Enjoy the riper Papayas you’ve been seeing in the stores

PAPAYA (Monday, Sept. 8): Have you noticed riper Papayas in the supermarket? I remember when I first got into the produce business over 25 years ago, a ripe papaya was unheard of, unless of course you were in Hawaii. You see, up until just a few years ago, in order for a fresh Papaya to enter the United States, it had to go through a “hot bath” in order to kill any fruit fly or larvae that may be on the fruit. This hot bath wasn’t just tepid bath water. It was hot. In order for the fruit to make it through this hot bath, the fruit had to be very green. Recently, the USDA approved irradiation as a form of treatment for the fruit fly and its larvae. Many people have questions about irradiation. However, it has been proven safe for many years. In fact, the food that our NASA astronauts eat has been irradiated. Has been for many years. These are scientists. If they thought there was anything wrong with irradiation, they would have spoken up. Irradiating produce at very ultra-low levels of radiation, kills harmful bacteria like e-coli and salmonella, and it also kills any fruit flies or larvae that may be on the fruit. There are some environmental groups, for political or personal reasons, want to mis-inform the public about irradiation. Many products you buy today, including most of your baby diapers, have been irradiated. Our world, and our food would be a lot dirtier if it was not for this great technology.

Grab a Gravenstein!

Gravenstein apples make the best… Applesauce!

The Summer Tomato Has Cost More This Summer.

If You Refrigerate An Unripe Tomato, You Kill The Flavor.

TOMATO (Wednesday, Sept. 10): Have you ever wondered why the Tomato is part of the “Nightshade” family? Other Nightshade plants are the Eggplant, Potato and Tobacco. These and other plants are part of the “Nightshade” family because they can grow at night during a full moon. A few weeks ago, there was a full moon. That means, for growers, that right now, two weeks later, there is a flush of harvesting. The full moon causes the plants to continue to grow at night, leading to a faster maturity and better supplies usually about 14 days after the full moon. Tomato prices have been high all summer long. Most of that has to do with very bad weather along the East Coast, which has cut East Coast supplies by as much as 30%. There’s nothing like a New Jersey tomato. Not so this year. Supplies are way down and prices very high, particularly for the vine-ripened tomato. With the East Coast supply so short, that leads to higher prices, not just on the East Coast, but across the country. There’s an old saying that a “rising tide raises all ships.” By the way, back in the 1700s, members of the Nightshade family were not very well liked, except Tobacco of course. In Europe, eating a potato would cause all kinds of lascivious life styles, it was thought. Here in America, eating a tomato was considered very foolhardy. That’s why Thomas Jefferson would eat tomatoes while he walked the streets of Philadelphia. Eventually, Jefferson got people to try his tomatoes.

Lime prices have almost doubled in the past few weeks.

In the Gulf of Mexico is the resort town of Veracruz. It is also the largest Lime growing region in Mexico

LIMES (Thursday, Sept. 11): Many times, to find reasons why supplies of a produce item may be down, you have to look at weather several weeks ago. That’s the case in point with Lime supplies right now. About 8 weeks ago, Veracruz, Mexico was in the middle of a drought, and in the middle of Lime blossoming. The drought caused about a 30% reduction in fruit set, which is affecting supplies right now. Also, Veracruz is currently getting heavy rain, and that keeps growers from picking. Prior to the rains, growers stripped a lot of fruit, which means strong supplies in smaller fruit, tighter supplies for larger fruit. In the first week of August, 2001, 499 loads of Limes were imported from Mexico. This year, during the same period, only around 300 loads were imported. This is very unusual for this time of year, which is peak of the season for Mexican Limes. Limes are susceptible to adverse weather conditions more than any other citrus. Take a look at its skin. It has the thinnest peel of any citrus. That thin skin makes the Lime more susceptible to damage by weather. And that’s why Lime supplies and prices can be so volatile. Within a week, prices could easily double, as they recently have. Some importers expect higher prices right into October, and because of the warm rains, we could see more mold or decay on the fruit as well, particularly on the blossom end of the fruit.

Cilantro is a favorite herb in many recipes.

Flat leaf Italian Parsley burns and yellows easily in the heat.