Market Notes
April 12, 2018

POTATO UPDATE

Organic russet potatoes are still going strong, but not so much for the other colors. Our organic yellow potatoes are done and in two weeks we will be done with the organic reds as well. Fingerlings are still running strong at all points of distribution. The demand is for yellows and mix and our network of growers and packers are meeting the demand without issue. Our retail pack out from LA is rolling along very well and we are looking to do more with our private label packing. With Colorado, Michigan, Florida, Texas and California all in play there is not going to be a late May gap that we usually incur. If there is to be any interruption in harvest or gaps in packing it will not be until late June, if at all. Marbles are available in individual colors and mix but volume is limited. Pee-wee fingerlings are also available on a very limited basis and we only have them in two colors, yellow and red. Harvest Moon potatoes are available in abundance and while some lack a beautiful skin we are looking for interested processors for our organic and conventional crop. Creamers are steadily available in three colors but no load volume, pallets only.

SPRING THINGS

The snow is melting and the fronds are popping fast. Next week Ramp volume will seriously increase with forage from numerous areas will arrive for washing and packing. Volume will continue to increase for the next two to three weeks when we hit peak and fresh ramps will fall from the sky. Price will adjust accordingly. FedEx is available for smaller orders, orders totaling 70#’s or more can be flown via commercial airline for savings and orders over 5000#’s can be trucked. FOB pick up is also available in Michigan. A flush of blonde morel mushrooms are currently available at prices too high to talk about. They will be available for about a month. We also have orchard morels at much more reasonable prices. The morel market, from blacks, to browns and blondes to burns will fluctuate from now through July and possibly with the new global imports. Nettles, fiddleheads, and claytonia also available now with cattail shoots and eastern fiddleheads to follow shortly.

NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHAT AM I??

I have more names than you can shake a marigold at including Aztec, Mexican, chinchilla, mint, false and wild all ending in marigold. I have names that are proper nouns including Stinking Roger and John Henry, but none of those answers will make you a winner today. A member of the Asteraceae family I am the most exotic of herbs native to South America as early as the Inca civilization. My cultivation has spread to the United States in a limited way and was spread to Europe, Asia, Africa and India since the time of the Spanish Conquest. I can grow from 0.6 to 1.2 meters tall. I have small smelly flowers that are yellow and green. I spread like a weed and my (stinkweed) smell keeps bugs and pests away. For that reason, many prefer to grow me in a pot so I don’t get out of control. My medical advantages are too huge to review completely but the highlights are my thiophenes that have an antiviral effect, my tea leaves are an effective treatment for asthma. I contain Anthelminthic, carminative, emmenagogue, fungicidal, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, bactericidal and stomachic properties so put that in your pipe and smoke it, which indeed some people do. My oil is strong and smelly, like a massive marigold aroma. Apparently Roger discovered that. Maybe I have poisoned some, but it has yet to be proven. A special council has been appointed to study this. From a culinary point of view I am used in sauces and can be made into a paste that is an essential ingredient in a Peruvian potato dish called Ocopa. My dried green leaves are also an upscale alternative for cilantro, but that might be bragging. I am also used as a seasoning creating a unique flavor that combines the flavors of sweet basil, tarragon, mint and lime. I have recently enjoyed publicity as a very popular herbal beverage. For all my stinky weediness I am still used to make perfume in many countries. Go figure.

 

Answer To Last Week’s Quiz:…CARAWAY SEEDS…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