Market Notes
July 13, 2017

FINGERLING COLOR CONFUSION

Another problem caused by the two-hundred plus lost acers is the variety of colors available to pack. When we first started the season our mix included a yellow, a red and a purple fingerling all in good contrast to each other creating a strong visual appeal. As we continued to dig and access the damage of red fingerlings (French Fingerlings) we concluded that we could no longer use this variety as part of our mix. The heat had destroyed them. In order to maintain a three color variety we added a Rose Finn Apple (AKA Ruby Crescent). This is a pink potato variety that can easily look like a Russian Banana without close inspection. We have received many concerns about this mix, many of our customers insisting that there were only two colors in the mix. Even though we did point out that one was pinkish/red and the other one yellow it was obvious the contrast did not work. So, we are pleased to report that we have just harvested a beautiful field of Amarosa red fingerlings and they are now part of the mix. The visual is back and the pack looks great. Bring it!

FINGER LIME TIME

The finger lime market is open for seasonal business. Traditionally a winter crop, these canoe shaped limes with caviar, pearl like vesicles often have second and even third harvests throughout the year. Many more growers are planting this wild bush from Australia so we are seeing harvests from many different climates affecting both size and color. While the vesicles inside do not necessarily match the color of the skin, finger limes are available in numerous shades of green and red. We do not sell fruit with a brown skin as we believe that is the beginning of decay and the shelf-life is greatly challenged. Bulk product is available in the LA Produce Market for consolidation and we can also ship grower direct. This is just the beginning of the season that seems to go through March. New retail packaging will be available in a few weeks. Please check with your Culinary specialist for details.

OFF-SHORE AND NOT MUCH MORE

Yellow tomatoes from Florida are all but done. Jumbo asparagus are nowhere to be found. Large asparagus can be found but they are limited. Standard and small are a little easier but all asparagus are extremely expensive. While Mexican growers are winding down, Peruvian growers are moving from northern to southern fields as the Peruvian winter encroaches. Blackberries from this area are also suffering a bit as they rains continue to affect the quality. But if you want great deals on French beans, peeled carrots, or baby lettuce, these items are running strong. Snow peas and snap peas are limited in their availability and we are receiving product from both Guatemala and Peru. Stringless snap peas remain very tight and are best procured from the west coast. Baby green zucchini is beautiful and will easily ship white the patty pan does not hold up as well. Please call for delivered deals.

NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – – WHO AM I??

A native of southeastern China, I am also very common in Vietnam and central Asia. My Chinese name means eight points. Late in the sixteenth century, Europeans actually used me widely as bait in mousetraps, leading to my Latin name “Illicium,” meaning lure or bait. I grow on an evergreen tree of the magnolia family and my pretty reddish-brown woody fruit is picked prior to ripening, then sun-dried. Each of my fruits’ points contains an oval seed with longitudinal ridges. Chewing my seeds freshen your breath with a licorice-like taste. In addition to being used in oriental cuisine, I flavor liqueurs, chewing gum, and confections. I’m very familiar in a famous spice mixture — ground-up with four other spices, specifically fagara, cinnamon or cassia, fennel seeds and cloves, along with cardamom, dried ginger or licorice root — where my pungent, sweet flavor dominates the powder. I am said to be diuretic, carminative, stomachic, antispasmodic, digestive, and expectorant, and a stimulant, so use me to tone up the heart, stimulate digestion, combat flatulence, and soothe coughs and asthma. My essential oil, like fennel, contains anethole. Thousands of years old, I am, perhaps best recognized for my shape, but there’s never been a sidewalk ceremony for me.

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Answer To Last Week’s Quiz…DAIKON RADISH…Congrats To All Winners
Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702
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Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2015