Your Produce Man - Produce News

Our last PRODUCE MAN PUZZZZLE dealt with Avocados: The Super Bowl is the #2 event for Avocado usage in the U.S. What is the #1 event for Avocado usage in the U.S.? As American as the Super Bowl is, someone said that the #1 event for avocado usage is the 4th of July. Well, sort of. It is the "4th of July" for Mexico. Only they call it the 5th of May, or Cinco de Mayo. With the Winter Olympics beginning this weekend, this week's PUZZZZLE deals with fruit in high altitudes: There is a fruit which is used by some athletic trainers to help increase oxygen intake in high altitudes. In fact, when the Harlem Globetrotters play in Denver, the mile high city, their coach sets out a lot of this fruit. What fruit is it? See next week's "Fresh Tips" for the answer.

-ARTICHOKES: The Spring crop is just starting up, and growers tell us it is looking to be one of the better crops. Plants are looking very healthy, with some “poles” starting to shoot up out of the plants. At the end of each pole is an artichoke. This year, growers are very optimistic about the Spring crop, however, as happened during several seasons in the 1990s, too much Spring frost can significantly cut the crop, and too much Spring rain can flood it out as well. The Artichoke is neither a fruit nor a vegetable. It’s history dates back to the Middle East, the Mediterranean. In fact, the plant is a Mediterranean thistle plant. The artichoke is actually the flowering bud of that plant. Guess that makes the artichoke the original edible flower. The plant loves the Mediterranean California Strawberries

weather, which is why Italian growers fell in love with Castroville. Actually, the Italians fell in love with San Francisco, but as one grower says, “San Francisco would have been the perfect spot to grow artichokes, other than Italy. There was just one problem. San Francisco already had buildings there.” So the growers took their plant to Castroville. Today, this tiny coastal town hosts the annual Artichoke Festival every May, and is the self-proclaimed “Artichoke Capital of the World.”During the late Winter or early Spring season, the Artichokes can actually look like the ugly duckling in the produce department. You can find artichokes with a brownish-black blistering on the outer leaves. It’s kind of like chapped lips

on Artichokes, andit’s very typical for this time of year. They may look ugly, but Italians actually prize these chokes. You see, the colder temperatures will actually slow the growth of the globe, but adds “meat” to the leaves. You can pick up one of these “winter kissed” or “frost kissed” artichokes, and you will first notice how very heavy it is for its size. That’s because of all the heavy meat on the leaves. These “frosted” chokes also tend to have a bigger heart. Don’t shy away from these ugly

chokes. They are only ugly in appearance. As we move out of the coldest part of winter/spring, the chokes will start losing that blistered look. From March through May, St. Patrick’s Day to Mother’s Day, about 75% of the annual artichoke crop will be harvested. Now is the time to get chokes back on your menu. By the way, Dr. Ruth has dubbed the Artichoke as the official Valentine’s vegetable. During ancient Roman days, the Artichoke was considered an aphrodisiac. Come to think of it, everything to the Romans seemed to be an aphrodisiac. In Salt Lake City, athletes will be “going for the gold.” Right now, you can go for the “globe,” the globe artichoke. Don’t get all choked up. Just get our chokes.

Take a walk down the produce isle for your Valentine's Day produce. It will heat up your Valentine. Grapefruit is always sweetest on the blossom end, so make sure that's the end you give your Valentine. Broccoli is actually made up of hundreds of tiny flowers. For Jack Benny, this would be his bouquet of flowers for his Valentine. If you're planning to propose marriage on Valentine's Day, get your Red Delicious Apple. In ancient days, tossing a red apple was a marriage proposal. Don't forget the official fruit of Valentine's Day, the Strawberry. It's the only fruit shaped like a heart. Give your Valentine a dozen Nectarines instead of Roses. Cut open a ripe Nectarine and smell it. You can still smell the faint aroma of its ancient past. It is related to the Rose. Finally, stock up on Carrots. Roman men ate carrots to increase their virility and fed it to their women to "loosen their morals." Carrots were the original Viagra!