOTES
We are pleased to announce that we found a home for the last of our Harvest Moon Purpellow potato. We remain convinced that this beautiful purple skinned potato with its blinding yellow flesh will continue to grow in popularity. This all-purpose potato has every attribute, beautiful skin, stunning flesh, and a flavor better than any yellow flesh potato on the market. Go ahead, try and prove us wrong. Unfortunately some of the crop will go to the buffalo but we will have a lot of new fans for next year’s crop. All we have left in Colorado are yellow fingerlings and we will run them until our neighbors new crop starts in mid- July from New Mexico. Any gaps for our east coast distribution will be covered by California crop. Speaking of California crop, ours is up and looking fantastic. Most potato growers in California are humming, and Big “L” is no exception. With no serious weather issues, we are digging up exceptionally clean product that almost shines. We offer all colors, a three color mix, conventional and organic. These potatoes load direct out of Edison or can travel overnight to anywhere in or around the LA Market area. If the shipping were not so incredibly expensive, we would offer these to our east coast customers to cover the Colorado gap, but we’ll have to see how these numbers pan out. Organic round, from marbles to small B’s are available from many packing houses on the west coast and pricing is pretty steady. With the holiday coming up and the grills firing up it’s a great time to offer a variety of specialty potatoes, from wholesale to retail to repack. Call for great recipes and deals.COOL STUFF
So un-radiated Mangosteen is on the market from Mexico, Durian is for sale there as well and jumbo new strawberry varieties taste great. While Ramps are gone, Morel mushrooms are now at their peak along with east coast fiddlehead ferns. Porcini from Oregon and Chanterelles from Portugal round out the foraged fungus category nicely. Finger limes are back in season, orchards have started shipping again from Hawaii, and huge blueberries abound. Melons in all shapes color and sizes are getting sweeter by the day and grapes that taste like Peking Duck are right around the corner. As the ramp slants up, growers, shippers and suppliers are offering their very best, waiting for the surge of business they once relied on. We all wait patiently, knowing we have to do this right.NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHAT AM I??
Long a European favorite, I have grown in the forest for as long as the trees. I can grow quite large, up to six inches high, weighing close to half a pound, but usually, I’m closer to half that size, with some of my family being only a few ounces. Don’t try to cultivate my friendship; I can only be handpicked, usually summer through winter. Some say I smell woodsy and of apricot; my flavors are all exquisite, from pleasantly mild to flowery or nutty. My name refers to my entire family, but is often applied only to the most favored golden child, amongst the many colors I wear. I have a very particular shape, but don’t blow me off. You’ll want me firm, plump, smooth, clean and unbroken. All of me is edible and I retain my firm texture when cooked. Enjoy me rinsed, fresh or cook me with my best friends — chicken and other light meats, cream, starches and grains. You’ll love me simply simmered in butter. I also make a wonderful sauté, stuffing, sauce or side dish. Only some of us are good dried, since many of us won’t reconstitute well. Look closely and don’t confuse me with a look-alike, poisonous Jack-O’Lantern in North America. I’m very low in calories, mostly protein and carbohydrates, with traces of vitamins and minerals. A Pyrenees dog breed, wildflowers, restaurants, and the first string of a violin share my name.THE ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S QUIZ WAS …JICAMA.…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., 2015