Eat This Now—Tuesday 12/14/09
2009
Best if Used By 12/21/09
Eat This Now for Tuesday December 08, 2009 features: Clementines, Satsuma Mandarins, Green Bell Peppers, Peruvian Sweet Onions, and Cameo Apples.
1. Clementines
An Advanced Formula for Popular Fruit:
((Sweet + Virtually Seedless) x Easy to Peel) + ((Portable + Healthy) x On Sale Right Now) = Awesome.
Peak of the season Clementines are here from Spain, and are most likely on sale at your supermarket in handy 3lb Bags and attractive 5lb Gift Boxes. Expect good value, flavor, sweetness and quality through New Year. Those little boxes are filled with fresh Clementines in Spain and stacked neatly into configurations of 360 to 400 boxes per pallet. Hundreds of pallets are loaded into sea vessels headed for the States. After a short hop across The Pond the Clementines are unloaded at the ports and make their way the the distribution network to your grocer’s produce department. Over 3/4 of the Clementines sold in the US are from Spain, followed by Morocco and then a few from California.
Ever wonder why the Gift Boxes are covered with orange netting? It makes the kinda yellow – kinda orange Clementines look more bright orange at first glance and hides some blemishes – a-la pantyhose. When buying your Clementines avoid fruit that has brown discoloration around the stem area or other large brown sunken patches. A black spot here or there is not a big worry. Mold is, though it is unlikely you’ll come across that until much later in the season. Still, strip away the fancy box, the cosmetic netting, the darling name and what you are left with is a truly delicious piece of fruit that only costs you about $.17 to $.35. Wow! Take that, Candy!
2. Satsuma Mandarins
OK, so you know all about Clementines, in fact, you’re now a Clementine Insider. Pssst. I’m going to let you in on a little secret…
This season, I actually prefer Satsuma Mandarins from California 2 to 1 over Clementines. It is hands down the best citrus I’ve eaten this year – so sweet, so juicy, so much flavor! The Satsumas are slightly puffy, making them peel-able in just seconds without a lot finger-nailing. Eat This Now does not often refer to brands, but I must reference the specific grower whose Mandarins I’ve been devouring by the 3lb bag (yea, 3lb in a 10 hour work day, I’m addicted). Family Tree Farms out of Reedley, CA has been packing some of the best Satsuma Mandarins around. They’re a lot harder to find in stores than Clementines, but if you can get your mitts on some of these make sure you buy more than one bag.
3. Green Bell Peppers
Stuffed, sliced for dipping, sauteed – however you like to use Green Bell Peppers, this is a great week to buy some. Quality on peppers from Florida has been sharp and pricing is affordable. Keep an eye out for ads and in-store specials. Select peppers that are heavy, firm, have solid shoulders and fresh looking stems. Organic Green Bell Peppers are much pricier, but have fantastic quality too right now.
4. Peruvian Sweet Onions
Let’s face it, no matter how much the sugar to acid ratio changes with a Sweet Onion variety, it is still never going to be sweet enough for you to eat like an apple. And why would you, right? Still, Sweet Onions can be less bold and pungent than regular Yellow Cooking Onions, but they’re not exactly sweet, just sweet-er. With that in mind, Sweet Onions are ideal for sandwich, burger, saute’ and cooking applications where you want the onion flavor without all of the onion sting. Right now, Sweet Onions grown in Peru (it’s their late spring) are very high quality and priced aggressively.
5. Cameo Apples
Mushy apples suck. If you agree, here’s an apple you will like: Thin, dark red skin heavily streaked with yellow is the markings of the Cameo Apple. Becoming popular for their crunchy texture and great flavor, Cameo Apples are a nice balance of sweet and tart… leaning to more sweet based on what I’ve sampled this month. The new crop of Organic and Conventional Cameo Apples from Washington is readily available at most retailers at pricing comparable to Galas and Fuji. PA and NY have nice Cameo’s too. Learn more about this newer variety at http://www.americancameo.com/. Find some and snack away! Or you could buy the same ole’ “red del” for a lower price… and chance getting a mushier, thicker-skinned apple. Say YES to crunch!
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