LONG PROMO:   Hey, Easter comes early this year.  Not to worry.  I have all the produce you’re going to need for your Easter menu.  I have your Russet potatoes for mashed potatoes.   Beautiful green beans, finally.  I’ve got your pineapple.  And guess what!  Strawberries in time for Easter…next week, with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  Hey, they missed Valentine’s day, but strawberries are here for Easter…next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
                                                                                                         
GREEN BEANS (Monday, March 17):  All this week I’m getting you ready for Easter.  My goodness, it comes early.  Thank goodness we do have some great produce items, and I wanted to…Holy Toledo!  What happened to these?  Of course you’re going to have some green beans, right?  Take a look at these green beans.  Look how pale they look.  I bought these green beans three days ago.  They were absolutely gorgeous – some of the best green beans that I have seen in a long time - beautiful green color, very velvety in texture.  They snapped like they’re supposed to.  But I wanted to show you – look what happens after just three days, and look, I’ve had them in my refrigerator.  They start getting dehydrated.  Green beans have one of the thinnest skins of any produce item out there, and it breathes faster than any other produce item.  So here’s what I suggest.  Don’t buy your green beans for your Easter dinner like three or four days ahead of time.  Buy your green beans for your Easter dinner like the day ahead of time.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, I’ve got a good tip on green beans.

RUSSET POTATOES (Tuesday, March 18): Hey, we’re getting you ready for your Easter dinner this coming weekend.  Of course, you’ve got to have some mashed potatoes.  Oh, Russet potatoes.  We’re seeing great supplies of bagged Russet potatoes.  You know, the 5, 10, 15, and 20 pound bags.  Great supplies of those.  Oh, would you take a look at that.  Take a look at some of these potatoes.  They start getting cracks in them.  See those cracks?  It’s very, very typical, especially…turn it over and look at some of the ends of the potatoes.  They start getting more cracks on the ends of the potatoes. Now, the only reason I bring that up – there’s nothing wrong with these potatoes.  Those are called storage cracks, but I do want you to take a look at those cracks because you can start growing mold in some of those cracks so that’s what I want you to look for.  Just because a potato has a crack in it, no big deal.   Hey, you’re going to mash it up anyway.  By the way, I am starting to see a few little sprouts on these potatoes.  That’s normal this time of year.  Just pluck them off before you cook them.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report…for your Easter dinner, you’ve got to have Russet potatoes for mashed potatoes. 

STRAWBERRIES (Wednesday, March 19):  What an exciting week this is.  The first day of spring is this week.  We’ve got Easter this weekend, and I am really excited because we missed Valentine’s Day with strawberries.  Ah ha!  We’re not going to miss Easter.  We have got some great strawberry supplies just for you.  Look at those beautiful conical shaped berries.  And the color is finally starting to come back.  They did have some rain and wind which did lessen the color.  You find a little bit of what we call white shoulder, but that’s a-okay.  The strawberries are still fantastic.   So, in time for your Easter menu, may I suggest you have some strawberry shortcake for dessert?  Please, at my house we are definitiely going to have strawberry shortcake.  Now one of the things I do want you to remember – never ever in a million years, wash the berry until just before you use them.  So  just before you cut them up, that’s when you wash them.  Don’t buy your strawberries today and then wash them and put them in the fridge.  Man, they will melt, so just before you use them.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report, I’m really excited – strawberries in time for Easter.  (Takes Bite)  Mmmm.

PINEAPPLES PART I (Thursday, March 20):  That’s right.  Get out your marshmellow cream.  You better have some pineapple on the dinner table this coming weekend for your Easter meal.  Oh, my goodness!  Now, what do you look for on pineapple?  You walk up to these things.  They’re probably one of the most difficult produce items to pick out.  The first thing I’m looking at…these three things.  Take a look at this.  Look at this crown.  Look how wilted it looks.  It’s very dry.  This comes from an old pineapple.  Take a look at these crowns.  These crowns are very fresh, very green.  Also, take a look at these eyes right here.  These are not plump eyes.   This is dehydrated.  Do you see how it actually breaks apart in between the eyes?  This pineapple is dehydrated.  It’s been around a while.  I’m not going to choose this one.  Take a look at this.  Look how plump those eyes are, and, man, that means this is going to be much juicier and sweeter.  Finally, aah, just smell the bottom.  It smells like the tropics.  That’s going to be a good pineapple for Easter.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, what’s wrong with this crown on this pineapple?
  
PINEAPPLES PART II (Friday, March 21):  All this week we’ve been getting you ready for your Easter dinner this coming weekend.  Oh, I can’t wait!  We’ve got some great prices for your Easter meal.  Yesterday we talked about how to pick out a good pineapple.  Today I thought it would be very important to show you how to store your pineapple because that’s almost important as actually picking them out.  So you get your pineapple home.  What are you going to do with it?  Huh?  What? You’re going to put it in your refrigerator?  Well, here’s what I would do.  I would not put it in my refrigerator, and I would not store it like this on…just like so.  I would actually lay them down just like so.  Lay them down gently.  I know this skin looks like it’s really tough and has an armor on the outside, but still these will bruise very easily, so treat them like a newborn baby.  Treat them very gently.  So actually, I lay them down.  The reason I do this, right down here is  most of the sugar, down here.  This is the ripest part of the fruit, so if you store it like this, all the weight of the fruit goes right down there and turns it to mush.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. 

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, I’m going to show you how to properly store your pineapple.