Market Notes
November 1, 2018
POTATO UPDATES-A LITTLE BURP
In Colorado, most of our fingerling potatoes have gone through their sweat. At this point we bring down the temperature at the rate of one degree a week. Temperatures post sweat range from 45 to 47 degrees. We need to drop the internal temperature of the potatoes to 40 degrees for good storage. Sometimes, when we first ship our fingerlings out of storage, the internal temperature is not as cool as we hoped and this can case black spots on the potato. Regretfully we have some incidents of this spotting. Fortunately the spotting is about 5 cases per thousand so it is nothing to panic about. We just want to be in front of this problem and assure you that this condition is limited and will be resolved within a week. Other than that, everything is good everywhere. California and Colorado and Oregon are all running at full throttle. Organics, rounds and fingerlings all ready to go……Bring it!
TRANSITION
This year the trucks are rolling south early. Usually Thanksgiving week is reserved for the move from Salinas to Yuma for the majority of the baby greens growers and packers, but this year is a week early. Operations and harvests will shut down in the Salinas Valley around the 14th while cooler will remain open for pick-up of pre-orders throughout the week. Yuma operations should be expected to begin on the 19th and a few Salinas operations will be operating out of both facilities for one week. By the 26th, all operations will be exclusively through Yuma. Fortunately we are enjoying excellent weather in both locations so other than equipment failure this transition should be seamless. Either way first week is always hell. Ho-ho-ho!
BABY LETTUCE GROWER TAKING ORDERS
While this may be an upcoming trend in the specialty produce business, this is not quite contractual, but it’s close. We have many sources for proving our customers baby head lettuces and use them all but the one that offers the best value is taking requests. They are asking all their customers what their anticipated usage is and will grow for those customers only. With the value offered and the varieties maintained is impossible to grow efficiently. In order to change that and not be out of product or have to disk fields, they are asking what our needs are and will schedule plantings accordingly. So if you are interested in a top quality, best value baby head lettuce program please contact your Culinary Rep for details. This program is best for trucks picking up in Yuma. Overnight and airfreight is limited.
NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHAT AM I??
A native of the New World, I was introduced to Europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century and am now also naturalized in parts of the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia, and Australia. My plant produces a fruit and me, a vegetable. You may call me by my Spanish name, but I am usually sold under a botanically incorrect term, as I am actually the tender oval pads or new growth joints of my plant’s stem. I’m crisp, with slipperiness like okra and a flavor like green pepper, string beans and asparagus, with a tangy edge. I’m around from early spring to late fall, but I peak in mid-spring. Buy me bright and firm, and then remove any prickers or eyes before you chop, dice or slice me. Serve me raw or cooked — steam, sauté, or add me to soup or stew. My plant was named the state fruit/vegetable by Texas in 1995 and I’m a favorite food of the kangaroo rat. Acitrones are me, candied, packed in sugar syrup, and available in cans or jars. I have large amounts of vitamins A and C, as well as B and iron and my mucilage is valued by the cosmetics and medical industries. You used to have to go “South of the border, down Mexico way . . .” as an old song says, to enjoy these.
Answer To Last Week’s Quiz:…BLUEBERRIES…Congrats To All Winners
Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702
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Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2015