Produce News for Feb. 28 - March 5, 2011

HONEYDEW MELON (Monday, February 28): There is nothing worse…than buying a Honeydew Melon…you spend a lot of money for a Honeydew Melon…and you get that Honeydew Melon home and it tastes no better than that .79 cent Cucumber that you bought. There is nothing worse than that. So, how do you pick out a good Honeydew Melon? Well, the first thing you need to know is that the Honeydew Melon is one of the few melons that cannot be picked when it is vine-ripened. If you pick a Honeydew Melon when it is truly vine-ripened, the melon would never make it to the store. It couldn’t handle the travel. So they pick a Honeydew Melon when it is fully mature, but that melon will ripen. So how do you ripen it? Well, let me tell you a trick that an old supervisor once told me…and it works. Put the Honeydew Melon in the trunk of your car. That’s right. Secure the Honeydew in the trunk of your car. Three to four days…that’s all it will take. It will be nice and ripe.

MINNEOLA TANGELO (Tuesday, March 1): In the world of Mandarins, there are two main types of Mandarins. Tangerines and Tangelos. Tangelos are the larger of the Mandarins. This is the time of year for one of the most popular of the Tangelos. It is called a Minneola Tangelo, named after the Minneola growing region in Florida. I love these things. First of all, how do you pick them out? Make sure they are all nice and Orange. Do you see the little top on the Minneola? Have you noticed that? In the produce industry, we call that a “pig’s nose” or a “sheep’s nose.” I call it the Minneola’s own little “pop top.” Because how do you peel this thing? Just grab the pop top, and it pops right off, making it easy to peel. Remember the Minneolas are larger, so if you have older kids, teenagers, it’s the perfect sized snack for them. And they are very juicy and sweet.

TREE-RIPENED PEACHES (Wednesday, March 2): Now I’m going to tell you something. I want you to spend a little extra money on something. Here’s what I want you to spend a little extra money on…tree-ripened Peaches. These are peak of the season from Chile, just south of Santiago, Chile. When they are tree-ripened, here’s what happens. They will pick these tree-ripened…they will pack them…they will send them to the Santiago International Airport, they are loaded onto an airplane. When they load them on the plane, in less than 48 hours, they are here in the United States. They’re at the grocery store. So within 48, 72 hours, tree-ripened Peaches are ready for you to buy. Now, of course, it costs a little bit more money to buy the tree-ripened, but folks, it is well worth it. A lot of times, when the Peaches are not tree-ripened, they may shrivel and dehydrate before they fully ripen. You may pay more money for tree-ripened, but they will be just as sweet as juicy as you want

GARLIC (Thursday, March 3): Heh, this week, 1837, there was a city in the Midwest that incorporated for the first time. It was 1837. Chicago. So how did Chicago get its name? Was there a Mr. or Mrs. Chicago somewhere? No, there ws acutally a bulb grown in this part of the country. Now, the native Indians is this part of the country, called this bulb…chicagua. That’s right…Garlic. That’s what the Indians called this bulb…chicagua. Chicago. Now, chicagua, Garlic, beautiful bulbs of Garlic. But how do you get into that thing? Is there an easy way? Well, there are a couple things you can do. Just put your hand right on top of the Garlic. Press down and smash it. It easily breaks apart. Now, all of those little cloves can easily be separated. But you still have to peel it. Simple. Just take your knife, put the side of the blade onto the clove…smash it. Now the skin comes right off. Makes it easy to cook.

BELL PEPPERS (Friday, March 4): Do you see it? Do you? I see it. It’s very plain as day, as plain as your hand in front of you. Do you see the difference between these Red Bell Peppers? What’s the difference? Well, look at the lobes. This one has four lobes. One, two, three, four. Four lobes. This one…has three lobes. One, two three. This one over here also has three lobes. This one, four lobes. So what’s the difference between a four-lobed Pepper and a three-lobed Pepper? Is one better than the other? Well, no not really. They’re actually just different seed varieties. We actually find this all the time. You can find it with Green Bell Peppers, you find it with Red or Gold Bell Peppers. It’s just a different seed variety type chosen by the farmer to use. Now, I particularly love the four-lobed Pepper, because it makes it easier to stuff and bake.