Market Notes
December 6, 2018

 

THE GREEN SCENE- OBSCENE AND MEAN

And the madness continues.  It has even spread through the entire family. So the CDC and FDA released romaine lettuce from its “time out” and it is now allowed to go out and play with other greens again. This expected relief was very brief.  When the romaine went out to look for friends, very few were in town, or any town for that matter. We have experienced a true triple storm on greens of all shapes and sized.  First the romaine shut down, followed by extremely cold weather with slowed growth exponentially, then daily storms, making harvest of the little that there was inaccessible.  After the run on every and any greens to cover the shortage created by the romaine the dwindling supply has had no time to replenish itself leaving a gap. So, the idea of pricing dropping from the romaine release is not going to happen and depending on the upcoming temps and rainfall prices may continue up and product could all but disappear from California and Arizona. While we highly recommend you place orders in advance, we can promise 100% fulfillment. What we can assure at point of sale is a lid price. Should markets rise after we quote, we will hold to the price we quoted.  If market drops, we will honor that as well. If you order ten pallets and get two, that is not in our control. If we had to guess as to which components are tougher than others we would recommend salads of baby lettuce and frisee with a finger lime vinaigrette garnished with edible flowers.  For specific component information please contact us directly.

            PRODUCE QUIZ (and MARKET NOTES) HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

For those of you who use the Produce Quiz for your customers, we thought it polite to provide a schedule of publishing for the holiday season so you can make arrangements. Next week’s quiz will be the last quiz for 2018.  Market Notes will publish the answer to the quiz dated 12-13-2018 on 12-20-2018 but that week  Market Notes  will be dedicated to the twenty-forth Culinary Specialty Produce Annual Christmas song. No quiz, no notes.  Market Notes will follow up on 12-27-2018 with its annual Top Ten – Let’s Remember When compendium. Once again, no quiz no notes. The Produce Quiz will resume January 3, 2019, with new Market Notes as well.  The Produce Quiz remains humbled and honored at its readers continued support and wishes you the happiest of Holiday Joy.  Should you travel, please travel safe and if you are in town the Produce Quiz will be playing the Sands in Vegas on the 24th and 25th  and at Café Carlyle in   NYC on the 30th and 31st, two shows nightly at each location.  Market Notes will be in Monaco, on the Riviera for a two week rehab.

 

NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHAT AM I??

    I am probably most famous as a stick, although I have recently been seen in Buffalo plating down with chicken parts.  I all started when my wild ancestors were cultivated in the 16th century.  Once considered a powerful aphrodisiac my leaves were used by the Greeks to adorn the crown presented to victorious athletes.  These stars also drank my wine. Romans used me for seasoning and as an elixir to aid digestion and soothe arthritic pain. Medieval magicians put my seeds in their shoes, hoping it would help them fly, but alas, they did not. We never made that claim. I am a fleshy ribbed stalk that ranges in color from white to dark green. Lately, I have been seen down at South Beach stylin’ in red.  My stalk, that can grow up to 16 inches, is my most popular part, my leaves, seeds, and roots are also used. My most popular variety was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1874.  I was socialized at local Michigan train stations throwing myself at passengers for free. My fame really came in 1960 at a Chicago where I was immortalized by bartenders.  When Sears and Roebuck featured me as a muscle relaxer in their catalog, I went viral. Today, scientists agree that eating two of me a day will help reduce blood pressure. My crunch is created by the collapse of my thousands of air filled cells. There are over two billion pounds of us produced every year, and that’s just the United States. I am used in just about anything savory.  There is no stock made without me.  Tomato Juice is one of my best friends. I am a very popular salt. Nary has a crudité existed without me and I’m not saying a word about what we did with the chickens but I will say the press has it wrong.  It was cold up there, and, well, things happen. Anyway the average person consumes about eight pounds of me a year.  I am an excellent source of potassium and a good source of vitamin C, folic acid and vitamin B6. Crunch on!

 

Answer To Last Week’s Quiz:…ROMAINE LETTUCE…Congrats To All Winners

Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702
Visit us at www.culinaryproduce.com
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Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2015