COLORADO POTATO HARVEST BEGINS

This week digging began at White Rock Specialties, our fingerling home through the spring. Even, better they started with yellow fingerlings. We have already shipped out a few loads and are thrilled to offer new crop fingerlings. Yellows are available now as “new” potatoes, meaning the skins are not as firm and the sugar content is higher. There potatoes should be stored at slightly higher temperatures.  We usually ship at 38-40 degrees, but we will ship loads of “new” potatoes at 45 degrees. The majority of or yellow fingerlings will go into a 2–3-week storage. This allows the potatoes to sweat, drop their temps slowly, allowing the skins to firm up. During this period the temperatures are checked several times a day and dropped slowly until they are well cooled. These potatoes will have a firmer skin and will be starchier than the sweet “new” potatoes.  Next week we will be digging red and purple fingerlings along with our “B” size pride and joy, the Harvest Moon. We are expecting the Harvest Moon to do very well this year. Organic russet potatoes will be available by the end of the month along with organic rounds (red, yellow, purple).  Organic yellow fingerlings are also available now.  Early reports are that the product is good, no damage from the unusual weather patterns that can cosmetically damage a crop.  Please reach out with your specific needs and we fill your order with fresh crop.  

FORAGED FUNGI AND MORE

Chanterelles are abundant and beautiful quality. They are available as flower or button, very clean and beautiful color. They are of domestic or Canadian origin and reasonably well priced. A simple sauté in butter makes them worth it.  One of our favorite varieties, fresh lobster mushrooms are now available. They are aptly named due to their color, which is accurate, but these are the densest mushrooms available and offer a great alternative to the common portobello. Lobster mushrooms are phenomenal on the grill, on their own or as a base for fish, beef, pork, or chicken. They will hold up in a marinade making them great for pizza, sandwiches, ragu or antipasto. They are so meaty they are a pleasure to use. These don’t last long, so jump in while you can. Call for deals and delivered prices. Also, for a very short time we have fresh huckleberries.  

NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???

   I don’t pump blood and I never mastered that sleight of hand trick.  Although I am often not the center of attention, I am always the center of the tree.  While I have over 40 relatives only half of us are capable of producing this.  Enjoyment of my soft velvety texture requires total annihilation of my parent plant, and complete removal of my center.  In South America I am grown for this exact purpose, but the rest of the world obtains me through felling.  On some Indian reservations (the only place I can be harvested in the United States) I am simply a slice of the tree and often bussed to my destination. Talk about culture shock!  It takes us ten to fifteen years to grow, and you will destroy me for one or two pounds of product.  Then, you have the audacity to complain about my cost. I am located at the base of my large leaves and my entire part can be up to 32 feet in length and weight over 6 pounds.  But, by the time you remove my inedible fibrous husks to reveal my sought-after pith, a couple pounds remain. I am extremely delicate and provide a wonderful crunchy smooth texture and nutty flavor. Blanch me first to avoid any bitterness. Often served fresh as a salad by myself with a drizzle of Hollandaise or vinaigrette, I can also be cooked in my leaves, pickled, and fermented to form a sort of cheese, braised, sautéed, fried, or steamed. While I am most convenient when canned, today I can be found fresh in vacuum-packed bags or in water. My external layer turns color very fast when exposed to fresh air but with a quick outer layer peel I am bright and new again. While my trees are steadily dying, my popularity is steadily growing.