Produce News for Week of May 31, 2010

WATERMELONS (Monday, May 31): All right. Hey, before…before you head out to your Memorial Day picnics you better read this. If it’s Memorial Day, it’s time for Watermelon. For your picnic, maybe you’ll have one of those big 20 pound seeded watermelons or maybe one of the 15-16 pound seedless, or maybe even one of the personal size Watermelons. Whatever Watermelon you have, please, never in a million years should you get your knife out before you wash that watermelon. Can I give you a hint? Maybe you did not know this. All watermelons grow…in dirt. That’s right. What? You didn’t know that? Yes, they grow in dirt which means there may be dirt on the outside rind, which means there could be some bacteria or some other pathogen. So please, wash your watermelon before you put this knife on it. Now I know you’re thinking, “I’m not going to eat the rind.” Well, if there’s any bacteria on top, it’s going to be in the flesh when you cut it. You don’t want that.
CANTALOUPE (PART I) (Tuesday, June 1): Hey, did you happen to see the Prince of Persia this weekend? Opened up last week. It was one of the biggest movies this weekend. I happen to be, however, the Prince of Persian melons. Now I know there’s a variety of melon called a Persian melon. But did you know that most melons except for the originated in Old Persia. That’s right. It’s what we call Iran today. And the most popular of all the melons that originated in Persia? The Cantaloupe…or musk melon. There’s many different varieties that are still grown today. Now that you know it originated in Persia where it’s hot and dry, that means the hottest, driest regions in the United States is where we can grow some of the best Persian melons like the desert of Arizona, the desert…the hot, dry regions in Texas, of course, the desert of California, and that’s where we’re getting some of these great Persian melons right now. And man, are they sweet right now.
CANTALOUPE (PART II) (Wednesday, June 2): All right. Got my Persian melons. Hey, did you see the Prince of Persia this weekend? I happen to be the Prince of Persian melons. Persia, old Iran. That’s where most melons originated. Now a couple things the most popular of Persian melons, the Cantaloupe or a musk melon. Now the word musk means strong aroma so what does that tell you about picking out the best of these cantaloupes or musk melons? That’s right. It should have a strong aroma. So when you pass by the big display, you should be able to smell it. Pick one up. Go ahead. Sniff the blossom end. If you smell that wonderful melon aroma, that means one thing: Get out my orange sherbet or my rainbow sherbet for this today. By the way, just like any other melons, this grows in dirt. So please, before you take the knife out to cut it, make sure that you wash it before you cut it. And also leave this out 48 hours before you’re going to cut it. It’ll have a much better flavor that way. 48 hours. That all I ask.
STRAWBERRIES (Thursday, June 3): Hey, I love this time of year. June – always a time for weddings…graduations. And at our house at every celebration in June, of course it means chocolate dipped strawberries. We don’t eat them naked. We put some chocolate all over these strawberries. Here is a secret tip about dipping Strawberries in Chocolate. Of course, you should store all of your berries in the refrigerator. They need to be kept almost ice cold. But here’s what I want you to do. About an hour and a half before you’re going to dip them into chocolate, I want you to pull them out, take the lid off, and let them sit. They need to get to room temperature. That way when you dip it in strawberry it’s not such a shock to the strawberry going from what 38 degrees to the warmth of a chocolate dip. You will end up with a much better Chocolate dipped Strawberry that way. Trust me.
BLUEBERRIES (Friday, June 4): If it’s June, well, it’s blueberry season. Oh, my goodness! June, July, August. You’ve got blueberries from just about major growing region in the U.S., from Jersey to California, Oregon, Maine, and just about everywhere in between. You do know that blueberries, by the way, grow on every continent of the world? Including Antarctica. May I suggest you do something with your blueberries? Every time you have Blueberries in the home, I want you to do something with your Blueberries. Just take them out of the refrigerator. You’re going to rinse them, of course, and then I want you to put them in a bowl. Set them out for people to see. And I guarantee you, if you put this bowl out, your kids come home from school or they come in from playing outside, put the bowl right in front of them. I guarantee you, these are all going to be eaten before you know it. My little Marks brothers absolutely love to munch on blueberries. Get your kids in the habit as well.