Market Notes
March 14th, 2024

 RAMPS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

   You can and should signal and get in the right lane but the ramp is about a week away. We had hoped to begin the “be the first on your block” pickings this week, but we were held off by rain. This precipitation is expected to continue for several day so our next attempt to forage/harvest/pick is looking like Wednesday. In past years we have often been held back by precipitation, and just as often it has been ice or snow. Just rain is not only another indication of a warm winter, but it also means that when the rain subsides there will be rapid growth. This mean the ramps will come on quickly and strong. We have already taken a few orders which is scary when the product does not exist, but we are feeling pretty confident that FedEx will be picking up late next week. By April first product should be abundant, but only a fool would say that. We will update weekly. We are taking pre-orders.

 

OTHER SPRING THINGS

   From a foragers point of view, Spring was indicated by many consumables surviving the thaw and ready to thrive. Morel mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns, and ramps are usually the first delicacies. There was a time when asparagus were a spring indication until they became available all year. This has now happened with morel mushrooms.  We predicted this two years ago, and now it is here. Morel Mushrooms are now available year round. Different seasons will demand different prices, but within five years we believe they will be abundant all year round and prices will drop. That said, we have first of season orchard morels and continue to offer the Himalayan morels which our customers love.  Fiddlehead ferns still elude cultivation and the western lady variety are now available for shipping.  Not quite as green as the adored eastern ostrich fiddlehead, and a little more bitter but proper cooking can take care of that. With ramps next week we have covered the Spring forage hattrick. Order up!

 

MARKET NOTES SURVEY

   Culinary Specialty Produce  has published Market Notes interrupted weekly for just over 30 years now. After publishing over fifteen hundred issues over three decades we wonder about its value. Often tongue-in-cheek, sometimes relevant, and as outrageous as the industry will allow, we work hard to bring you these notes and a quiz every week. We are curious if it is being read, blocked or just another weekly annoying e-mail. We are asking for some reader involvement so we do not end upas the unheard fallen tree in the forest. If you would like to continue to receive Market Notes, please drop us a line. If we do not get any notices we will read the writing on the wall, but you won’t have to. If we get a good response, this folly will continue. Hope to hear from you.

 

NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???

    I am a nutty salad green.  I am the least bitter member of the chicory family.  I grow as a loose-leaved head rather like a leaf lettuce. I am often purchased as a green leaf lettuce due to my similar appearance.  My leaves are bright green on the outside and sometimes I dress tinged with red.  I am usually pale yellow in my center because no matter how I bend, I can’t get that part in the sun.  The rib running down my center is always a bright white, showing off my vibrant health.  While I am an easy and tasty sauté  with onions and garlic, I am most often found in minestrone type soups or braised with white beans and garlic.  I need to be used pretty quickly, but if I go limp on you, I can often be brought back to life with an ice water bath. I am an excellent source of vitamin K and a good source of folate and vitamin A.

  The answer to last weeks quiz is…PANDAN LEAVES….Congrats to all winners
Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa, Matty, or  Richard– Fax 908-789-4702
 Visit us at www.culinaryproduce.com “like” us @ Culinary Specialty Produce on Facebook

                                                   © Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2023