Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Some Good Info

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Spartan Apples...Undersung Heroes of Produce World


The Spartan apple was one of the first formally bred in a scientific fruit breeding program, released in 1936. The work of Dr. R. C. Palmer this cultivar was originally thought to be a cross between Newtown Pippin and MacIntosh. With the modern genetic analysis available it has been shown there is no Pippin genetics so the original cross pollination parentage is a mystery.



Highly popular originally it is still grown in its homeland of B.C. Canada among other places. It has become a less well recognized apple among the newer varieties such as Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, Jazz, Sonya and others. Spartans are firm with snow white flesh, the crisp yet dense texture yields a hearty hand fruit with a good sweet/tart balance. It is good in cooking applications as well. These apples are available right now and should continue for a while. Seek this fruit out and buy it when you can. The good work done by the researchers at the Summerland B.C. Ag station over 70 years ago will not go unrecognized as you appreciate this excellent cultivar selection.

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Produce Report

Melons: We are seeing excellent quality on both cantaloupes and honeydews out of the California desert. Cantaloupes are showing good netting, full slip, a nice straw color on the exterior, and nice brix. Prices are settling down nicely. Seedless watermelon are also showing very good quality.

Berries: New crop Watsonville strawberries are showing excellent quality and size. The berries are eating very well and prices are very affordable. California blueberries are showing excellent size and flavor. Raspberry volume is up. We have begun to carry Stehly Farms organic blackberries and should have availability throughout summer barring any extreme heat waves or major rains. Size and quality is excellent.

Veggies: Growing area transitions on green bells and white corn, prices are on the rise. Next week we expect to have Connelly Gardens green bells in house. Red bells are by far the best buy of the three. Italian and yellow squash prices will slowly ease up. Green beans are from many different growing areas and prices and quality are varying greatly.

Tomatoes: Romas are good quality, volume is way up and prices are good. Grape and cherry tomatoes are also going nicely out of Baja. Round tomatoes are slow to build volume in smaller sizes.

Citrus: Valencia oranges are good and prices are very fair. The lemon market is tight as mild weather in central California is slowing production. The lime market has fully recovered and quality is improving every week.

Grapes & Stone fruit: California is really starting to show us some wonderful fruit and grapes. California red and green grapes are in full swing with great quality and prices. We are also seeing excellent quality on stone fruit.

The Specialties Report

Specialty Veggies- French beans are a really good deal right now. The cooler weather legumes are struggling along with snow peas being really expensive, snaps have come down but it could be a roller coaster. All of a sudden there is very limited baby sunburst, all the baby squashes were super cheap now it is just the opposite. Teardrop tomatoes appear to be coming down as well as heirlooms. Some of the local growers will be coming in soon with their heirlooms so we will have great supplies and selection.

Seasonal Items- Ojai Pixie Tangerines are on special, we want to offer the product at a discount to help the growers move the last of their fruit this season. Blood Oranges are very limited in the wholesale market right now, we are working together with a friendly local grower who will supply us until the market receives fruit again or they are out of product, Could be 3-6 weeks until the Australian blood oranges come on the market. Gold Raspberries are really up in volume and prices are decreased. Now is the time to take advantage of this cool looking and great tasting berry. Local- Connelly Gardens is producing a crop of exceptionally good yellow wax beans and blue lake beans, not far behind is a great crop of red bell peppers. A fantastic mix of specialty herbs in the Mixed Herb Tops is available for you to garnish a range of plates from salads and appetizers to main dishes and desserts. A complement of variegated sages and special mints is mixed with other culinary standouts. Stehly Farms Organic is producing an abundance of organic blackberries and we carry them now as our regular product as much as possible. Peterson Specialty is offering tasty organic strawberries to complement their exceptional organic mixed baby lettuce.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Organic Foods in Foodservice


This is a topic of interest for me as humanity grapples with the question of how to best use our resources. Organically grown and raised foods seem to force a fundamental question when one encounters them, "So what about all the other food I have been eating?" and "What makes this so special?"

Food over the last 100 years has made radical changes for the better and worse. The application of reductionistic science has allowed us to disassemble the process and apply many techniques and technology that has altered the face of farming and food. From plant and animal breeding to soil fertilization and pest control farming has changed drastically. Food processing, refrigeration, transportation and cultural integration has radically altered the food culture.

