Last week’s Your Produce Man’s Produce Puzzzzle dealt with Summer Stonefruit: What stonefruit has more varieties than any other stonefruit? There are European ones and there are Japanese ones. They come in more colors, shapes and sizes than any other stonefruit as well. Before you go plum crazy, there are more varieties of…Plums…than any other stonefruit grown today. And with the addition of Pluots, the category is really going crazy. This week's Your Produce Man’s Produce Puzzzzle still deals with Summer Stonefruit: What stonefruit was the first planted by the colonists in America? See next week’s Fresh Tips for the answer.

Using some pound cake, you can easily make your own July 4th flag.

Even your kids can help assemble this simple parfait.

BERRIES (Monday, July 4): Looking for a last minute red, white and blue dessert? No problem. Just head down the produce aisle to the berry section. Pick up some Blueberries and Raspberries or Strawberries. Head over to the frozen food aisle and pick up some Cool Whip. Now hit the bakery for some Sponge Cake. Now you are ready with the Red, White and Blue. It’s quick and simple. And your kids can help make the flag or layer the parfait. Just make sure they wash their hands before they start.

It’s Berry Season!

BERRIES (Tuesday, July 5): There is more to the world of berries than the Blackberry, Blueberry and Raspberry. But since those three make up about 95% of the berry patch supplies (excluding Strawberries of course), then let’s talk about the Big Three in the Berry Patch. And let’s start…alphabetically of course, with the Blackberry. The genus Rubus in the family Rosaceae includes red and black raspberries, Loganberry, Boysenberry, Marionberry and other blackberry types, as well as others. Rubus species were important in the United States and Canada for hundreds of years. They were gathered by the Native Americans all over North America, and important to colonists as well. The first commercial nursery plants were sold by William Price in 1771. Trailing types of blackberries grow on the western slopes of the Sierras and Cascade Mountains, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. Rubus ursinus (synonym R. macropetalus) is the only blackberry native to the West Coast. It has slender trailing stems armed with flattened prickles, and is found abundantly on prairies, burns, clearings and dense woodlands from the coast to the mid-mountains and from British Columbia to Northern California and to Eastern Idaho. This native blackberry has been extensively used as a parent in breeding. The Evergreen blackberry, R. lacianatus is native of England, where it is known as the cut-leaf or parsley-leaved blackberry. It appeared in Oregon around 1850, brought over to the west coast with explorers from England. Since that time, it has been spread along the Pacific coast by birds. The Himalaya blackberry, was introduced by Luther Burbank at the turn of the century. He thought it was from the Himalaya Mountains in Asia. Later he learned it was actually R. procerus of Germany. This is the common blackberry in the Pacific Northwest and is found wherever humans disturbed the land. The Himalaya has become a well-known weed, as well as a source of berries for pies and jams, however, it is not commercially grown. The wild blackberries have been important in the heritage of cultivated blackberries in the Northwest. Although blackberries were picked wild and processed for canning, few growers were interested in growing them commercially because of the thorns. In 1926, Mr. Philip Steffes of Sublimity, Oregon found a thornless plant growing east of Stayton, which was identical to the thorny Evergreen blackberry. When it was tested and found to be as productive as the thorny form, it quickly gained popularity and soon became the main blackberry sold in the United States, and grown extensively in Oregon. There are other types of berries in the Blackberry family. Let’s take a look at them. The origin and history of the Loganberry in the 1880's was the beginning of the use of breeding to obtain better commercial varieties. Judge J.H. Logan was an interested backyard plant breeder, who began experimenting with breeding small fruits in his home garden at Logan Heights near Santa Cruz, California. Unsatisfied with the many varieties of blackberries, Judge Logan tried to cross two varieties of blackberries and unwittingly planted next to an old variety of red raspberry, which had been cultivated for years in the area. The canes of all three fruited and flowered together and Judge Logan gathered and planted the seed. The 50 seedlings grew and produced a plant, which was similar to the blackberry parent Aughinbaugh variety, but much larger and stronger. This, of course, was the Loganberry; a cross between the blackberry and raspberry. The remaining 49 plants were the Mammoth Blackberry, the longest fruit of any variety ever grown. Since this time, viable crosses have been made between the cultivars of raspberry and blackberry producing offspring like the Logan to confirm its parentage. While the Logan proved to be productive and well adapted to western climatic conditions, the flavor was not popular with customers and marketing difficulties made it desirable to search further. The heritage of the Logan, being a blackberry by raspberry cross, stimulated interest in using it for breeding purposes and thus overshadowed the use of wild varieties for many years. Therefore, the Logan became a famous parent in the breeding of many cultivated varieties that are now commercially grown the in the Northwest. The Logan itself is grown mainly for juice, pies and wine. Another link in berry history was the discovery of the Boysenberry.In the late 1920's, George Darrow of the USDA began tracking down reports of a large, reddish-purple berry that had been grown by a man named Rudolf Boysen. He enlisted the help of Walter Knott, a Southern California farmer known as something of a berry expert. Knott hadn't heard of the new berry, but agreed to help Darrow in his search. The pair soon learned that Rudolf Boysen had abandoned his growing experiments several years earlier and sold his farm. Undaunted by this news, Darrow and Knott headed out to Boysen's old farm, where they found several frail vines surviving in a field choked with weeds. They transplanted the vines to Knott's farm where he nurtured them back to fruit-bearing health. Walter Knott's began selling the berries at his farm stand in 1935 and soon noticed that people kept returning to buy the large tasty berries. When asked what they were called, Knott said, "Boysenberries." As their popularity grew, Mrs. Knott began making preserves, which ultimately made Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California world famous. The Youngberry was another major breeding line used in many of our cultivated varieties. It was developed in Morgan City, Louisiana by B.M. Young in 1905. The Youngberry is a hybrid between the Phenomenal (a cultivar very similar to the Logan) and the Mayes Dewberry or trailing blackberry. It was not introduced until 1926, but it quickly became important in replacing the Logan to a great extent in California and to some extent in Oregon and Washington. The word "Bramble" means "envy" in the language of flowers. Blackberries and dewberries are symbolic of remorse. On both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, brambles were used medicinally hundreds of years ago. European blackberry juice was used to treat infections of the mouth and eyes until the 16th century. In the Pacific Northwest, salmonberry (R. spectabilis), the powdered bark was used in for toothache relief. A tea made from the leaves of Rubus macropetalus in western Washington is said to aid digestion. Thimbleberry (R. odoratus) and blackberry are being studied for tannins as anticancer drugs. The roots and stems are peeled and boiled, and the liquid drank to arrest vomiting. Blackberry and raspberry root decoctions have been used to remedy dysentery. Blackberries and raspberries contain relatively high quantities of ellagic acid, which has a wide range of functions: Anti-carcinogen/anti-mutagen, inhibition of HIV binding to cells, inhibition of blood clotting, and free radical scavenging have been documented in humans.

