Summer Cantaloupe coming in from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

During winter and spring months, Mexico supplies a lot of our melons

CANTALOUPE (Monday, Dec. 15): Domestic melons are finished, which will mean we will be relying on more imported fruit. Most melons during November and into December are grown in Hermosillo, Sonora, in northern Mexico. Last year, just when Hermosillo growers were getting ready to start their first picking, the USDA halted all cantaloupes from Mexico until growers were able to file applications for importing to the U.S. I've been to this growing region, investigating the quality of growing, water and food safety. In the La Costa Valley, about an hour northeast of Hermosillo, the capital city of Sonora, melon fields are now coming into full production. Less than 50 years ago, this entire valley was nothing more than a desert, with mesquite bushes and cactus as the only vegetation. Irrigation literally transformed this desert into an oasis for melons. Today in the La Costa Valley, over two-thirds of the growers use drip irrigation, technology and equipment from Israel and California. Unlike some misperception about foreign-grown produce, the water for irrigation is drawn from deep wells, about 600 feet deep, tapping into subterranean rivers flowing from the Sierra Madre mountain range, just east of the La Costa Valley. The water is then filtered, first by nature, then by high-tech, computer-analyzed systems. The drip irrigation tubes are then placed, not above the ground, but generally about 4 - 6" under the soil. This method puts water close to the root system of the plant, not on the surface where it can drain off or evaporate. Growers here also use colored plastics to line the rows of melons. In cooler regions of the valley, clear plastic is used. Condensation forms underneath the plastic. As the sun's rays shine through the clear plastic, each water droplet acts like a magnifying glass, warming the soil and the root system. Warmer soil and roots means faster growth and a healthier plant, and this produces better sugar content in the fruit as well. In the Hermosillo region, there are about 16,000 acres of vegetables and melons. Most of the melons are shipped to the U.S. through late December. That's when supplies from the Caribbean should start up. These are known as "off-shore" melons. The main countries in this region are Costa Rica and Honduras. Between Thanksgiving and Mothers Day, these two countries will supply about 60% of the U.S. supply of melons. Four years ago, Hurricane Mitch wiped out a lot of supplies. So far, weather conditions have been excellent for planting and fruit growth.

You’ve probably seen this in the store and asked, “What in the world is that?”

The Pomelo can grow as large as a bowling ball.

POMELO (Tuesday, Dec. 16): Eons ago, the citrus family of fruit diverged in three general directions from a point of origin in the shadow of the Himalayan mountains near present-day Bhutan. The line of citrus that branched into Southeast Asia yielded the Pomelo (also spelled pummelo). In another time and place, the Pomelo would sire the grapefruit, which now far overshadows its Southeast Asian granddad in the United States. This granddad to today’s grapefruit is still referred to as “Chinese Grapefruit.” And dozens of southern California farmers are bringing the Pomelo back. Pomelos certainly contribute visual drama to the winter markets. They look like over inflated grapefruits. The Pomelo is the largest of the citrus fruits with a shape that can be fairly round or slightly pointed at one end (the fruit ranges from nearly round to oblate or pear-shaped). They range from cantaloupe-size to as large as a 25-pound watermelon and have very thick, soft rind. The skin is green to yellow and slightly bumpy; flesh color ranges from pink to rose. Most of what you see in stores is about the size of bowling balls. They have a thick peel and even thicker layer of white pith, which accounts for the Pomelo’s appeal to preservers. The flesh is sweeter and chewier than grapefruit. Like grapefruits, they can range from almost seedless to very seedy, from juicy to dry, from sweet to sour. It is sweeter than a grapefruit and can be eaten fresh, although membranes around the segments should be peeled. Pomelos commonly have 16 to 18 segments, compared to most grapefruit that have about 12 segments. Be sure to refrigerate and use quickly. Use as you would grapefruit sections. They are also good for jams, jellies, marmalades and syrups. Most of the customers for Pomelos fall into one of two categories, says Fred Campbell, a Fallbrook grower. There are those who have never seen a Pomelo before and exclaim, "What the heck is that!" And there are Asian customers who know it well, and are often so particular about it that they want it with a stem and leaf attached. What do you do with a Pomelo leaf? The Food of China, by E.N. Anderson, has this suggestion: "Water in which Pomelo skins or leaves have been soaked is commonly used to drive away ghosts and evil spirits." The grapefruit is recognized as a distinct species of citrus. But it was never mentioned in ancient Chinese texts that catalogued other citrus fruits, leading botanists to suspect that it got its start outside of Asia from a cross in the wild between a Pomelo and a sweet orange. Some have gone so far as to peg the union to the Caribbean in the 1750s. (About a century earlier an English seafarer, Captain Shaddock, brought the Pomelo to the West Indies, where it joined the orange, which was introduced by Columbus on his second voyage in 1494.) Grapefruit need long periods of uninterrupted heat to get sweet and stay thin-skinned. So farmers in coastal counties couldn’t grow them—until plant breeders at the University of California’s Citrus Research Center in Riverside came to the rescue with genes from a Pomelo. Out of their efforts to breed a cooler-climate grapefruit, the Oroblanco and Mellowgold were born in 1958. They are siblings from a cross made that year between a Siamese acidless Pomelo from Thailand and a white grapefruit, says Dr. Mikeal Roose, a botanist at the university. They have the eye-catching heft of their Thai parent but have a thinner skin. They are sweeter than straight grapefruit, even when grown in a cool climate. Moreover, since the Pomelo has two sets of chromosomes while the grapefruit has four, the offspring were left with three, which renders them seedless.

Tangerine with stems and leaves.

