Market Notes
July 14th, 2022
CURSES…FOILED AGAIN
We knew this was coming as early as January of this year. We began making plans then. Too late for a Florida program, so we scoured the country finding pockets of products and gobbling up whatever we could. From Washington to Oregon, California, Texas, Arizona, and of course Colorado. It all added up to one thing. By late April there was going to be a shortage of fingerling potatoes, especially yellow fingerlings. We mapped out how we could stretch our limited volume but the adjusted crops we counted on just kept getting reduced or eliminated. We bragged about one crop that was exclusively our and would be available at the end of June. Grown in Yuma, processed in Dalhart, packed in Colorado was the plan but it was a total and complete failure. Extreme temperatures (even for Yuma), poor watering, late harvesting, and lack of labor were the primary reasons for not getting a single case out of this crop. We remain offering a stellar organic fingerling mix out of central California.
WE GET KNOCKED DOWN……BUT WE GET UP AGAIN
While the Yuma deal was a flop we move on, and we are moving on very quickly. Next stop, northern Colorado via New Mexico. We dug Tuesday but the potatoes were too soft. We try again tomorrow. If we can dig with skin on, we can transfer product to northern Colorado to cool, sort, and pack as early as Tuesday. That would put product on both coasts by the week of the 25th. This is a steady deal and will eventually include colors, rounds, and maybe even some russets. Other crops will begin a few weeks later. From next week on the availability of yellow fingerlings should steadily improve unless there is tragic weather. It is also likely that prices will start to drop. Not much, but the eighty dollar case should be a thing of the past. We look forward to once again managing quality product with the volumes necessary to satisfy our customers. Thank you for working with us, the best is yet to come.
IT’S PAW-PAW TIME
In the next few weeks, the brief and yummy season of paw-paws will begin harvest. The paw-paw is much like a banana as its flavors change dramatically as the fruit ripens. When ripe brown and ugly the flavor is very much like that of crème brulee, we kid you not. The flavors of pineapple and banana prevail when the fruit is slightly ripe. The paw-paw is a part of American history and is only available for about six weeks, We off paw-paws two ways, in a layout pack or a bulk box. Logistics is tricky and this is most likely a air flight or delivery overnight deal depending on volume. Please reach out to your culinary rep for details.
NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???
I am a fungus, but an often ignored fungus. I am the one you will use when the others are gone, and though I am not as pretty I am a better value and taste very similar. Having nothing to do with candy, dentistry, landscaping or pork, my name is often misleading. Most foragers are happy to know that I am maggot free and I have no poisonous look-alikes. I have a white, pale orange, pale pinkish-tan or orange-brown cap and stalk which is two to six inches in diameter. My cap edge is rolled in when I am young but becomes lobed or wavy as I mature. One of my unique features is the pointed spines beneath my cap. I am found wild throughout the United States and Europe from midsummer to mid-autumn and throughout the winter. I am a firm fleshy fungi with a very delicate flavor so do not disguise me. A simple sauté often suits me best. Slim Jim from the Old Hotel Milano put me to my best use with a sauté including reduced pancetta, rosemary, and pine nuts. This recipe had customers begging for more. For vegetarians you can substitute olive oil. I am also a great addition to sauces and soups. I am rich in potassium and iron.
Answer to last quiz….BLUEBERRIES…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