LONG PROMO:   See this?  It’s grapefruit – red grapefruit.  But, I’m going to tell you what happened to the red in the red grapefruit.  Plus we’re going to talk about cucumbers.  Do you know where your cucumbers are this very moment?  Plus, it’s National Icecream Month.  What better thing to put on your ice cream than berries!  We’re going to talk about berries from the berry patch…next week, with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  Hey, do you know where your cucumbers are this very moment?  You better know…next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
                                                                                                         
RED GRAPEFRUIT  (Monday, July 7):  You know, this time of year you get red grapefruit, but where’s the red in red grapefruit?  Now, I know red grapefruit is like a winter fruit.  Citrus is basically a winter fruit, but now we can find them in grocery stores you know grapefruit 365 days out of the year.  I still love...you know my wife, one of her favorite fruits is, of course, the red grapefruit, so I have to bring red grapefruit home every now and then.  But when you cut these open…it says red grapefruit there at the store right up there on the thing, but then you cut it open.  Take a look at this.  Where in the world is the red grapefruit?  I mean that is very, very pale pink or even pale orange, a very, very light color.  Well, here’s what happens this time of year.  The varieties that they have to grow for the summertime…since citrus is a winter fruit, they have to kind of trick the fruit into growing in the summertime so the variety they grow in the summertime is a much lighter color on the red grapefruit.  So it has nothing to do with the quality.  It has nothing to do with the flavor.  Actually these are very juicy, very sweet, very good.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   (Takes bite)  Mmm.

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, where’s the red in the red grapefruit?

CUCUMBERS PART I  (Tuesday, July 8)  Okay, check this out.  Do you know where your cucumbers are this very moment?  Oh, you don’t have any cucumbers?  You better get to the store.  How do you have a summer salad without cucumbers.  Oh, you do have cucumbers.  They’re in the refrigerator?  Oh, no.  Never in a million years should you put the cucumber in the refrigerator.  This hates cold.  Cucumbers hate the cold.  In fact, a lot of times when you have a cucumber in the refrigerator and you cut it in half…now this one has not been refrigerated, but a lot of times if it has been refrigerated it’s like translucent inside.  It gets like invisible inside.  That is what we call in the produce injury “chill damage” because cucumbers hate the cold.  So where are you supposed to store your cucumbers?  Well, I store them right out on the countertop, but I do keep them out of the way of ripening fruit like tomatoes or bananas, and I keep them out of direct sunlight.  This way they’re still going to be cool and crisp and taste even better in my summer salad.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report…oh where, oh where is your cucumber? 

CUCUMBERS PART II  (Wednesday, July 9):  You know my wife loves cucumbers in her summer salad.  In fact, all year long she loves cucumbers.   But you know one of the things about cucumbers that I love is their color.  They’re just fantastic.  One of the things I do with summer cucumbers, I will just take my vegetable peeler (potato peeler), and I will peel part of the cucumber.  I don’t go around and peel it all. I want to leave a little bit of the green.  That way when you slice it, it has this cool three-dimensional look.  Now what we’re going to do with this…you know, my mom, she used to not be able to digest cucumbers.  That’s because of the seeds.  So what you need to do, I get my melon baller because it’s very, very sharp (you could do it with a spoon if you want but it’s not nearly as clean) and just take your melon baller and just scoop those right on out.  Now what you’re going to do for your salads, you’re going to take this and you’re going to slice it into what we call half moons, and it looks really cute and three-dimensional with those cool colors.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. (Takes Bite)  Mmmm.

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report, get out your vegetable peeler and your melon baller for your cucumbers.

FAVORITE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (Thursday, July 10):  Hey, this week 1966 was the debut of the television show “The Newlywed Game”.  Now if you were on “The Newlywed Game” and you were asked this question, “What is your wife or your husband’s favorite fruit and vegetable?”, would you be able to tell?  Well, I started thinking about that.  Okay, for Julie, Julie actually has quite a few favorite fruits and vegetables.  She absolutely loves thimble berries.  I’m sorry.  We have kids…we call them thimble berries, but she absolutely loves raspberries.  What else does she absolutely love?  She absolutely loves grapefruit, and, you know, she eats grapefruit like an orange.  She peels it like an orange and eats it that way.   That’s okay.  She can do that.  She also loves nectarines.  Now she’s a kindergarten teacher, and she can pronounce it any way she wants.  She wants to call it nectarines?  That’s just cool with me.  Now what about a vegetable?  She absolutely loves broccoli.  So there’s my wife’s favorite fruits and vegetables.  Do you know yours or your husband’s?  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  

TEASE:  Hmmm.  In my next Produce Man Report, do I know my wife’s favorite fruits and vegetables?  Do you?
  
BERRIES (Friday, July 11):  I think we are officially in the dog days of summer, and that’s really good because here in July we happen to also have National Ice cream Month and what better thing to put all over your ice cream than beautiful summer berries!  This is peak of the season folks for beautiful summer berries whether they happen to be blueberries, whether they happen to be one of my wife’s favorite thimbleberries (or raspberries as you call them), or gorgeous…oh my goodness.  Take a look at these blackberries.  These are so scrumptious.  Mmmm.  And officially, those are really good.  Now, I don’t just put these on my ice cream though they’re a great topping.  I love to put these also in my fruit salads.  I also love to put these in my summer green salads.  However, if you’re doing that, may I suggest, make the fruit salad or make the green salad, and the very last thing you put in or on top are going to be the berries because they happen to be so delicate, you don’t want to bruise them.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Takes bite)  Mmmm.

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, may I suggest using beautiful berries for your summer eating?  (Takes bite)  Mmmm.