MR. GREENS "FRESH TIPS"
February 15, 2002
Our last PRODUCE MAN PUZZZZLE dealt 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? "Zazu" has been with the Harlem Globetrotters for just a few years. He told us that the first time he played in Denver, after just a few minutes of the first quarter, he was so winded, out of breathe. The coach called him over and said, "You didn't have any fruit before the game, did you?" "No, Coach," Zazu said. "Well get back there and down some quickly," the coach told him. Zazu came back and couldn't believe the difference in his breathing. "Now before every game," Zazu says, "I down a whole bunch." The fruit was a big bowl of sliced…Navel Oranges. With the Winter Olympics in full swing, this week's PUZZZZLE deals with produce from Europe: Before the potato came along, what was the "potato" of Europe? See next week's "Fresh Tips" for the answer.
--STILL FEELING THE COLD: Two years ago, in Yuma, Arizona, temperatures were running about 10 degrees warmer than normal. The heat problems were many, ranging from lack of blanching in the Romaine hearts, to more wilting and dehydration. Wilting actually makes the leaves more susceptible to mold and decay, shortening shelf life. Heat was also causing the heads of Broccoli and Cauliflower to "spread out" and become "ricy," which affects cooking and yields. This year is a very different story. For the past month or so, temperatures in the Yuma region have been much colder than normal. At its worst point, daytime temperatures were not even reaching 60 degrees, and nights were freezing. Even though temperatures have improved, into the 70s during the day and upper 40s and lower 50s at night, we are still feeling the affects of the cold with still very high prices on lettuce, leaf lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and celery. We are still seeing light weights with the iceberg and leaf lettuces. Some iceberg cartons we have seen packed in the field, have not even been reaching 45 pounds. Certainly the Valentine's Day demand magnified the supply and quality problems, pushing prices even higher. Aside from the lighter weights, which translates into lighter yields for salads, we have also seen less production in the fields. If an acre of lettuce normally yields 800 - 900 cartons of lettuce, because of the weather conditions, causing some product to simply go to seed in the field, some growers are seeing only 400 - 500 cartons per acre. Because of quality issues, harvesters are leaving a lot more than normal in the fields. The same wilting that takes place in very hot conditions, also takes place in cold conditions, which is why you may see more "limp" leaves. One final note, cold temperatures can stress a human's immune system, which is why we get more colds and flu in the colder months. It's the same for plants. They become stressed and more susceptible to disease and mildew, which further reduces the yields from the fields.
 U.S. WINTER OLYMPIC ATHLETES LOVE THEIR FRUITS & VEGETABLES |
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Sasha Cohen may become the next Michelle Kwan in US Figure Skating,
and may become the first woman to complete a quadruple Salchow in
Olympic competition. Her favorite fruit are sweet, juicy, red Strawberries. |
 U.S.
Freestyle Skier Jonny Moseley, on his final jump at the 1998 Winter
Olympics in Nagano, Japan, stunned the spectators. He did a complete
spin while grabbing his inside ski. The jump was called a "360-mute
grab" and Moseley stuck the landing for the Gold. His favorite
fruit is a banana |
 Picabo Street captured silver at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, then gold in the super-G at the Nagano Games. A medal at the 2002 Salt Lake Games would make her the first American skier -- male or female -- to win three Olympic medals in alpine skiing. Her all-time favorite meal is a baked potato. Picabo prefers Potatoes. Or, Street savors Spuds. |
 For Bode Miller, it's quite simple: The fastest one wins. In Salt Lake City, Miller will enter his second Winter Olympics, having survived knee surgery. His favorite fruit is: Simply Grapes. |