Blueberries: One very powerful health food.

The powerful Blueberry is at the peak of the season, with supplies coming in from Jersey, Michigan, Maine, Canada and the Northwest. In recent medical studies, the Blueberry has proven to be a very powerful tool to help slow down the affects of aging. Blueberries are loaded with anthocyanin, a very powerful antioxidant. Anthocyanin is the blue in the blueberry. When picking out blueberries, size doesn’t really matter. Maine Blueberries tend to be on the smaller side, while the Northwest Blueberries tend to be on the larger side. Look for bloom on your blueberry. That’s the whitish powdery substance on the blueberry. A lot of bloom means the berry is very fresh. If the berries are shiny, that means the bloom has all been rubbed off or dissipated. Those are old blueberries. This is the time of year to freeze your blueberries so you’ll have plenty for your winter blueberry muffins and pancakes. Blueberries are a good source of antioxidant activity, which can help lower the risk of cancer and heart disease, and even slow down some of the age-related brain deterioration. According to some recent research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, blueberries take the lead in a list of antioxidant-active fruits and vegetables. Blueberries contain significant quantities of both antibacterial and antiviral compounds, and have a reputation in northern Europe of fighting infections. They may also help protect against heart disease. Blueberries contain significant quantities of two types of antioxidants: vitamin C and anthocyanin, the pigment that makes a blueberry blue. Recent studies indicate that blueberries in particular may reverse some age-related impairments such as memory loss and motor coordination, as well as increase cell membrane fluidity. In Japan it is also widely felt that the anthocyanin extracted from blueberries can help improve tired eyes. Just 3.5 ounces of blueberries, enough to cover a bowl of cereal in the morning, has the antioxidant capacity of 1,773 International Units of vitamin E. Now, most people have heard about the antioxidant power of substances such as vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene. What most don't know is that fruits and vegetables, especially blueberries, are like super vitamins filled with dozens of other disease-preventing substances! Plump, juicy berries with a deep purple to blue-black skin color highlighted by a silvery sheen called "bloom." The more bloom you find on the berry, the fresher it is. The blueberry is the second most popular berry in the U.S.; the strawberry is No. 1. The blueberry muffin is the official muffin of Minnesota.

