Market Notes January 5th, 2023
FINGER LIME DECLINE
Our finger lime season has come to an end. Of the four different growers we work with, the very heavy rains over the past few weeks finished what ripe crop remained. The are some unripe fruits that held on between the nasty thick thorns so maybe there will be a small amount in a week or two. We also often get a very brief spring harvest so that would be the next opportunity for volume. After that we wait until late summer when the early crop begins again. Perhaps this novelty bougee fruit has grown popular enough that someone will import fruit from New Zealand or Australia. Whenever they hit the mainland, we’ll let you know.POTATO NOTES FROM ALL OVER
Colorado potato operations are steady and strong. As the majority of product grown is the San Luis Valley is organic, we are entering the second half of the season where age begins to show. Many storage coolers have yet to be opened so the extent of packing good quality is in question. Currently everything is looking fine, but the sorted percentages are increasing. Both price and trucking from this area are steady and no need for panic until April. California growers have experienced some crop failure, keeping the fingerling and yellow market tight. Product is primarily for retail and those contracts are barely being fulfilled. Our Oregon grower is doing a fantastic job supplying fingerlings (yellow and assorted), to the west coast and supplementing our east coast forward distribution as well. We have solid inventories on both coasts along with numerous delivery options.WEIRD WEATHER WEEK
Extreme weather continues this week with never ending rains along the west coast along with snow and ice storms on the east coast. Many beachfront towns in Central California are evacuating as the surf rises and the rain continues. Wharfs have been destroyed, roads closed and there have been several fatalities. In New York, safety officers are going door to door to check for people locked in. While safety is absolutely first, there is a good likely hood that trucks over the road will roll slower and several businesses will either be forced to close or work with greatly reduced labor. These showers, in one form or another, are expected to continue throughout next week. Patience and concern apply!NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???
I am a product of centuries of cultivation and selection. I am indigenous to Central Asia and Europe. I was very popular among the Greeks and Romans, but my oldest friends are the Chinese who have known me for close to 5,000 years. I am starchy, crunchy, sweet and particularly petite. In my early days my look and taste were a bit of an eyesore, until my friend the famous botanist Gregor Mendel got a hold of me, fortunately, and greatly improved my appearance and taste over the years. I am raised with several brothers and sisters; I rarely grow alone. Our homes range from 1 ¾ to 6 inches in length. Each home contains as little as one or as much as ten of us. My skin can be slim and svelte or flat and swollen but always with curves in all the right places. I have over 1,000 varieties including smooth and wrinkled. For the most part you’ll find my smooth frozen and my wrinkled canned. My colors range from green to grayish, whitish, or brownish. I am sold fresh, dried or frozen. I contain small amounts of protein and I am rich in Vitamin B. I am often used as a cover crop as I provide nitrogen for the soil. I am mainly consumed in soups or a traditional side dish to accompany meat and mixed with other vegetables. As for one of my most popular varieties they may not be handy when building a man or ball, but I wouldn’t plan to stir fry without them.The answer to this weeks quiz will posted on 1-12-2023
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