Best if Used By 03/15/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday March 9th, 2010 features: Seedless Mandarins, Honey Tangerines, Organic Leaf Lettuces, Russet Potatoes, and Hass Avocados.

1. Seedless Mandarins

Sweet, seedless, easy to peel, portable – sounds like a Clementine, right?  Well, close, AND closer to home.  Late season Organic and Conventional Seedless Mandarins (or W. Murcott or Afourer Mandarins, the real names that nobody really ever uses) from California, are particularly noteworthy right now.  These bright orange gems are packed full of juicy flavor and are a killer value right now.  Sold in 3lb bags, 5lb Gift Boxes, Loose and even with the Stem & Leaf still attached, Seedless Mandarins are branded as “Cuties, Delites, Sweeties, and Easy-Peelers.”

Some supermarkets are convinced you’ll be more likely to buy them if they call them “Clementines” on their ad or signage, even though the package clearly reads Seedless Mandarins.  Your mission?  Find these tasty small orange fruits from California, no matter what the name and enjoy piece after yummy piece.

2. Honey Tangerines

Are you someone that doesn’t mind spending a little more time with their food, so long as the flavor pays off in the end?  The perfect piece of citrus awaits – Florida Honey Tangerines, in season and inexpensive for a few more weeks.  Honey Tangerines are packed with seeds and have a persistent thin skin that clings to the fruit, not to mention they’re kinda ugly: light orange skin with green patches and lots of scars.  In spite of their flaws, what Florida Honey Tangerines have going for them is that they are very sweet, juicy and manage to pack that Southern sunshine into each flavorful bite.  Slow down and try one.

3. Organic Leaf Lettuces

Exceptional quality – two words that every great salad should start with.  Organic Green Leaf, Red Leaf and Romaine Lettuces from Lady Moon Farms in Florida are on an outstanding run of heartiness, freshness and beauty – yes beauty, and at a reasonable price right now.  California Organic Lettuces are solid too, especially butter varieties.  If you have access to a coop, natural food store or supermarket that promotes organic lettuces, use these exceptional ingredients to make an exceptional meal.

4. Russet Potatoes

What does an earthquake in Chile have to do with potatoes grown in North America?  Not too much, but a connection can be made.  The devastating quake has disrupted the packing, cold storage and export shipments enough on Seedless Grapes to cause prices to spike and retailers to remove them from their feature ads.  So what is a supply safe, good quality and price promotable item to advertise instead in coming weeks?  Russet Baking Potatoes, whether they’re from Idaho, Prince Edward Island or elsewhere, should be good and priced right.  Grapes? Not so much.

5. Hass Avocados

I’ve eaten six Hass Avocados this past week from three different growers, all from Mexico.  They’ve been perfect.  A little garlic powder, shake of cumin, lots of cracked pepper, pinch of sea salt and all the juice from a lime – and you’ve got some fantastic Geek-guac.  Go for it!

Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh produce!

The Produce Geek,
Jonathan K. Steffy

Best if Used By 02/08/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday February 2, 2010 features: Red and Green Grapes, Sweet Red Peppers, Idaho Russet Potatoes, Roma Tomatoes, and Hass Avocados.

1.  Red and Green Grapes

There’s good news, all ye snackers!  Grapes have been available from Chile for several weeks, but this week starts a two month run of promotable volumes as the summer grape season hits it’s peak in the Southern Hemisphere.  What does that mean for you?  This healthy snack food will be affordable and yummy!  Starting now, Green and Red Seedless Grapes will frequently be on sale at $.99 to $1.99 lb. at stores across the country.  (Those bags weigh about 2lb by the way, so don’t be surprised at the register.)  Look for Grapes with no wetness in the bag, and feel free to ask the produce clerk or manager for a sample.

Green Seedless, also called White Seedless, are running with decent firmness and fresh-sweet flavor.  Red Seedless are coming in with good sweetness and a crisp-juicy pop.  Think of all of the processed snacks you could replace with Grapes at lunch, for dessert, after school.  Heck, buy one less bag of tortilla chips this week for the Big Game and instead spend that money on some fresh, wholesome Grapes!

2.  Sweet Red Peppers

Ohhhh yeaah…  So surprisingly sweet, so jam-packed with jaw-drooling tangy flavor – when they’re good, like they are right now out of Mexico, I eat them like apples.  That’s right, I’m talking about a pepper: Sweet Red Peppers.  The current harvest flush is on Extra Large size, field-grown, Sweet Red Peppers that are easily identifiable by their elongated shape.  There will be promotions at $.99 to $1.99lb this week (half the price of Greenhouse Colored Bell Peppers), so buy some and try out some new recipes.

Cut out the stem, seed cavity and white membranes – the rest is sweet bliss, loaded with Vitamin A and ridiculous amounts of Vitamin C with only 46 Calories per 1 Cup chopped.  Sweet Red Peppers are perfect for sauteing with onions to top hot sandwiches, add to pastas or serve with chicken, beef or tofu.  For the Big Game, brighten up your veggie tray with Sweet Red Pepper strips.

3.  Idaho Russet Potatoes

February is Idaho Potato Lovers Month.  You’ll see hot pricing, great quality and maybe even some creative displays on Russet Potatoes from Idaho the next four weeks.

