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Check Out This Weeks Recipe from Your Produce Man. Click Here.
| Last week’s YOUR PRODUCE MAN’S PRODUCE PUZZZZLE still dealt with Cranes and produce: What famous produce item is associated with the Crane bird? In March, Spring begins. It is also the beginning of the Crane watch in Nebraska, where the largest concentration of this bird will take place over the next several weeks. Have you looked at the blossoms of some vines or plants? For example, the blossom of the Passion Fruit tree looks like the crucifix, so the fruit was called “Passion” fruit. Well, the blossom of our mystery item looks just like the head and neck of the Crane bird. When the early American Pilgrims set foot on America, they noticed the blossom of this vine that grows in the sand. They called it…Craneberry. Today, we call it Cranberry. So, this week's YOUR PRODUCE MAN’S PRODUCE PUZZZZLE deals with computers and apples: Was the Macintosh computer named after the McIntosh apple? See next week's "Fresh Tips" for the answer. |
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TOMATOES (Monday, March 14): Albert Einstein was born on this date in 1879. He was a genius, proving the theory of relativity. Well, it doesn’t take a genius to know that weather impacts our produce. Mother Nature, more than anything else, determines what we buy, how good it is, and how much we pay for it. Well, I’ve got my produce theory of relativity. It’s not E=MC2. It’s bad weather equals higher prices. That’s certainly what we will find in the tomato section for the next several weeks. In most years, from about Thanksgiving through Mother’s Day, most of our tomatoes are grown in Florida and Mexico. This year, the tomato crop in Florida got a very late start because of the four hurricanes in August, pushing the start of harvest from early November to early December. Mexican growers may have started on time, but they will be ending very early this year. The reason: Rain. Lots of it. In fact, during one 24-hour period, over 9” of rain fell on the main Tomato growing regions of Mexico, in Culiacan, Sinaloa to Los Mochis, Sonora. Storm after storm hit the region, with barely enough time between storms to dry out. Some rain is good. But a lot of rain can really stress out the plants, causing the plants to put out less fruit, weaker fruit. Most growers I’ve spoken to say they could be ending their harvest almost a month ahead of schedule this year. Instead of harvesting into late April, most will end harvest in late March. This will not only affect regular slicing Tomatoes, but also Cherry Tomatoes, Grape Tomatoes and Roma Tomatoes. In an average week, between Florida and Mexico, about 5 million cartons of tomatoes will be harvested. In early March, over 5.5 million cartons were harvested. So you may be wondering, “How did the rain affect supplies?” Good question. However, when vegetable plants are stressed, before they succumb to disease, stress or weakness, they have one final “gasp of air.” The plants push out as much fruit as possible in its plant biological way of reproducing itself. Once the plants have this final gasp of production, the plants basically shut down and die. That’s what is happening, field after field in Mexico. The unrelenting rains have caused a very quick end to the tomato season. Domestic supplies from California’s desert doesn’t get started until mid-to-late April. Usually, Mexico ends just as California begins. Florida won’t have enough fruit to supply the entire United States, and there won’t be enough imports from Puerto Rico either. That means, from late March through all of April, expect tomato supplies to shrink quickly and prices rise quickly. It’s the produce theory of relativity. Bad weather equals higher prices. By the way. In the produce industry is the “Alice in Wonderland” industry. It’s up side down when it comes to higher prices and quality. In the manufacturing world, the higher the price, the better the quality. In produce, the higher the price, the worse the quality.
