Check Out This Weeks Recipe from Your Produce Man. Click
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Special
Report: Will Biotechnology Help Stop Hunger?
The
first annual Ministerial Conference and Expo on Agricultural
Science and Technology was held earlier this summer in
Sacramento, California, sponsored by the United States
Department of
Agriculture and hosted by USDA Secretary Ann Veneman. Over
150 ministers of agriculture, science and environment from
over 100 countries gathered to learn more about emerging
technologies in sustainable agriculture, irrigation and
water resources, nutrition, food safety and biotechnology. Read
More >>
No more tears with Boskovich
Farms
Diced Green Onions.
DICED GREEN ONIONS (Monday,
July 28): Thank-you Boskovich Farms. They are one of California’s
foremost farmers of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and
green onions. But
now, the folks at Boskovich are making life even easier for us…with
Diced Green Onions. They are brand new and over the next several
months, will be rolled out to most regions of the country. They
are using surgically sharp knives to dice these onions and then
packaging them in a bag specially designed for the “breathing” rate
of cut green onions. This is giving consumers about a 14-day
shelf life. The packages equal about two bunches of green onions
and
so far, the retail pricing is making this a great value. Besides,
there are no more tears. What’s easier than opening a bag
and sprinkling some cut green onions on your baked potato, salad,
or chili?
Lychee: The prized treasure
of the Emperors of China.
It’s harvest
time in the Lychee orchards of Mexico.
LYCHEE (Tuesday,
July 29): You can thank the emperor of China in 1615. He was the
first to make Lychee available to the public.
Up until then, the Lychee was a closely guarded treasure of the
Emperors of China. Until recently, the Lychee was primarily available
only in specialty stores or Asian markets. In regular super markets,
about the only way you could get Lychee was in a can. Today, with
several major growing regions around the world, you can find the
Lychee in many specialty department in the produce isle. The Lychee
is part of the “soapberry” family. Once you peel the
Lychee, you’ll know why it’s called the “soapberry” family.
The flesh has the feel of slippery wet soap. Israel and Mexico
are the major exporters of Lychee to the United States, however
some are commercially grown in Florida and Hawaii. There are many
Lychee varieties, but the main one sold in the United States has
a reddish, bumpy peel. The fruit inside is pearly white, very floral
in its sweetness. There is a black pit inside, so be sure to cut
it out. You can eat Lychee just like any other piece of fruit,
add it to fruit salads. They compliment chicken recipes very nicely
as well.
Lolla Rossa, the Lucille
Ball of Leaf Lettuce, nutty but lovable.
LOLLA
ROSA LETTUCE (Wednesday,
July 30): They first brought us the most popular lettuce from Europe,
the Butter Leaf, and they
gave it to us “alive,” still with the roots on. Hollandia
Produce from California first brought us the Gourmet Living
Butter Leaf Lettuce. It proved to be a very popular move. Now,
on the
horizon for Hollandia Produce is a red leaf lettuce called Lolla
Rosa. It has tiny, curly leaves which are red on the ends. Actually,
the leaves look more ruffled than curled. It’s called the “radicchio
of lettuce,” although it doesn’t have nearly the bitter
bite of radicchio. It does, however, have a bit of a nutty flavor,
very distinctive, so it adds a great texture and flavor to salad.
Ed
Ryder is known as “Mr. Lettuce” around the world.
He is still one of the leading scientists developing new lettuce
varieties. Lolla Rosa, he says, is the up-and-coming lettuce. Lettuce
history begins in the Middle East. It has developed over the
centuries, since their leaf and stem origins in Middle East, somewhere
between
Egypt and Turkey. This “living” Lolla Rosa leaf lettuce
from Hollandia is hydroponically grown and is harvested with the
roots still attached. That means it will have a much longer shelf
life for the consumer.
Get your 5-a-day by eating 5 Donuts!
DONUT PEACHES (Thursday,
July 31): These cool looking peaches were originally known as a “Chinese
Flat Peach,” and was
very popular in China. It’s time to get your 5-a-day by
eating 5 donuts a day…Donut Peaches that is. Domestically,
there are two main growing regions, California and Washington. Frieda’s
Finest, a specialty produce supplier got America
to fall in love with the cute and cuddly Kiwifruit. Now, they
are bringing back one of the truly stone fruit treats, the
Flat Peach. It has a white flesh, very thin skin and is loaded
with
sugar and flavor. That’s one of the reasons they are still
so expensive. A thin skin makes them tougher to harvest, handle
and pack. High sugar content means they ripen very quickly and
become too soft to pack. Heh, here’s a peach, when ripe,
that you’ll have to roll up your sleeves to eat.
A dried fruit with built
in handles.
Red Flame Grapes drying
in the Mojave Desert
RAISINS
ON THE VINE (Friday,
August 1): Here’s a really
cool item for cheese platters. Raisins on the Vine. These are
Red Flame Seedless grapes, dried this season in the Mojave Desert.
Because the berries are still on the vine, the raisins are very
plump, and full of flavor. Frieda’s Finest has been marketing
these Raisins on the Vine for a few years and they are gaining
in popularity. “Dried fruit is one of the healthiest snacks,” says
Karen Caplan, president of Frieda’s. “And these flavorful
raisins are perfect on a cheese tray or fruit platter. These raisins
have their own built in handles,” Caplan says. Raisins are
nature’s candy, and a very healthy
and nutritious one at
that. Raisins are loaded with natural sugars that are metabolised
quickly in your body for quick energy, and doesn’t stick
around long enough to turn into fat.
