LONG PROMO:   Heh, you know everyone’s talking about Barry Bonds and home runs this summer.  Well, I’ve got Barry Bonds favorite dessert.  Yeah, it involves Peaches.  Plus all kinds of melons are in the super market.  More than just Cantaloupe, Honeydew and Watermelon…so I’m going to introduce you to the other world of melons.  Plus, I am very excited.  New crop Garlic.  Next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  There is more to the world of melons than just Cantaloupe, Honeydew and Watermelon.  I’m going to introduce you to them.  Next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
                                                                                                         
PEACHES (Monday, July 23):  Heh, you know this week, Barry Bonds turns 43 years old.  Everybody has been talking about Barry Bonds and home runs all summer long.  And his favorite dessert…Peach Cobbler.  Oh, man.  Now, I don’t know if he likes it with Vanilla Ice Cream or Whipped Cream.  I’m not sure.  But anyway, beautiful Peaches.  We are now getting into what we call “semi-freestone” Peaches.  Up until now, most of the varieties have been “cling” Peaches.  That’s where the flesh “clings” to the stone.  Now, we are getting some semi-freestone…actually, that’s a pretty good “freestone” Peach there.    That’s where the flesh easily pulls away from the stone.  Oh, see that color inside, right around the stone.  See that red color?  That means there is lots of flavor.  Now, these mid-summer varieties tend to be some of the best of the season.  Now, if you are going to make some Peach Cobbler, what I do.  I’ll buy a whole bunch of Peaches and slice them up.  I’ll slice them up nice and thin like this.  Then I will lay them single file a cookie sheet.  Freeze them.  Then put them into a ziplock baggie.  Then, whenever I want another Peach Cobbler, I’m ready to go.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Heh, in my next Produce Man report, for Barry Bonds, the slugger, this is neither a fast ball or a curve…this is Peach Cobbler.

MELONS (Tuesday, July 24):  You know, most people think of summer melons, most people, honestly, they think of Cantaloupe, Honeydew and Watermelon.  And that’s it.  Can I give you a hint.  In the world of melons, when you walk into the produce department right now, there is a whole world of what we call in produce industry, varietal melons…or mixed melons.  There is a whole bunch of varietal or mixed melons.  Let’s start right over here.  This is one of my favorites, a Sharlyn Melon.  A Galia Melon.  This one with wrinkles.  Oh, I love this in September.  It’s called a Casaba melon.  This was my Mom’s favorite.  It’s called the King of Melons.  A Crenshaw.  And this one right here.  Taste tests have picked the Juan Canary as the best tasting of the mixed melons.  Now, here’s what I suggest you do…take your kids or your grandkids…or yourself…and go on a melon adventure.  Each week, pick out a different variety of melon and say, “OK, this week, we’ll try this Casaba.  Next week, we’ll try a Crenshaw.”  By the end of summer, you would have tried all the different varieties…and most likely, fallen in love with many of them.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  

TEASE: Heh, in my next Produce Man report, I want to encourage you…go an a melon adventure. 

MELONS (Wednesday, July 25):  You know, yesterday, I was talking about all the different varieties of melons, and a caller, one of the viewers called in and asked, “Mike, how do you pick out all of these different melons?”  Well, I thought I’d give you a couple of hints on exactly how to pick out the best.  In melons, you’re talking about sugar content.  You want sugar, you want flavor.  So, how do you know there is sugar content and flavor in here?  There are couple of things to look for.  First of all, when I walk up to the big bin of all of these mixed melons, I’m going to look for first of all…with my eyes…color.  The richer the color.  If it’s really pale color, it’s going to have pale flavor.    The richer the color, the richer the flavor.  The next thing I do…take your hands.  Pick one up.  This should feel like a bowling ball in your hand.  They should feel heavy for its size.  All melons should.  The heavier they are for their size, folks, the more juice content.  The more juice content, the more flavor.  First, eyes for the color; second, feel them.  They should be very heavy for their size.  I’m Michael Marks.  Enjoy melons.  I’m Your Produce Man.

TEASE: Heh, in my next Produce Man report, how to pick out the best melons this summer.

APPLES (Thursday, July 26):    Have you ever gone into a job interview, and you’re like really nervous?  I mean, how does your mouth feel?  That’s right.  Like a mouth full of cotton.  Oh my goodness. That’s one of the reasons some singers, like Mick Jagger…heh he turns 64 years old today, the Rolling Stones.  So everytime before a concert, Mick Jagger will eat an apple…or two…or three.  The reason he does this, and a lot of singers know this, is that apples, inside apples, the pH level of an apple, is the exact same pH as the inside of your mouth.  What in the world does that mean…what in the world does pH have to do with your mouth?  Well, if you have the same pH, and you’re eating the apple, it cleanses your mouth, right?  So you don’t end up with cotton mouth.  So just like Mick Jagger, that’s why he goes out and sings so good…a lot of people say, so next time you are nervous, you are going into a meeting, grab an apple before you go in, and eat an apple.  Oh, man, you’ll talk a lot better in that meeting.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Takes bite) Mmmm.

TEASE:  Heh, in my next Produce Man report, why some singers eat an apple…before they go on stage?    
  
GARLIC (Friday, July 27):  Heh, are you going to be anywhere near California this coming weekend?  Starting today, Gilroy Garlic Festival.  The 29th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival…in Gilroy.  So, if you’re not doing anything this weekend, head over to the Bay Area, head south to Gilroy.  Why are they celebrating the Garlic this weekend?  New crop Garlic is now in the supermarket.  That’s right.  How do you know if this is new crop?  Well, first of all, look how white and bright they are.  That tells me this is new crop. One of the reasons I love new crop Garlic…oh, man, because of the high oil content in these cloves.  That’s right.  Right in here, oil content is king.  Oil is flavor, folks, and new crop Garlic has the highest oil content, always at the beginning of the season.  However, because it is new crop, the sheath will stick very tightly to the flesh.  That means your Garlic may be a bit trickier to peel, very difficult to get the skin off the clove itself.  Very difficult.  But don’t worry about that.  That simply means it’s fresh, and that means there is great flavor in every clove.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. 

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