Summer Raspberries are brightening up our winter produce.

RASPBERRIES (Monday, Jan. 5): Thimble Berries are in full production. Well, at least in places like Chile and Mexico. It may be winter in the Northern Hemisphere, but it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so summer berries are plentiful. Some of the best growers in the United States are the same growers of Raspberries in Chile and Mexico. That’s why we can count on the quality of these foreign-grown berries. If an American company has its name on the label, you can be assured they will protect that name by establishing and maintaining the highest standards of excellence in food safety and good agricultural practices. Berries grown in Chile are inspected by USDA and FDA inspectors…in Chile. I have seen the inspection process at the Santiago International airport, where the inspections take place before the berries are loaded onto the containers for shipment. And these berries are air shipped. They are picked, packed, inspected and loaded all in one day. Within 24 hours of picking, those berries are in the United States, either in Miami or Los Angeles. Within another 24 hours, they are heading to the stores in the United States. Remember that Raspberries are the most delicate of the major berries. Treat them like a newborn baby, and wash them just before you use them. Also, buy them just before you use them. They may be more expensive than during the summer months, but to have fresh, sparkling Raspberries in the middle of winter, oh what a treat.

How safe are Blackberries grown in other countries?

BLACKBERRIES (Tuesday, Jan. 6): Chile and Guatemala are responsible for providing us with beautiful summer Blackberries. Get that Blackberry Cobbler recipe out again. Or use Blackberries in sauces for some of our winter dishes. There are actually several varieties of commercially grown Blackberries. That’s why you may find some Blackberries that are more round and some that may be more oblong. That’s not a growing condition. It’s a condition of variety. Hot weather produces the best tasting Blackberries. Fortunately, it’s hot in Chile and Guatemala. It is summer there. Many people are concerned about foreign-grown produce. Berries have been linked to some food borne illnesses here in the United States. One of the illnesses was “cyclospora.” The professor who discovered the cyclospora parasite tells me that it is impossible for cyclospora to be the cause of food borne illness on berries. “In order for cyclospora to contaminate berries,” the professor tells me, “those berries have to be sitting in warm waste water for over 18 hours.” The point is that berries can’t sit in any water for 18 hours without deteriorating immediately. Water causes berries to melt. Warm water would accelerate that deterioration. Warm contaminated waste water would make any berry completely unpickable, unpackable, unmarketable. Berries like that wouldn’t even make it from the picker’s basket to the plastic clamshell basket. The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta says that about 95% of all food borne illnesses are caused by handling, storage or preparation. That’s you and me, not a farmer.

The Honey Tangerine: the sweetest and juiciest grown on earth.

HONEY TANGERINE (Wednesday, Jan. 7): About 15 years ago, I was the very first to pronounce that the Honey Tangerine is indeed one of the sweetest and juiciest tangerines grown on the face of the planet. At that time, 100% of those Honey Tangerines were being grown in Florida. Today, because these Tangerines are so good and have become so popular, other states like Texas, Arizona and California are now growing their versions of the Honey Tangerine. I remember when I first saw the Honey, the outside peel was very scarred. After talking with growers in Florida, I discovered that the Honey Tangerine bears on the outside limbs of the tree, which makes the fruit more susceptible to being tossed around in the wind. Because of the high humidity in Florida, the peel of any citrus fruit is very soft. Take this soft rind and add some wind, you can easily see why the fruit would be so scarred. Don’t let the outward appearance keep you from purchasing this fruit. They call it “Honey” for a reason. It is sweet. Super sweet. And juice. In fact, these are the perfect juicing Tangerine, made perfect because of the many seeds. You see, there is a chemical in all citrus that will cause the juice to breakdown quickly. That chemical is found in the seeds of the citrus, which means the chemical is not released to breakdown the juice and cause fermintation. In seedless citrus, like the Navel Orange, the Clementine or Satsuma, that breakdown chemical – since there are no seeds – is within the flesh and juice of the citrus. When the citrus is then juiced, that chemical is released, beginning the breakdown process. That’s why this juice can’t even be stored for really more than 24 hours. The Honey Tangerine is actually a citrus variety called a “Murcott Orange.” This variety was almost completely lost. The experimental farm, where it was first hybred, was sold. The new owner pulled out most of the experimental trees and tossed them into a heap for burning. One man noticed that the Murcott Orange tree was in that pile. He like that variety, so he rescued the tree from the heap, re-planted it, and today we have the sweetest tangerine grown on earth.

The Minneola Tangelo is part Grapefruit, part Tangerine.

The Minneola Tangelo has the “sheep nose” at the top.

MINNEOLA TANGELO (Thursday, Jan. 8): There are two main varieties of Tangelos, the Minneola and the Orlando. It’s easy to tell the Minneola. It has a “sheep nose.” The Orlando is more round, like an Orange. Both the Minneola and the Orlando are named after two major citrus growing regions…in Florida. Most Minneola fruit are characterized by a stem-end neck, which tends to make the fruit appear pear or bell-shaped. This appearance has given rise to the name Honeybell in the gift fruit trade, but the proper name remains Minneola. Because of its good looks and good eating quality, the Minneola Tangelo is a popular gift fruit from Florida. The fruit is usually fairly large, typically 3 - 3½ inches in diameter. The peel color is quite good and at peak maturity achieves a bright reddish-orange color. The peel is relatively thin, smooth, and tends to adhere to the internal fruit surface. Seed numbers are few, but variable, and range from 0 up to perhaps as many as 15 seeds per fruit. Fruit produced on trees in solid plantings of Minneola are likely to be seedless (or nearly so), while trees in mixed plantings will typically have 7-12 seeds due to the influence of cross-pollination. The Minneola is a Duncan grapefruit crossed with a Dancy tangerine hybrid. It was released in 1931 by the United States Department of Agriculture Horticultural Research Station in Orlando. This tangelo (like other tangelo varieties) is therefore 1/2 tangerine and 1/2 grapefruit. The fruit is quite handsome and a genuine pleasure to eat. Today, the Minneola is not only grown in Florida, but it is one of the most important Tangelo crops grown in Arizona and California. So how is it named a Tangelo, and not a Tangerine? Well, since it is half grapefruit and half Tangerine, the name comes from Tangerine and Pomelo. The Pomelo is the daddy to Grapefruit.

The more silver “bloom” on the berry, the fresher the berry.

Chile is the #1 producer of Blueberries in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s peak of the season right now.