FAIRCHILD TANGERINE (Wednesday, Dec. 17): The Stems & Leaves are here. When I first started working in a produce department in a small town in California, some of my Chinese customers would come in the store, starting in early December, and ask me, “Are the stems and leaves in yet?” When I first heart that questions, I was stumped. But a 3rd generation Chinese American explained that stems and leaves still attached to the Tangerine is a symbol of good luck and prosperity for the new year. So, every year, around this time, you’ll start seeing the stems and leaves. The Fairchild is one of the popular tangerines grown in the United States. The Fairchild tangerine is North America's earliest ripening variety and one of California's most heavily planted varieties. It’s the “first of the season” Tangerine. The Fairchild is thin-skinned with what we call a “zipper skin” that peels easily. They are sweet, juicy but unfortunately, they do contain seeds, so be careful when you are giving them to your kids.

The “unofficial” Latke spud is the Russet.

Get out the Applesauce or the Sour Cream.

RUSSET POTATO (Thursday, Dec. 18): The Jewish holiday of Chanukah begins this weekend, the Feast of Lights. So get out the spuds for your latkes. A Latke is a crisp, fried Jewish potato pancake, with eggs, onion, matzo meal and seasonings. Usually served with applesauce and sour cream. The wives of the Maccabees supposedly served them to their husbands as they prepared to drive the ancient Syrians from their land. Latkes are eaten during Chanukah, the Feast of Lights, to commemorate the victory. Always press the water out of the potatoes (using your hands or a colander) after you grate them but before you mix in other ingredients--it makes for a firmer latke! Anything can be made low-fat just by changing how you cook the latke! For a lower fat version, just fry for a minute or two on each side, and bake latkes for about 10 minutes at 400-450 degrees, then another 5 minutes on the other side. Always use canola or peanut oil for frying. Lighter-tasting oils are essential for the flavors of the latkes to emerge without being overpowered by a lot of a strong-flavored oil. Latkes are traditional Hanukkah foods. They are fried in oil, and remind us of the miracle of the oil which burned for eight days rather then for one. It is said that oil is like studying Torah in two ways.
1) Oil is not a food we eat by ourselves and not necessary for out daily existence. It simply adds pleasure to our food and life, as does the study of Torah. 2) Oil has the potential to illuminate. If you stand in a dark room you can light oil to see the room around you. Study of Torah can also illuminate our world for us.
By the way, the best spud for Potato Pancakes is the Russet. It’s high starch, low sugar content is perfect for melting all those great flavors together.

Cranberries: The official berry of the Holiday season.

Cranberries for the fresh market are harvested with this “mower.”

CRANBERRIES (Friday, Dec. 19): Did you know that there are 440 cranberries in one pound? 4,400 cranberries in one gallon of juice? 440,000 cranberries in a 100-pound barrel? Seven of 10 cranberries sold in the world today come from Ocean Spray, a grower cooperative started in 1930. If you strung all the cranberries produced in North America last year, they would stretch from Boston to Los Angeles more than 565 times. Growers have finished harvesting this year’s cranberries. If you haven’t purchased your Cranberries for the holiday dinners, stop what you’re doing and go get them now. They may not be there if you wait until just before Christmas. If you have never really used fresh cranberries, they are easier to use than you think, with a lot of versatile uses for holiday recipes. Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow in water. They are grown on sandy bogs or marshes. Because cranberries float, some bogs are flooded when the fruit is ready for harvesting. If all the cranberry bogs in North America were put together, they would comprise an area equal in size to the tiny island of Nantucket, off Massachusetts, approximately 47 square miles. Native Americans, long before the Pilgrims arrived in 1620, mixed deer meat and mashed cranberries to make pemmican - a convenience food that kept for long periods of time. They also believed that cranberries had medicinal value, and were used by medicine men as an ingredient in poultices to draw poison from arrow wounds. Cranberry juice was a natural dye for rugs, blankets and clothing. The Delaware Indians in New Jersey used the cranberry as a symbol of peace. Cranberries have had a variety of different names since their discovery. Eastern Indians called them "sassamanesh." Cape Cod Pequots and the South Jersey Leni-Lenape tribes named them "ibimi," or bitter berry. The Algonquins of Wisconsin called the fruit "atoqua." But it wasn't until German and Dutch settlers came up with "crane berry,"

The anatomy of a Cranberry bog.

because the vine blossoms resembled the neck, head and bill of a crane, that we arrive at what we know today as the cranberry. Cranberries are unlike any other fruit in the world. From Cape Cod to Washington State, the cranberry has played a role in holiday culture and family health & wellness for years. Its unique health benefits and refreshing, tart taste put it in a league of its own when it comes to healthy refreshment. American recipes containing cranberries date from the early 18th Century. Legend has it that the Pilgrims may have served cranberries at the first Thanksgiving in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. During World War II, American troops required about one million pounds of dehydrated cranberries a year. The hearty cranberry vine thrives in conditions that would not support most other crops: acid soil, few nutrients and low

temperatures, even in summer. Epidemiological evidence has long supported the role of naturally occurring anti-cancer agents in fruits and vegetables in reducing the risk of many diseases, including cancers and heart disease. A variety of compounds produced by plants, such as flavonoids, have been investigated for their anti-cancer activity. Cranberries are a rich source of these compounds, which may have anti-cancer activity. Other research being presented at Experimental Biology continues to support the potential benefit of cranberry juice in protecting against cholesterol oxidation. Last year, The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science issued a report calling for increases in daily intake of the antioxidant vitamins C and E to exploit their role in maintaining good health. New research supports a potentially broader range of benefits for fighting bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enteritidis, as well as E. coli.