Raspberries are like tiny jewels in the produce department.

RASPBERRIES The early 49er Gold Miners of California, aptly named these beautiful red berries, Thimble Berries. The Raspberry is the only berry on the face of the planet that pulls off of the cap, which leaves them hollow, thus looking like a tiny thimble. This “cap less” berry is also among the most fragile of berries because it has no cap. Raspberries need to be treated as a newborn baby, very delicately. Also, buy them just before you use them. Martin Van Buren, while campaigning for the presidency in 1840, was said by his opponents to "wallow in raspberries,” a comment about Van Buren’s shocking extravagant lifestyle. It is said that in some parts of the nation, it is easier to buy a Hummer than it is to buy Raspberries. Today, Donald Trump turns 58. He enjoys Raspberries quite often. But then again, he can afford it. And if his chef doesn’t serve Raspberries, Trump gets to say his two famous words: “You’re fired.” According to legend, raspberries were originally white. However, the nymph Ida pricked her finger while picking berries for the crying infant Jupiter, and raspberries have since been tinged red with her blood. The botanical name of the raspberry is Rubus idaeus. Rubus means “red” and idaeus means “belonging to Ida.” One of the nation’s most well liked fruits; berries have origins in both Europe and here in the United States. The Native Americans were the first to incorporate berries into their diets and lifestyle. Today, berries are appreciated worldwide. In fact, Raspberries can be found growing in every continent in the world, from the tropics to the Artic, except in Antarctica. Raspberries signify summer and rightfully so, as the warmer months are the peak harvest for these fruits. Raspberries are suitable to eat raw and most types vary from 50 to 100 calories per serving if eaten raw. Berries are brimming with vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. In general, Raspberries should be dry, firm, well shaped, and eaten within a few days after purchase. If you can’t eat them that soon, remember that Raspberries freeze well! It’s best to buy Raspberries that are “in-season’” because they’ll cost less and are more ripe and flavorful than “out-of-season” Raspberries. Just remember, even though winter Raspberries are grown in the Southern Hemisphere, it may be “out of season” here, but it is certainly “in season” there. Also, stay away from containers of berries with juice stains which may be a sign that the berries are crushed and possibly moldy; soft, watery fruit that means the berries are overripe; dehydrated, wrinkled fruit that means the berries have been stored too long. Select raspberries and blackberries that are unblemished dry, in an unstained container. Raspberries should be medium to bright red, depending on the variety. Blackberries should be shiny and black — avoid those that are dull or reddish. Moisture will increase spoilage, so the berries themselves should be relatively dry. Shelf life for raspberries and blackberries is short, and they should be consumed within 2–3 days of purchase. Eat at room temperature for fullest flavor. After purchasing Raspberries, check the fruit and toss out any moldy or deformed berries. Immediately eat the overripe berries within 24 hours. Return the other berries back to the original container or they should be arranged unwashed in a shallow pan lined with paper towels, and washed just prior to use. Raspberries may be topped with a paper towel to absorb any additional moisture. Plastic wrap the entire container. This will ensure the fruit retains its freshness, but generally Raspberries should be eaten within 2-3 days. Because Raspberries have such a short shelf life, an alternative to enjoy them year round is to buy them fresh and freeze them. The secret to successful freezing is to use unwashed and completely dry Raspberries before placing them in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once the berries are frozen, transfer them to plastic bags or freezer containers. Frozen Raspberries should last approximately ten months to one year. When you’re ready to use them, go through the lot once more to sort out any undesirable fruit. Then, rinse, drain, and pat dry the fruit. Raspberries, often termed "Brambles,” are a diverse group of species in the genus Rubus. They are members of the Rosaceae family. That’s right. The rose family. Rubus is one of the most diverse genus of angiosperms in the world, consisting of 12 subgenera, some with hundreds of species. The Red Raspberry is native to Asia Minor and North America. Most food anthropologists believe the Red Raspberry originated near what we call Mt. Ida, in the Caucasus Mountains of southern China. The people of Troy and the foothills of Mt. Ida, around the time of Christ, gathered these tiny Red Raspberries. Records of domestication were found in 4th century writings of Palladius, a Roman agriculturist, and seeds have been discovered at Roman forts in Britain; hence, the Romans probably spread cultivation throughout Europe. The British popularized and improved raspberries throughout the middle ages, and exported the plants to New York by 1771. Today, around 353,346 metric tons of Red Raspberries are produced in the world. Russia leads with 95,000 metric tons, followed by Yugoslavia and Poland. The United States ranks 4th in world production with around 37,240 metric tons. Raspberries are classified as an aggregate of drupelets. Each drupelet is that tiny round part of the berry. There are hundreds of these drupelets, which make up the whole Raspberry. For the fresh market, California is a leading producer, followed by Oregon. There are only a handful of areas in the world where caneberries thrive, and there is nowhere they grow better than in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Long regarded as one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, the Valley has a climate that is perfectly suited for cane berry production. Fertile, well drained soil, favorably timed spring rains, and summers that are warm in daytime and cold at night, produce berries that are sweet and plump. Oregon’s Willamette Valley is known as “Raspberry Capital of the World,” growing about 20% of the nation’s supply of Red Raspberries. All totaled, over 90% of the Raspberries grown in the United States are harvested in California, Oregon, Washington and Michigan.