CABBAGE, RED POTATOES (Tuesday, March 15): The time of year when you have heavier demand for St. Patrick's Day, is usually the time of year when you have the least amount of Red Potatoes. Right now, most Red Potatoes are coming out of Washington and North Dakota, but supplies are getting even tighter. There are also some Reds from Maine and Prince Edward Island. And new crop Reds have begun in Florida. Growers there are telling us that this year’s quality has been great. They have great color and very little skinning from the digging process. Shipments from the Red River Valley in North Dakota remain strong, however a few growers say they may done with shipping by late March. New crops of Red Potatoes from Arizona and California will be starting up by mid-April, which should help ease the supply gap. Arizona may be late with their crop this Spring because of a much wetter than normal winter. The early "Norland" variety of Red Potato tends to have heavier supplies of "B" size Reds. In fact, this year, this early Red Variety had as much as 60-70% packout of Red Potatoes. The Red La Soda variety, which is the variety being packed right now, tends to have fewer "B" size packout. In fact, from the packout of Red Potatoes from North Dakota, the Red "B" packout has dropped from about 30% of the crop, to only about 8% of the crop! Combine that huge drop in pack out numbers with higher St. Patrick's Day demand, and you have a recipe for sharply higher prices. Color plays a big role in Red Potatoes, which makes the Red one of the toughest spuds to grow. Reds grown in Florida, Arizona and California tend to be lighter in color because of the warmer growing temperatures. Also, the sandy soil in these regions, tends to mean "cleaner" Reds, with very little scarring from the harvest. On the other hand, colors are darker for Red Potatoes that are grown in Washington and North Dakota, but the thicker soil can cause more scarring, or “skinning,” during the harvest process.
The head of the cabbage plant is made up of several layers of overlapping leaves. Head cabbage and head lettuce are similar in appearance, but cabbage leaves are usually more tightly wrapped on the head. Cabbage smells good, but that depends on which way the wind is blowing. When I was in England, I was told that there are three vegetables used most in England. Two of them…are cabbage. The Walrus, courtesy of Lewis Carroll’s 19th century “Through the Looking Glass,” said, "The time has come...to talk of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing wax--of cabbages--and kings--And why the sea is boiling hot--And whether pigs have wings." On St. Patrick’s Day, cabbage is once again King. To Russians, Cabbage is King every day. Slavs began growing cabbages in the 9th century, when Greek and Roman colonists brought them from the Black Sea region into Russia. Within a few centuries, Russian princes were paying tribute not only with racing horses and jewels, but also with garden plots planted with kopusta, or cabbage. Now considered Russia's national food, cabbage is often consumed at several meals of the day, and Russians eat some seven times as much cabbage as the average American. The word "cabbage" is an Anglicized form of the French caboche, meaning "head." It has been used, loosely, to refer to loose-heading (or even nonheading) forms of Brassica oleracea as well as to the modern hard-heading type classified as B. oleracea variety capitata. The Celts of central and western Europe had much to do with the distribution and popularization of cabbage as a food plant. Introduction of "cabbage" into Europe has been generally ascribed to the Romans, but it seems probable that the Celts introduced it even earlier. The Celts invaded Mediterranean lands repeatedly from about 600 B.C. to the beginning of the Christian Era, reaching into Asia Minor around 278 B.C. They also reached into the British Isles in the fourth century B.C. Shortly before the beginning of the Christian Era the Romans spread into northern Europe and into Britain. Cabbage was introduced to America in 1541-42 by Jacques Cartier, who planted it in Canada on his third voyage. Because of its popularity among Europeans, it was doubtless planted in what is now the United States by some of the earliest colonists, although there is no written record of it until 1669. In the 18th century it was being grown by American Indians as well as by the colonists. Cabbage actually was the start of many other great vegetables, including Kale, Cauliflower, Broccoli and even my favorite, Brussels Sprouts! So what do Red Potatoes and Cabbage have to do with Bubble and
Squeak? It’s an old English dish using the left overs from
Sunday’s roast dinner, cooked potatoes and cabbage. Supposedly,
it was named for the sounds the two ingredients make while cooking.