Organic Food is a type of statement proclaiming that not all of these changes are for the better. A concern about pesticides on the food and in the environment, artificial fertilizers in the groundwater and surface waters are two obvious major concerns folks have who have read or experienced problems associated with these changes. Another big concern is the use of transgenic modification to food crops, an example being to make them resistant to herbicides. This mode of tampering with the genetic fabric of life is seen by many to be a violation of basic laws of nature and a grab at commodifying life itself by controlling patentable processes in an organism.

All of these issues present a choice when a person is deciding what to eat. We have seen this choice about whether to buy and eat organic foods focused mainly on the personal and family level with the growth of the organic food sector by about 20% annually over the last 10 years. Mostly this has been in the retail sector catering to the individual buying for home use.





It is starting to become more apparent that the foodservice sector is starting to grow in this area. Restaurants and institutions such as universities, school districts, hospitals and nursing homes are beginning to seriously consider and incorporate the organic, local and 'healthier' food categories. The reason for a comparative lag for these sectors is that there is a definite structural difference in the way the products are marketed, distributed and packed as well as a pricing disparity with the conventional cousins of organic food products.

To get everyone to agree to the price increase is a different proposal than an individual man or woman making a purchase for their home.

I want to explore the processes at work in this growing sector and how to best manage the growth and capacity.

Please share your thoughts with me. More to come.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Seasonality in Cooking and Buying Produce

Running a food based business using fresh produce presents a challenge in the fact that you are tied to a living, dynamic, nature based system. The laws of nature meet the laws of supply and demand, transportation and handling methods and how farm production is managed and regulated in various ares of the world.

As a buyer of fresh produce you are faced with sometimes wild fluctuations in prices and quality of the items you are purchasing. The produce comes with hidden components such as pesticide and other 'cides' that have been used in the production of the crop. In some countries there is relatively strict guidelines for the use and handling of the chemicals used. In other countries there are slack guidelines or unenforced rules of use and application. Without a measurement there is really no way to know what is present in any given product. A basic guideline would be to assume that product grown in the USA especially CA is under relatively more stringent guidelines with stronger penalties for abuse. Products coming from outside the US could have lower standards and less regulation on pesticide use, so the risks of residue and environmental contamination in the growing region could be higher.

When a crop is season in your area it should be of good quality at reasonable prices. Your bottom line is that you can offer a product to your customer with better flavor at a more profitable food cost without raising the price. An example of this is the summer items that compose ratatouille. Tomatoes, summer squashes, eggplant, peppers are all summer fruiting items. The ideal time for southern CA would be starting in late spring with the desert grown areas and maturing to a full production in summer into fall all over the state. Offering this dish to customers at this time of year is ideal. Costs of good quality ingredients is reasonable and flavor is at a peak.

Compare the application of the same type of recipe February or March. This past winter was a prime example of what Mother Nature can do to our plans. Florida froze and the tomato crop was erased from an entire region. Prices became extremely high and quality was average at best. To serve the ratatouille at this time would to mean expensive ingredients and only average to lower quality. Customer satisfaction would be lower and the dish would be less profitable.

The question arises, 'What would be a better choice?'

By knowing what is in season you can plan ahead. Writing menus that will typically have seasonal ingredients will keep you on track to avoid the pitfalls of buying out of season.

Also using language such as "seasonal fruit" or "local vegetables" to describe the dishes component avoids a commitment to an item that might have gone through the roof in price, saving your food costs.

Talk with your produce supplier about the seasons that apply to you and your menu creation. A supplier aims to get you what you want and can find products out of season such as an heirloom tomato in January. The question becomes, 'how will this effect my end product and bottom line' and in these times of economic stress the survival of the business.

By thinking in these terms we can predispose ourselves to offering better products with a good ratio of food costs to price. Survival has much to do with working with the laws of nature and economy in a constructive, creative way.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

The rambutan (pronounced /ræmˈbuːtən/, Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae, and the fruit of this tree. It is native to Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, although its precise natural distribution is unknown. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the Lychee, Longan, and Mamoncillo. It is believed to be native to the Malay Archipelago. Rambutan in Indonesian, Filipino and Malay literally means hairy caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit. There is a second species regularly for sale at Malay markets which is known as 'wild' rambutan. It is a little smaller than the usual red variety and is colored yellow. The outer skin is peeled exposing the fleshy fruit inside which is then eaten. It is sweet, sour and slightly grape like to the taste.