BERRIES (Wednesday, July 6): Grab your basket, we’re going to the berry patch. This time of year, from Maine to Washington, Florida to California, local berry farms are in full production. These are the tiny, but beautiful jewels in the produce department. There are plenty of Raspberries, Blackberries, Ollalieberries, Loganberries, Marionberries, Currants and Gooseberries. All are at their best prices for the year, and all are at their prime. When you’re purchasing berries, be sure to turn the plastic carton over and take a look. Do you see a lot of “leakers” in there? As fragile as these berries are, you would expect to see some slight leaking, but if there is a lot, you may want to try another basket. Berries don’t have a long shelf life, only about 7 – 10 days at most. By the time the berries are picked, packed, shipped to your store, there is probably already 5 days on those berries. So by the time you buy them, you need to use them quickly. Don’t treat them like your potatoes and onions, thinking you can store them. They are best used right away. Also, keep water away from your berries. Wash them just before you use them. By the way, have you ever wondered why the mixed berries come in smaller packages? They are usually packed in tiny half-pint plastic containers. Well, there is a very good reason. These tiny berries are extremely delicate. Each druplet on the berry is easily broken and damaged. The more druplets broken, the faster the berries will decay. Growers have determined that in order to prevent damage, they had to keep the baskets fairly small, keeping weight off the berries. Also, the plastic containers have about 5% holes in them. This helps in airflow. The colder you keep your berries, the longer they will last.

Enjoy the riper Papayas you’ve been seeing in the stores.

This ring spot disease nearly wiped out the Hawaiian Papaya industry.

