Produce News for March 8, 2010
APPLES (PART I) (Monday, March 8): She has finally mellowed out. It takes a while. You know they harvest her in October, and it takes a few months for the Pink Lady apple to finally mellow out, and she has indeed. These beautiful Pink Ladies right now - some of the most beautiful Pink Ladies you’re going to find. Now what do I mean by “mellow out”? When you first harvest a Pink Lady, growers realize that it has a really strong bite to it so they have to put it in storage, and over a period of two months in storage, the Pink Lady apple finally mellows out. The acids go down. The sugar content is just elevated to the point where you bite into this apple now and it doesn’t bolt you in the face anymore. It has that beautiful sweet tart flavor that you come to expect. So if you haven’t been enjoying a Pink Lady up till now, well, she’s mellowed out and you will enjoy her a whole lot more right now. Try them today.
APPLES (PART II) (Tuesday, March 9): Hey, Johnny Appleseed Day is this week so I thought I’d talk a little bit about apples. Do you know what CA stands for? I know that is the official U.S. Postal Service abbreviation for the state of California, but in the produce industry CA means something very different. CA means “controlled atmosphere.” Now, just by looking at the Red Delicious Apples, you cannot tell that these are any different than the apples you bought just a few weeks ago, but these are totally different, and you will be able to tell when you take a bite out of them. They will crunch. These Red Delicious Apples have come out of what we call controlled atmosphere storage where it literally puts the apple to sleep. It doesn’t breathe. So when you pick an apple in the Fall and finally bring it out of controlled atmosphere this time of year, the apple has almost the same amount of pressure which means you bite into it – oh, my goodness! It is so crunchy! So that is how apples can be harvested four or five months ago, and today, they can be so crunchy and crispy, as if they were just picked off the tree. Thanks to CA.
ARTICHOKES (PART I) (Wednesday, March 10): I get really excited this time of year. You walk down the produce aisle and you look over to the Artichoke section, and this time of year, you start seeing that Artichoke section expand a little bit. Well, that ought to tell you something. It is Artichoke season, and now through April and right into May is the peak of the season for these gorgeous globe Artichokes. Now what do you look for when you are picking out the best Artichoke? Do you look for the biggest thorns? No! Here’s a couple things you look for. First of all, I turn it over and I look at the stems. Look how big and thick that stem is. I look for the fat stems. The fatter, the better. The fatter the stem, the more heart is in the Artichoke. The next thing I do, I just pick it up and I hold it in my hand It needs to feel heavy for its size. If it’s heavy, that means there’s a lot of meat in those leaves. The next thing I do, I give it a gentle squeeze. If that Artichoke is really fresh, it’s squeek when you squeeze it. If you’ve got those three things – a fat stem, heavy, and squeeky, that’s a good Artichoke. Take it home.
ARTICHOKES (PART II) (Thursday, March 11): All right. You’ve picked out the best Artichoke. Big fat stem, heavy, and they squeek. I know a lot of people – they love Artichoke hearts and they love Artichokes, but they really don’t have a clue how to prepare them. The Artichoke does indeed look a little intimidating, with all those thorns. So how do you prepare an Artichoke? It’s actually quite simple First, take off the bottom leaves. Cut a sharp knife and cut off the top third, the pointy side. Make sure you have a nice sharp knife for this. Then you’re going to get a pair of scissors and you’re going to chop off these little thorns on the few remaing full leaves that you have. There’s nothing worse than having your guests get poked by some thorns. Here’s the next step. I know a lot of people, they cut off the stem. Please, never in a million years cut off the stem. If you cut an Artichoke in half, from the tip through the stem, you’ll find out why. The heart of the matter…is a matter of the heart. That’s right, the heart. The heart grows right down into the stem. In fact, in Italy, when they serve Artichokes, they will serve it with about 8 – 12” of the stem still attached. So don’t cut it off. Simply peel the stem. Now your Artichoke is ready for cooking. If you use boiling water, add a ton of dried Italian seasoning into the water, and hide some cloves of Garlic in the leaves of the Artichokes. You can also steam them in the microwave. It only takes about nine minutes for two huge Artichokes. Now it time…get out the mayonaise. OK, get out the melted butter.
STRAWBERRIES (Friday, March 12): There is a huge Strawberry festival going on this weekend right in Plant City, Florida. If you remember about a month ago, we had some really tight supplies for Valentine’s Day and that was because of a freeze in Florida and rains in California andMexico. Remember that freeze just a few months ago now? It really hurt Strawberry supplies. But right now, we’re getting beautiful Strawberries from Southern California. Strawberries right now are coming from Florida, California, and Mexico. I’ve got to tell you something. These Strawberries this time of year…oh, my goodness! The size is going to be unbelievable, but what I want you to know is the aroma! When you can walk by the Strawberry display at the store, and you can smell those luscious Strawberries, you know they’re going to taste fantastic. Spring Strawberries are some of the sweetest Strawberries you will eat on the face of the planet. They tend to be a little more expensive this time of year, but man these are melt in your mouth sweet right now. Get out the Strawberry Shortcakes!
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