Produce News for September 1, 2008

LONG PROMO:   Hey, how Hurricane Dolly may impact our winter supply of grapefruit.  Plus, come on down here.  Shallots.  Have you been eating them?  Oh, my goodness!  You need to, but they’re going to be high priced.  The last of the spring sweet onions, the Walla Walla.  Plus an onion that is good for everybody in the family…next week, with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  An onion that is perfect for every taste bud in the family…next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

                                                                                                         

SHALLOTS  (Monday, September 1):  Even though the prices are going to be high for shallots at least for the next several weeks, I still encourage you – go in and buy them.  That’s right.  Why are they expensive?  Well, because this time of year we normally import a lot of shallots from France, and this year France got wiped out.  We’re not importing anything from France.  That means we’re left with old crop.  This is actually new crop.  Now how to you prepare a shallot?  You cut off the north pole to south pole.  Then you cut it right down north pole to south pole just like so.  Now it’s a little bit easier to peel.   But we’re not done yet.  Let me show you something.  You’re going to take this and you’re going to cut it long ways first.  You with me so far?  We’re going to slice it long ways.  Okay?  Then we’re going to come back after we’re done slicing it long ways, and then we’re going to slice it the other way, and that way we’re going to get these nice small little…you never tried a shallot?  Oh, come on.  Next time you have a nice roast beef, just throw them in instead of the onion.  You will fall in love with shallots.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, why are we seeing high prices on shallots?

GRAPEFRUIT (Tuesday, September 2)  You know hurricanes this time of year can really have an impact on our winter supply of citrus, especially grapefruit.  You know Faye went into Florida, in fact hit four different times, and that’s right when they’re ripening their grapefruit.   I mean the grapefruit is ripening on the trees.  The heavier a grapefruit gets, the more susceptible it is to wind and rain damage because the heavier it is, it’s going to blow around a little bit more and easier to fall off.  Now Hurricane Dolly that hit into Texas and then back into the gulf – 20% of the Rio Grande valley grapefruit…oh, my goodness…fell of the tree.  That is not a good thing.  So we may see higher prices.  We’re still waiting to find out from Faye how it had an impact on the Indian River district in Florida and some other growing regions there in Florida, but I don’t know, we may see higher prices.  Watch out for more hurricanes.  Let’s hope they don’t hit Texas or Florida.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Uh, oh!  In my next Produce Man report…how hurricanes will impact our winter supply of grapefruit. 

ONIONS (PART I)  (Wednesday, September 3):  Here they are.  They are the last of the spring sweet onions.  You know, we start like in Vidalia.  Then we move to the Texas 10-15 line.  Then we move to the Imperial sweet in California.  Then we move up north this time of year – the beautiful Walla Walla onion from Walla Walla, Washington.  That’s right.  You think of Washington, you think of apples.  Oh, my goodness!  You also need to think of the last of the spring sweet onions, the beautiful Walla Walla. What makes these so sweet?  Well, it’s the soil, it’s the climate, it’s the water, it’s everything.  There’s lower pyruvate levels in these onions, and the pyruvates are what make you cry. Let me go ahead and cut this for you.  If you could see it, you would see very little of the pyruvates coming up to my eyes up here.  No crying with these onions.  Oh, man...just put this into a salad.  My wife this time of year…loving it!  Walla Walla onions - one of the sweetest onions around.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.

TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report, hey, no tears from this Walla Walla onion.

ONIONS (PART II)  (Thursday, September 4):  So you like sweet onions and maybe somebody else in the house likes a little more of a bite to it and somebody else really likes it hot.   Well there is an onion that is the perfect taste for every taste bud.  Are you ready for this?  Green onions.  That’s right.  Green onions is the onion for the entire family.  Let me explain.  Right up here, this nice green part.  That is your nice sweet mild onion flavor.  Right here in the middle, a little bit hotter, okay?  So if you like a little more bite to your onion, you’ve got it right here.  Now for those who really like the bite.  Oh, my goodness!  Right here.  This white part right here. That is going to be the heat.  So you can chop up this onion, the green, the middle part, the white part.  Put it into didfferent rcepies for those who love the heat and those who love the mild and the sweet.  Oh, man – green onions.  The perfect onion for every tastebud in the family.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, I have the perfect onion for every taste bud in the family.

  

APPLES  (Friday, September 5):  Just coming in from the orchard. Oh, my goodness! I know, we’re still a couple weeks away from the official first day of autumn, but if you go down the produce aisle, you are starting to see autumn already in the produce department.  Look at this - new crop gala apples.  We are starting to see new crop apples all over the country – from the northeast to Washington State, California, New York and everywhere in between.  This here is one of my favorite for the first of the season.  And this, I love this.  This is what we call a lunchbox size because, you know, it’s a nice small size and it’s perfect for your first graders…your second graders.  But, oh, my goodness!  What I really love about these – the flavor.  These are so juicy!  Hold on a minute.  Let me see how this crop tastes.  (Takes bite)  Mmm.  Mmm.  That is so sweet!  But you know one of the things about this, because it has a high sugar content, they don’t last long, but don’t worry about it, all your kids and yourself will eat them up.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Take bite)

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, I am so excited…new crop apples for the new fall season.