DO: Make gourmet potato recipes for your Valentine. http://www.idahopotato.com/recipes
DO NOT: Give him/her a 5 or 10lb bag of Idaho Potatoes for Valentines Day.  I know it’s a wicked-awesome value, but…
DO: Make homemade Potato Skins for your Bowl party. http://www.idahopotato.com/football
DO NOT: Buy pre-made frozen appetizers.  Go with fresh ingredients – then everybody wins.

4.  Roma Tomatoes

You may have heard about the freezing temperatures in mid-January that devastated much of the Florida vegetable crops including Round, Grape and Cherry Tomatoes.  The impacts from this crop loss will be felt by all in terms of high price points and shaky quality on Tomatoes all this month.  So what to do about that fresh salsa you were hoping to make for the Big Game this weekend?  INSIDER TIP: Mexico is exporting high quality Roma (Plum) Tomatoes to the US and prices are reasonable.  This week and next, Roma’s are the way to go.

5.  Hass Avocados

More Hass Avocados will be consumed this weekend than any other of the year.  Guacamole galore!  Avocado topping everywhere!  High quality Organic and Conventional Avocados are readily available from Mexico, Chile and California.  Shop early this week so you have time to ripen your Hass Avocados for use this weekend.  Big Game Recipes: http://www.avocadocentral.com/

No ripe Avocados on display at the last minute?  Try fresh Guacamole in vacuum packs.  They can be found in the convenience refrigerated case in many supermarkets.

Enjoy the game!

Do you have a recipe for any of ingredients that you’d like to share or a comment about what you’ve read here?  Email us or post a comment at www.producegeek.com.  Thank you for reading.

Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh produce!

The Produce Geek,
Jonathan K. Steffy

Best if Used By 1/5/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday December 29, 2009 features: Grape Tomatoes, Red Grapefruit, Organic Mangoes, Hass Avocados, and Cantaloupe.

1.  Grape Tomatoes

What a great concept!  Bite-sized tomatoes shaped like grapes that actually taste like – like real tomatoes.  No cutting.  No chopping.  No preparation.  Just rinse and enjoy: on salads or as a snack.  Grape Tomatoes add color and juiciness to veg trays too.

There is a flush of high quality Conventional and Organic Grape Tomatoes coming from Florida right now following a month long spell of high prices and limited availability.  Advertised at many stores this week and available as in-store specials, Grape Tomatoes are a good buy this week – just in time for your New Years and Bowl Game parties, not to mention your health-related New Year Resolutions.  Flavor can vary based on growing conditions and seed variety even within the same brand, but overall eating quality is good to great on all lots I’ve tried lately.  Remember, never store tomatoes in the refrigerator; room temperature is best to keep them firm and full of flavor.

2.  Red Grapefruit

Feeling the need to detox from all the cookies, pies, buttered _______ (fill in the blank) and salty whatevers this week?  Try Red Grapefruit for breakfast or a snack.  The intensely sweet and tart juicy burst they provide will perk up you system and your taste buds.  Organic and Conventional Red Grapefruit are readily available from Texas, Florida and California.  Look for Rio Star, Rio Red, Ruby Red or Star Ruby varieties for a flesh color and flavor upgrades over standard pink/red grapefruit.  Select fruit that feels heavy for it’s size, a sign of juice content.

3.  Organic Mangoes

Ecuador and Brazil are exporting high volumes of Organic Kent and Tommy Atkins variety Mangoes to the US right now.  Quality has been sharp, especially from Ecuador.  Mangoes are so sweet, so smoothly delicious – no wonder they’re the #1 fruit in the world.  If you can’t find Organically Grown (no pesticides or other synthetic compounds used), Conventional fruit is decent and very affordable this week as well.  Red skin color typically indicates that piece of fruit was exposed to more sunlight than others in many varieties, not the level of ripeness.  Softness is your key indicator of when the mango is ready to eat.

4.  Hass Avocados

From New Years until Super Bowl is the prime time for guacamole, which means big-time usage of Hass Avocados.  Holiday parties, College Bowl Games, NFL Playoffs and The Big Game are all great occasions to celebrate with family and friends with some creamy guacamole.  But Hass Avocados aren’t simply a one-trick-pony.  Add them to salads or sandwiches for a creamy texture and smooth nutty taste that is healthy too.  Chile’s bumper crop of Hass Avocados continues to keep prices low at the stores on fruit from that country and Mexican product, so now is a fantastic time to grab some.  Love ‘em at the restaurant, but need a crash course on selecting and preparing Hass Avocados for yourself?  Check out www.avocadocentral.com for some cool how-to videos.

5.  Cantaloupe

Summer is long gone.  USA is not producing Cantaloupes right now.  Central American grown melons travel a long way to get here and their skin often has a greenish cast to it.  Soooo… why am I recommending Cantaloupes this week?

Glad you asked.  In a word: Value.  Large sized Cantaloupes from Guatemala are plentiful this week, affordable and actually taste like Cantaloupes.  Now I’m not saying they’re as good as summertime local ‘lopes, so don’t bother comparing.  Nevertheless, if you see a big Cantaloupe where you shop on sale at $2.99 or less, it’s worth buying one to enjoy for breakfast, dessert or for a healthy snack.  I’m aware of one chain in the Northeast selling Large Cantaloupes this week at Buy One – Get One Free, another at $.99 each!  Cantaloupes are packed with nutrition, and hey – that latte or fancy-schmancy sports/energy drink costs as much as a fresh Cantaloupe this week.  Choose fresh.

Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh produce!

The Produce Geek,
Jonathan K. Steffy