Bubble goes the potatoes and squeak goes the Cabbage. Originally,
the dish also included beef. Basically, it’s Potato Pancakes,
English style. You can add cheese to them, but here is the official
Bubble and Squeak recipe from the Two Fat Ladies:
LETTUCE (Wednesday, March 16): Funny man Jerry Lewis turns 80 today. With his wild antics, we laughed. Well, we’re not laughing about the wild antics of the weather this winter. What a wild winter this has been in the lettuce growing region of Yuma, Arizona. Yuma, by the way, is the sunniest city in the United States. Not so this year. Over the past 60 days, there has been more strom than sun. More rain than warmth. And that rain is taking its toll on the last fields of lettuce being harvested right now. A hailstorm two weeks ago caused some growers to abandon some lettuce fields. Usually, there is a very smooth transition from the southern growing regions in Yuma and the Imperial Valley, to more northern growing fields in Huron and finally, Salinas. This year, we’re going to see some pot-holes in that transition. The unrelenting rain in Yuma will bring lettuce harvest to a much quicker end, before more northern fields can really get into harvest. The rains that affected Yuma have also affected the planting of crops in Huron and Salinas. Rains keep tractors out of the fields, delaying the field preparation and planting. This delay in planting will lead to a delay in harvest. That means some supply gaps between the south and the north. The unrelenting rains in Yuma not only slows harvest, but it also weakens the stands of lettuce, whether Iceberg, Romaine or Leaf. The weakened lettuce plants become far more susceptible to disease, insect damage, mildew and even decay right in the fields. This greatly reduces the yields at the time of harvest. If a normal field produced 800 cartons of lettuce, these weakened fields may only produce 400 – 500 cartons of lettuce. For some growers, it makes more economical sense to cut your losses and head north. Abandon the fields, which is the decision many growers are making. Until we get into full Spring production from Huron and Salinas sometime in mid-April, expect to see a lot of hit-and-miss quality. Expect also to see less shelf-life. Use the product quickly.
BASIL (Thursday, March 17): Well, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, the one day a year we actually look good in green. So let’s turn our mashed potatoes green for the day as well. Michael Marks, Your Produce Man says that getting Leprechaun green mashed potatoes is far easier…and tastier…than you ever imagined. First, simply make your favorite mashed potatoes and set them aside. You can make your own “green” or you can buy it. Making your own is simple enough. Get some fresh basil, parsley and chives, about one bunch each, maybe two. Puree these herbs in a blender, adding a little olive oil to help bind it all. Take this green herb puree and blend it into your mashed potatoes. Another way is to buy some ready-made pesto. There are lots of great ones in the produce department. Start adding the pesto into your mashed potatoes. Add more if you want a greener look. With pesto, presto, you’ve got green mashed potatoes fit for any St. Patrick’s Day dinner. Right now, you may be seeing some pretty ugly fresh Basil. Don’t worry. Your local grocery store isn’t doing a bad job. It’s simply a growing condition problem. You see, this time of year, most of our fresh Basil is grown in open fields in Mexico, with some coming in from Colombia as well. From Monday’s show, you have gathered that there has been a lot of rain in Mexico. Well, that rain is causing the Basil to decay right in the fields. Rain and Basil…just don’t mix. It’s like water on the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz. She melts. So does Basil. The Basil leaf does not have any protective coating on it. Lettuce and other greens, for example, have a thin waxy coating, called a “cuticle.” This waxy coating keeps rain and moisture from simply soaking into the leaf, bloating the cell structure and ruining the lettuce. Basil does not have this protective waxy coating. So, when it rains, the water can easily soak into the tender leaf. As the cell structures bloat, and then burst, they turn black. Some basil importers are having to sort the Basil as it enters the United States. Some tell me that in the sorting process, they are throwing about 50% away. That high percentage of waste, will lead to higher prices and smaller bunches. Also, the extra handling even causes some bruising to the leaf. Don’t shy away from the Basil. Just use it quickly and add it into cooked dishes or on top of your pizza. That way, the discoloration won’t even be noticed. SPRING MIX (Friday, March 18): The first day of Spring begins this weekend. Lettuce growers can’t wait for the winter to be over. The smallest ones are the more fragile ones. That’s true in the human world and the plant world. The smaller you are, the more vulnerable you are. You may have noticed much higher prices on Spring Mix, both bulk and in the bag. That’s because the rains that have affected Iceberg, Romaine and Leaf Lettuce fields, have also devastated the delicate baby lettuce and baby green fields that are used for Spring Mix. One grower in Yuma walked away from 300 acres of the tender lettuces they use for Spring Mix. Over 60 days of rain is the culprit here. There was barely enough time between storms for the fields to dry out completely. In fact, most baby lettuce growers had to stop the use of mechanical harvesters and go back to the days of 15 years ago, when manual harvest was the way that baby lettuces were picked. “We just couldn’t get the equipment into the fields,” one grower told me. “The equipment caused more damage to fields, so we had to revert to hand harvest.” That’s a costly proposition, which has almost tripled the cost of Spring Mix.
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