PAPAYA (Thursday, July 7): Rings are beautiful…except when they are on a Papaya. Have you noticed riper Papayas in the supermarket? I remember when I first got into the produce business over 25 years ago, a ripe papaya was unheard of, unless of course you were in Hawaii. You see, up until just a few years ago, in order for a fresh Papaya to enter the United States, it had to go through a “hot bath” in order to kill any fruit fly or larvae that may be on the fruit. This hot bath wasn’t just tepid bath water. It was hot. In order for the fruit to make it through this hot bath, the fruit had to be very green. Recently, the USDA approved irradiation as a form of treatment for the fruit fly and its larvae. Many people have questions about irradiation. However, it has been proven safe for many years. In fact, the food that our NASA astronauts eat has been irradiated. Has been for many years. These are scientists. If they thought there was anything wrong with irradiation, they would have spoken up. Irradiating produce at very ultra-low levels of radiation, kills harmful bacteria like e-coli and salmonella, and it also kills any fruit flies or larvae that may be on the fruit. There are some environmental groups, for political or personal reasons, want to mis-inform the public about irradiation. Many products you buy today, including most of your baby diapers, have been irradiated. Our world, and our food would be a lot dirtier if it was not for this great technology. Just a few years ago, the Hawaiian Papaya industry nearly vanished. A “ring spot” decay had infested the orchards, almost to the point where growers just about called it quits by the late-1990s. Hawaii is the leading Papaya producer for the United States. Scientists came to the rescue and in less than 5 years, the Papaya industry was rebounding. In 1992, the virus first appeared in the Puna growing area. The virus spread rapidly, despite desperate measures to keep the virus under control. Once the virus hit the Puna area, farmers witnessed a reduction of approximately 15 million pounds of papaya compared to previous years. The viral spread and infestation decreased fresh papaya production by 40% in just 4 years. By 1997, many growers were ready to call it quits. The virus occurs as two strains. Type P (for papaya) infects both papaya and cucurbits (e.g. squash, pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon) while type W (for watermelon) infects cucurbits only. The two types are very closely related, except for the inability of type W to infect papaya. The disease derives its name from the striking symptoms that develop on fruit. These consist of concentric rings and spots or C-shaped markings, a darker green than the background-green fruit colour. Symptoms persist on the ripe fruit as darker orange-brown rings. The virus is spread from plant to plant by aphids. Many species of aphids are capable of transmitting the virus and it takes only a few seconds of feeding time for an aphid to acquire the virus onto its mouthparts. It is then able to spread the virus to other plants during brief feeding probes. Papaya ringspot virus is not spread by other insects and it does not survive in soil or dead plant material. The virus can also be spread by the movement of infected papaya plants and cucurbit seedlings. Once infected, plants cannot be cured by spraying with pesticides or removing plant parts showing symptoms. Although resistance has not been found in Carica papaya, scientists worked to introduce resistant genes into that species by interspecific cross breeding, followed by embryo rescue. Also, genetically engineered papaya containing the coat protein gene of papaya ringspot have been produced, which now makes up the bulk of the Papayas grown in Hawaii. Yes, indeed, these plants and their fruit are resistant to the PRV infection. That is why we have been seeing a comeback in Papaya production, and that means riper fruit, sweeter fruit, better flavored fruit…and less expensive fruit. Researchers at the University of Hawaii and Cornell University in New York devised the strategy to create this genetically engineered PRSV-resistant papaya. The governor of Hawaii, Ben Cayetano, says that “the Rainbow papaya enables Hawaii¹s papaya industry to reclaim its number one position of the market share on the mainland, especially when papaya consumption on the mainland is at an all time high -100 million pounds per year.”

PURPLE JALAPENOS (Friday, July 8): Have you heard of the term “fruit vegetable?” There are some vegetables, which by biological definition, are actually fruits. Fruits are items that contain an ovary and seeds. Cucumbers, Zucchini Squash and Peppers may be considered vegetables, but they are actually fruits that ripen. In today’s segment, I’ll show you the three stages of a “ripening” Jalapeno pepper. They start out green and immature. As they ripen, they enter a “chocolate” colored phase, which eventually gives way to the red color. This chocolate phase also makes the pepper appear to be “purple” in color. Most Jalapeno peppers are harvested in the green immature stage, but now, some growers are letting the peppers ripen on the vine for more maturity. Since the Red Jalapeno is a “ripe” fruit, it will decay faster than a green, immature Jalapeno pepper. So growers are picking them in the “chocolate” stage, so the pepper can have a longer shelf life. When you buy them, they will ripen to a beautiful red color. It’s a great science experiment for you and the family.

Top of page