Market Notes December 16th, 2021

 

     SCHEDULES

    Some are closing Friday, some are closing Wednesday, some are closing Monday, some won’t close at all. Sounds like the first line of a country song, doesn’t it? Major weekend holidays reveal many attitudes and philosophies, all of which can be justified. Culinary will be on hand to take your calls and respond to your e-mails on Friday 12-24, Monday 12-27, Friday 12-30, and Monday 1-2. Overnight deliveries are only for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for both weeks and everything is shut down 12-25 and 12-31. Being order hungry brokers we are here to take and discuss orders when you send them but we cannot guarantee reference numbers and order confirmations for the day before or the two days after the actual holiday. For Culinary it will be business as usual, and we still get to spend holiday time with our families. However, if the phone doesn’t ring and the e-mails don’t show, we just might just close up, jump on our reindeer, and go cruzin’ for Old Lang Zine. While it’s a bit early, let this be the first of many times we have the opportunity to offer a heartfelt thank you to our customers who, both read this and continued to support us through what was a tumultuous year. Against many odds you helped Culinary survive.   Thank you. One final note. These pages will be hosting the Annual Christmas song and the annual top ten over the next two weeks, so this wit, wisdom, and produce quiz answer (to many’ s chagrin) will resume 1-6-2022.  See you on the other side.

POTATOES VS WEATHER, THIS WEEK WEATHER WINS

   While the produce elites were strolling down Broadway and Park Avenue at the New York Produce Show at the Javits Center in Manhattan, the San Luis Valley in Colorado was recovering from 100 mile per hour winds and numerous electrical outages.  Fortunately, there were no casualties we know of but many a shed went down for four hours or more.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch in Bakersfield, field engineers are figuring out how to move their equipment through the flooded fields from the torrential rains the two days prior. That shut down the entire harvest for this week so out new crop fingerlings from the west coast are definitely delayed. As of this writing, Colorado is back on its feet with a one-day delay and California is watching their fields dry, hopefully by Monday.

MORELS FOR CHRISTMAS??

If we have Easter Lilies in our yard for Christmas, why shouldn’t there be fresh domestic orchard Morel mushrooms for Christmas as well? So, without explanation there are, and we have access to them. Hopefully they are not sold out by the time you read this, but they are limited quantity just in time for Christmas dinner. Call yesterday if you are interested.

                                           NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???

They call the tree upon which I am born “The Wall Tree”.  Depending on who you ask I have between 200 and 400 varieties.  I was first documented in Chinese literature by the great philosopher Confucius around 479 BCE.  It wasn’t until 140 BCE that I, the Chinese Fruit, was brought to Rome by the great Chinese emissary Jan Qian.  The Chinese consider me the fruit of life, and my blossoms are worn around a young bride’s neck to symbolize virginity and fertility.  Before arriving in Europe and later America (in the year 1515) I spent quite a bit of time in Persia where I acquired several new qualities.  I added another possible color for my flesh and developed the ability to grow larger.  When I arrived in Rome I was called the “Persian Apple”.  Pliny complained that I have more juice than flavor and he had to keep changing his toga.  But some claim I am the ambrosia for the gods.  With a firm but delicately juicy flesh, I used to be quite a delicacy, and very difficult to come by.  Today I am one of the most popular fruits on the planet.  In the month of July, we are singularly responsible for one-third of all fruit consumption in the USA.  Best eaten fresh, I can also be canned, dried, pureed or juiced.  My sweetness tends to keep me in the dessert category, but I am great alone as a snack, spread as a jam on your favorite breakfast bread, or used in chutneys.  I have the highest vitamin count of all fruit especially high in vitamin A and C.  

Answer to last weeks quiz…PARSLEY…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