Last week’s YOUR PRODUCE MAN’S PRODUCE PUZZZZLER still dealt with a winter vegetable: Before the potato came along, what was the “potato” of Europe? Before the lowly Potato came along, there was another root that took its lofty place beside the roast of beef. In fact, in England, they also made pie from this vegetable, much like we make Pumpkin Pie today. Before the spud came along, the “potato” of Europe was…the Parsnip. Since we are moving quickly into Spring produce, this week’s YOUR PRODUCE MAN’S PRODUCE PUZZZZLER deals with a famous Spring vegetable: Is the Artichoke a fruit or a vegetable? See next week’s Fresh Tips for the answer.

Here’s your chance to win a great Strawberry cookbook. Five lucky winners will win the hardcover cookbook “Simply Florida Strawberries.” This cookbook includes 300 sensuous Strawberry recipes, straight from the growers in Florida. For your chance to win, simply send a SASE with the answer to this question: What city is called the “Winter Strawberry Capital of the World?” All correct answers will go into the drawing where five lucky winners will be drawn. Send your request to: Simply Florida Strawberries; c/o Your Produce Man; 2867 Heinz St.; Sacramento, CA 95826. For all of those who don’t wind a cookbook, we will send you some recipes as well, so everyone will have some super Florida Strawberry recipes.

The Rev. Billy Graham stays strong by eating his Greens.

Sacramento King’s Chris Webber is hot on Greens.

Growers checking a field of greens for dehydration. The secret to great Greens is rapid growth, and that comes with proper irrigation. Each time Greens wilt, they lose flavor.

More Lemon Plums are coming onto the market.

LEMON PLUMS (Tuesday, March 2): Who in their right mind would name a Plum, a Lemon Plum? You put the word lemon in front of anything, and you’ve just turned it into a bad thing. A car that is a lemon, is a bad car. A real lemon is sour. So, why call a plum, a Lemon Plum? Only one possible answer: They want all of us to keep our hands away from this sensuous plum, keeping it all to themselves. This brand new gourmet plum variety is still pretty scarce, but it is juicy and its flavor is very hard to forget. These delicious plums were originally harvested for gift fruit purveyors like Harry & David and Harrods of London, harvested from boutique orchards in the foothills of the Andes. These bright beauties are still so rare, they're virtually unknown in most local fruit stands and produce departments. Their tender, lemon yellow skin reddens as it ripens, and the yielding amber flesh is lush with sweet, delicate flavor. Plums grown in Britain originated from fruits of Damascus, Syria and Persia. Plums were brought into this country by a member of the Gage family, hence their link with the gage group of fruits. The famous Victoria Plum was found as a seedling in a garden in Sussex and the Czar was named after a visiting Russian Emperor when the fruit was introduced to the market over one hundred years ago. Plums have stones like human fingerprints, each one being unique to a particular variety. Experts were able to identify over one hundred individual plum stones found on the flagship of Henry VIII’s Mary Rose, which sank in 1545 and was raised in the 1980s. With the large number of plums available, it is not surprising that the various types have different heritages and places of origin. The European plum is thought to have been discovered around two thousand years ago, originating in the area near the Caspian Sea. Even in ancient Roman times, there were already over 300 varieties of European plums. European plums made their way across the Atlantic Ocean with the pilgrims, who introduced them into the United States in the 17th century. While Japanese plums actually originated in China, they derived their name from the country where much of their cultivation and development occurred. Japanese plums were introduced to the U.S. in the late 19th century by the Asian immigrants who traveled to California to work in the gold fields and on the railroads. Today, the United States, Russia, China and Romania are among the main producers of commercially grown plums.Plums are native in China, America, Europe and the Caucasus Mountains. Greek writers mention cultivated plums being imported to Greece from Syria. The Romans introduced the fruit in Northern Europe. They were also reinforced, in the 12th century, when the Crusaders brought damson trees back from their Syrian expeditions. In 1864 there were 150 cultivated varieties. European Plums arrived in North America by Spanish Missionaries (west coast) and English Colonists (east coast). The species that originated in China were cultivated for thousands of years. It was brought to Japan 200-400 years ago, where it then spread around the world, being falsely called "Japanese" plum. There are more than 200 varieties today. There are four main types of plums: European plums, Japanese plums, the Damsons & Mirabelles and the "cherry-plums" (a native plum sometimes picked wild). Japanese plums are larger than European plums and it is a heartier variety. Basically, the Japanese and European plums are the only ones generally seen in supermarkets. Plums are high in carbohydrates, low in fat and low in calories. Plums are an excellent source of vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and fiber. Plums are free of sodium and cholesterol. Like all fruit plums contain a substantial amount of vitamin C. Plums are available almost year round, but are more abundant in stores in summer and early fall. The white powdery film, which sometimes covers the fruit, is called the bloom, a substance produced naturally by the fruit. The more bloom, the fresher the plum.

Beta Carotene from Carrots is one of the easiest to absorb by the human body.

Early Radar had to be viewed in pure black rooms.

You may notice white or yellowing around the edges of the Broccoli floret. Not to worry.

BROCCOLI (Thursday, March 4): You may have noticed that your Broccoli has been looking a little different these days. Not to worry. Growers aren’t doing a bad job. It’s simply Mother Nature turning a cold shoulder to the Broccoli crop in Yuma, Arizona, causing some appearance changes in Broccoli. First, you may notice that the bead structure on the head is very tight, with smaller beads. That’s typical of Broccoli being grown in colder than normal temperatures. You may also notice a slight purpling color to the head or at the top of the stem. The stems, themselves, will most likely be smaller in diameter. As you cut the Broccoli florets, you may notice more white or yellowing around the very edges of the floret. That’s because the florets grew so tightly impacted, that sunslight was not allowed to reach that rim area. Without sun, there is less chlorphyll production. Chlorophyll is the green color. Less Chlorophyll…less color. These are only appearance issues, and has nothing to do with the flavor or quality of the Broccoli.

Bad weather means high prices for vegetables like peppers.

Bad weather in Mexico is playing havoc with produce prices in the United States.

SQUASH, PEPPERS, TOMATOES (Friday, March 5): Wow, have you had sticker shock in the vegetable section of the produce department? It seems we are seeing some very high prices for many vegetables including Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Zucchini and Yellow Squash. Over half of the winter vegetables eaten in the United States come from Mexico’s Sinaloa state, in a great valley between Culiacan in the south, and Los Mochis in the north. This year, weather has not cooperated with growers. Temperatures and been very cold and there has been a lot of rain. These weather conditions not only impact the supply and price of produce at the time of the weather pattern, but can cause trouble two months later. That’s the problem we find ourselves in. You see, with strong rains and cold weather, the row crop vegetable plants will drop their blossoms. Each blossom is a Bell Pepper, or a Squash 45 days later. So, roughly 45 –60 days after a blossom drop, we end up with a supply gap of product.

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