Market Notes March 31st, 2022

 

RAMP ON

   As of this week you can ramp on, our first pickings were this week. As always, our first picking is the minimum acceptance in size.  Ramps grow larger every day but we have covered the “be the first on your block” orders.  Prices always start high but this year they may not come down as quickly or as much.  There are several reasons for this.  First, pickers can’t get the volume they need when the deals first start. Then, there is simple inflation that has increased price for every aspect involved with picking, cleaning, cooling,  and storing.  Finally, and this could be a tough one, we can’t always find enough pickers we are forced to move to a different area where labor is more abundant.  This leaves precious product behind and can have a noticeable affect on the volume available. Not unlike the pears left on the trees in Washington State or fields of greens in Central California. We can take orders for ramps now for shipping next week. For 40 pounds and under Fed-EX is the way to go.  For fifty pounds and over there is a great financial advantage in using commercial airlines. Pricing options will be offered at time of order.  Within two weeks we should see product ramp up. The entire program should last through May, weather depending.

 COOL MANGOS

    While scanning through the numerous newsletters our industry offers daily, we came across a mango variety that caught our eye.  It is a proprietary variety so we do not know the botanical name but the grower is calling it Sugar Sweet Mangos™, and if it is true to its specs, it most certainly would be. They claim this fruit has a 22% brix, which is high enough to be concerned about limited shelf life.  But that not all, the other feature of the mango is that the skin is edible. That’s a game changer as peeling a mango is a big customer deterrent.  The fruit is small, it fits in the palm of your hand, so  it is great for snacks.  They also claim it is more fragrant than the Ataulfo and Honey mango.   Sounds too good to be true.  We look forward to sampling. Product is grown in Bogota, Columbia and is available for loading in the Miami area where they export to.

YES, IT WAS & IS TRUE, NOT AN APRIL FOOL’S JOKE

  We received a lot of feedback on our GMO blurb published last week.  We want to assure that this was not an early April Fool’s joke.  We would have at least waited until this week to publish that. So, yes, it is a true. Conscious Foods, launched by Pairwise will be marketing greens and other produce using GMO through the CRISPR process. They believe that they will grow products that are more nutritious and overall healthier than conventional or organic produce. They state that they are just moving nature along at a faster pace to yield better produce. Is this an example of the future?  GMO strawberries grown indoors with vertical farming and maintained, picked, and packed by robots?  Moon food we thinks, but this development is real and fascinating.  Stay tuned, we will.

                                         NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???

  Of ancient origin, Marco Polo might have enjoyed me at street vendors when he visited Kubla Khan in the thirteenth century.  In the beginning, I was at the start of our evolution — I am a loose-headed variety, then came the semi-headed, the fluffy-headed, then the headed.  A Chinese favorite, I am a cool-weather crop only recently grown in the west.  I’m a delicate creature, whether you find me partially or classically prostrate. My leaves are crepe-like or puckered and borne on narrow leaf stalks; my midribs are small.  The contrast of my dark green (almost black) leaves with my light stalks makes for a special beauty.  My soft round leaves fold convexly, making some say my shape resembles a rose; indeed, my Latin name ends in “rosularis”, but I don’t flower.  When used individually or in clusters of four or five, I look like I’m related to a mustard or cress or a Chinese soup spoon, but I’m not.  Whether you use me in a salad, a soup, or cooked as a vegetable, you’ll love my delicate flavor, similar to bok choy, but with twice the mineral content of pak choi.  My baby is sweet and a foundation for mesclun mixes.  You know me best by my Japanese name, which rhymes with, but shouldn’t be confused with, poi and choi.  

Answer to last quiz….BEET…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., 2020