LONG PROMO:   Oh my goodness, all the way from the Southern Hemisphere!  Take a look at that!  Peaches and nectarines plus apricots!  How are the grapes?  I’ve got beautiful pearlette and red flame seedless grapes.  I’ll tell you how they are.  Plus if you want to weigh less at the end of 2008, eat more – I’ll tell you more about it next week, with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  Hey, if you want to weigh less at the end of 2008, eat more.  I’ll tell you about it…next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.  (Takes Bite)  Mmmm.
                                                                                                         
MORE MATTERS (Monday, January 7):  Okay, have you broken your New Year’s resolutions already?  What?  You haven’t even been to the gym yet?  What?  You haven’t even had your brussel sprouts yet this year?  Hey, come on!  “More Matters” especially this year.  “More Matters.”  Whatever happened to “Five a day” by the way – it doesn’t exist any more.  They went to “More Matters”.  What does that mean - “More Matters”.  It’s very simple.  It doesn’t matter how many fruits and vegetables you eat every day, eat more.  In fact, if you want to weigh less at the end of 2008, I guarantee you, you can do it if you exercise - get off the couch! -  exercise a little bit more and eat more of these!  In fact, if two-thirds of your plate every single meal…two-thirds of your plate were fruits and vegetables, I guarantee you or your money back, I guarantee you will weigh less at the end of 2008.  That doesn’t mean have some pizza and a whole bunch of carrot sticks although pizza every once in a while is okay, don’t kid yourself, and a candy bar every once in a while is okay, but all this - fruits and vegetables – eat more.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, if you want to weigh less at the end of 2008, eat more.

GRAPES (Tuesday, January 8): Oh, my goodness!  These are so good!  Take a look at these – beautiful!  These are first of the season red seedless grapes all the way from northern Chile.  Where in the world in Chile are they grown?  Well, get out your world atlas, okay, and you find Santiago (that’s the capital).  You don’t know where Chile is?  Chile is that country in South America that looks like a long piece of spaghetti.  Okay, find Santiago, and go north of there to a place called Copiapo Valley.  Oh man, that is where we’re harvest right now some of the most beautiful, delicious grapes that I’ve seen.  These are all Chilean grapes, and oh, by the way, these are pearlette seedless grapes.  Do you know where the word “pearlette” comes from?  It’s a French word that means “pearl”.  That’s right.  They’re little round pearls.  Now, we’re going to start getting Thompson seedless, but for right now we’ve got these little round pearls called pearlette seedless grapes.  Always at the beginning of the season sugar content is a little but low, but folks this year they’ve had a great winter.  These are some of the best early season grapes I’ve had in a long time from Chile.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Takes Bite)  Mmmm.

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report…take a look at these – beautiful grapes from Chile.    

APRICOTS (Wednesday, January 9):  Hey, they said that Confucius did his best thinking underneath an apricot tree.  Take a look at this.  Come on real close.  The golden seed of the sun!  Oh, my goodness!  Look at those beautiful apricots!  Where in the world are these coming from?  Oh, take a look at that.  See all that red on there.  That red means this was hanging on the tree on the outside of the tree, and this particular apricot rather than some of these others, this high red blush, is going to have a lot of sugar content.  That’s the one I’m going to choose!  Anyway, the golden seed of the sun coming all the way from Chile.  And how are they?  Let’s go ahead and try.  (Takes Bite)  Ooh, they’re getting better. Those are not bad.  In fact, you’re going to have to ripen these because when they get here they still need a few more days of ripening.   And the way you ripen these – do not in a million years do that.  Don’t set them out on the counter just to ripen like that.  The apricot has no natural oils on the skin so they’ll just dehydrate before they ever ripen.  So put them in a fruit ripening bowl or put them in a brown paper bag, and they will ripen up so nicely.  Beautiful apricots from Chile.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. (Takes Bite)  Mmmm.

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report, take a look at this, the golden seed of the sun – apricots all the way from Chile.

PEACHES (Thursday, January 10):  Take a walk down the produce aisle.  You’re going to think its like the middle of summer.  Look at these beautiful peaches in the middle of winter.  Well, it happens to be summer in the Southern Hemisphere.  By the way, these early varieties early varieties of peaches…two things you need to know about these early varieties of peaches  Number one - They tend to be a little bit smaller.  That’s very, very typical.  Whether they’re grown in the United States or in some other country, the early peaches tend to be a little bit smaller.  Also, look at the blossom end.  The blossom end generally has this little tip on it, so you have to be very, very careful especially with these early peaches.  Don’t stack them up, and be very careful as you’re picking them out and putting them in your bag.  Now how do you get these home and ripen them?  You have to be very careful.  Do not set them out on your counter top  like this.  Just like your apricots…look at these peaches.  They have no natural oils on them so they’ll just dehydrate before they ripen.  These early peaches, by the way folks, from Chile, they had one of the best winters in many years and these early peaches haves been phenominal.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Takes Bite)  Mmmm.

TEASE:  (Takes Bite)  Mmm.  Mmm.  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, luscious peaches all the way from Chile.  (Takes Bite)  Mmm.
  
NECTARINE (Friday, January 11):  Oh man, we’re seeing some fantastic nectarines and peaches all the way from Chile.  And I talked about…when I talked about peaches…they had a great winter.  What does a great winter have to do with summer fruit?  It has everything to do!  They had one of the coldest winters in Chile that they’ve had in a long time.  And what that does, it puts chilling hours – that’s the actual term they use – chilling hours on the peaches, and nectarines, and all the stone fruit.  And the more chilling hours you have on a tree, the more that tree is ready to grow in the spring and put out lots of blossoms and that means lots of great fruit.  Now honey, I’m bringing these home for you.  My wife’s favorite fruit – the nectarine (or as she calls it “nectarine”).   Now on these particular nectarines, most people look at the red blush.  Never in a million years look at the red blush on peaches or nectarines.  Turn it over and look at the stem end. All fruit that grows on a tree ripens from the blossom end to the stem end last.  See all that yellow?  That means this is a very mature piece of fruit.  This nectarine is going to ripen perfectly.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Take bite) Mmm.

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, my wife’s favorite fruit – the beautiful nectarine.

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