Market Notes
March 2, 2017
THE GREEN SCENE TURNED VERY MEAN
Forget the fact that our primary supplier had not one, but two compressors explode that complicated production for the past five days. Forget the fact that the rain has stopped and sunny days (and cool nights) are here again. The damage has been done. For certain items it is going to be very tough until our transition North which is scheduled for the end of March, is complete. Not everything is destroyed, but there will be impact. This is not a volume problem as much as it is a quality problem. In a word, Aphids! When it comes to organics, there is no answer; the field must be disked, losing all usable greens. For conventional you can do some things but once they dominate you have to start sorting between the good and bad leaves, ultimately affecting quality. This is primarily wreaking havoc on mizuna, tat-soi, frisee, and chards. Even with those components there is still good product, it just takes longer to run. As individual components there items are tight, but the mixes are where the priority product goes and it will just take longer to process. Baby lettuces are coming back but are suffering labor shortage. One day is for the BMX, the next is for baby heads. With a few days’ notice, we can fill most orders. Case weights are three pounds plus so we are not being shorted on the poundage. We will keep a sharp eye on the fields through the transition and report to you weekly.
SPRING THINGS
Spring Onions and Spring Garlic are in the LA market so that’s a good start to getting your spring thing on. There are rumors of slight amounts of Miners Lettuce (Claytonia) and stronger rumors about nettle harvest. Both are true but only in the smallest ways. Morel Mushrooms are out and about and you will enjoy the low prices on this early crop. Truffles are winding down fast. We expect another week or two on the domestic blacks and a month at most on the imported Perigord black truffle. Not foraged but a new spring thing are the Sweet Sapphire Grapes that are new to the market as of last week. From Chile, the black grapes look very similar to the Which Finger Grapes, but these taste real good. This two-to-three bite grape is loading out of the LA Market area. These very tasty grapes are not expected to last very long so jump in now if you are interested. Ramps should be available by months end and western fiddlehead ferns should be right in that same time frame.
NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHO AM I??
My family is believed to have originated in India and then spread to Asia sometime between 3,000 to 10,000 years ago, depending on whom you ask. Currently I am grown just about anywhere there is warm weather. I am a member of the cucurbitaceae family, and it is believed that I am closely related to watermelons. The Sanskrit name for my family is soukasa. I have many siblings who are similar to me, but I am one of the old American heirloom varieties. My family members are the ones Leméry of England refers to when he says they “are hard on Digestion, because they continue long in the Stomach” and he only recommends that children who are of “an hot and bilious Constitution” eat them. I am more desirable than my long slender green siblings are because I am younger, sweeter, crisper, and more easily digested. My dimensions are 3 x 2 inches, I have high sugar content, am shaped like a lemon, and I turn that color when overripe. I will become very chewy if left on the vine too long. But as a youngster I am sweet and crisp with pale brown flecks, and I have white juicy flesh. Considered to be and mostly used as a vegetable I am actually a fruit. Usually eaten raw, sometimes pickled, and rarely cooked, I make an excellent summer salad vegetable and a beautiful garnish. Although I am 96% water, I am a source of vitamin C, thiamin, and riboflavin.
Answer To Last Week’s Quiz…KIWANO OR HORNED MELON…Congrats To All Winners
Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702
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Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2015