Market Notes April 13th, 2023
TRANSITION CONDITION
Traditionally, the week after a holiday tends to be a bit slow, so we are not quite ready to put our foot in our mouth and happily say we were wrong. That being said, the specialty greens move from Yuma to the Salinas Valley went pretty smoothly. No incredible dock back-ups, most of the product was available, and most of the equipment. Some belt repair caused allocations for a few days but that now seems back on track. Components effected were ironically all on the organic side. Demand for organic kale, spinach, and arugula exceeded supply and this seems to be the areas most damaged by the excessive rains. That being said, though we are past the week of multi-celebrations, some celebrations still remain. They will end this week. Bread sales will rise and perhaps so will the demand for baby greens. Hopefully our growers are there to meet the demand which though never mentioned, would be a huge credit to their planning and growing skills.FRESH RAMPS
The forage is afoot. The hills are alive, with the sound of pickers. The ramps now arrive, to be cleaned and packed. The volume is great, and the size is perfect. The price will drop soon, once all fields are in bloom. As the brief season goes on, the deal moves north, finishing up in Northern Michigan some time around the end of May. Festivals, cook-offs, and tastings all celebrate this admired garlicky/oniony bulb. Chop the tops for soups or keep them whole for braising but the flavor we yearn for is in that tiny white bulb. Sautee with some now in season morel mushrooms and it’s like adding a piece of Spring to your savory dishes. Ramps are shipped out of Michigan and fly out of Detroit. Overnight delivery is available through Fed-Ex or UPS. For orders over three thousand pounds, we’ll send a truck. Other wonderful Spring items include Western Fiddlehead Ferns, Nettles, Spring Onions, and a limited supply of Winter mushrooms including Hedgehog and Black Trumpet.NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???
Don’t call me Spud! I am a card-carrying member of the Convolvulaceae family and deserve your respect. I’m as old as the hills, and your species has only traced us back 12,000 years, (we knew the remains in the Peruvian caves were a clue), but we are a lot more than prehistoric Dino food. We are native to Central America. It was that lowly pirate Columbus who sacked us and stole away to Europe, his home, not ours. As far as the interlude in Polynesia goes, we’re still not talking. By the 15th Century, I was well known in China and the Philippines. By the 16th Century, I had become established in the southern United States. Above ground, I am a long creeping stem that can grow up to 16 feet and produce leaves that are often used in place of spinach. Although I have over 400 relatives, we are usually classified into two different categories, either firm and dry, or soft and moist. Always cooked and usually consumed whole as a starch, our amazing sugar content (3%-6%), inspires additional uses in cakes, pies, breads, puddings, marmalades, cookies, and muffins. I have thin edible skin that can be rough and can be white, yellow, orange, red, or purple. My flesh ranges in color from white to yellow to orange. The darker my color the greater my content of Vitamin A, of which I am an excellent source. I am also a good source of potassium and vitamin C.The answer to last weeks quiz was….FRENCH BEANS… 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