Best if Used By 02/22/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday February 16, 2010 features: Moro Blood Oranges, Empire Apples, Green Anjou Pears, Butternut Squash, and Meyer Lemons.

1. Moro Blood Oranges

The flavor knob has been cranked all the way up.  It’s time to rock out your taste buds with peak of the season Blood Oranges – Yeaaaaah!  Organic and Conventional Moro variety Blood Oranges from California are outstanding right now.  Moro’s are streaky red to deep maroon inside, almost seedless and so delicious.  The flavor is rich and sweet-tart; think berries, plums and navels together on stage, just jammin’.  They’re perfect for snacking and can turn recipes that call for oranges into something extra special.  I plan on bringing a whole case home from the warehouse this week to enjoy and share with friends.  You should try some and discover what Italians and Sicilians have known for a long time: Blood Oranges rock.

2. Empire Apples

The Empire strikes back.  The Force is strong with this apple variety.  Here’s what I mean: In late winter and spring, when some other varieties of Eastern grown apples can sometimes be mushy, Empire Apples are firm and solid.  Empire’s are fresh-sweet, a tad tart, crisp – ideal for snacking, good for baking too.  Kids love the juicy, crisp sweet-tartness of Empires.  In fact, some processors prefer this variety for their sliced apple packs.  New York is where the Empire variety originated and got it’s name, and it is also where the best ones come from.  Find some and give ‘em a try.  May the Force be with you and your kid’s lunchbox.

3. Green Anjou Pears

When’s the last time you had a fresh pear?  It is time to have another one.  The most plentiful pear in the US, all-purpose Green Anjou Pears are readily available from the Pacific Northwest right now for your snacking and cooking adventures.  If you let Green Anjou Pears ripen, you can enjoy a juicy and sweet one that just might get you on an unexpected pear-kick.

This variety ripens from the inside out and the skin color won’t change.  So how do you know when it is juicy-sweet?  “Check the neck.”  Press your thumb near the top of the egg-shaped Anjou below the stem.  It should give to gentle thumb pressure when it’s primed inside.  Try it.  Go to www.usapears.com for more on ripening, cool recipes and more.

4. Butternut Squash

Something about these winter days brings on cravings for the rich, sweet and nutty taste of Butternut Squash.  Maybe pureed into soup, roasted in cubes with spices or baked into a casserole – the possibilities are delicious.  Organic and Conventional Butternut Squash are mostly coming from Mexico at this time, and quality has been solid.  If you need a time saver, many supermarkets stock fresh Peeled Halves or Cubed Butternut Squash.

5. Meyer Lemons

Have a recipe that calls for fresh Lemons?  Give it a chef upgrade by using in-season Meyer Lemons, Martha Stewart would be proud.  Meyer Lemons have a deep yellow skin (almost orange) that is fragrant and ideal for zesting.  The flesh is sweeter and less acidic than that of regular Lemons.  Meyer Lemons are recipe dynamos!

In a moment of curiosity the other day in the warehouse, I ate an Organic Meyer Lemon from California whole, rind and all, to see how much sweeter they are.  (Yes, I am a professional, but you can try this at home.)  It was delicious, still sour, though less so than a true Lemon.  Invigorating, but alas, Lemons aren’t hand fruit.

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 02/15/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday February 9, 2010 features: Pink Lady Apples, Pummelos, Asparagus, Cara Cara Oranges, and Minneola Tangelos.

1.  Pink Lady Apples

Sappy romance movies should be mushy, NOT good apples.  Crisp, dense flesh with tart-sweet flavor, Pink Lady Apples are one of the best textured apples available in the late winter months.  This is a fantastic apple for snacking, and it’s also a good option for salads.  Look for promotions this week on Washington State Organic and Conventional Pink Lady Apples, a brand of the Cripps Pink variety.  The name does fit the theme for Valentine’s Day, but don’t kid yourself, guys – they are not a replacement for flowers and chocolate.

2.  Pummelos

Have you ever walked down the citrus aisle and seen a big honkin’ pale green to yellow thing that looks like a mega grapefruit?  That, my friend, is the Pummelo.  Pummelos, or Chinese Grapefruit, are the largest of all citrus fruits.  Their extra thick rind gives off a strong tropical aroma – intoxicating to me, overwhelming for others.  Inside, Pummelos are sections like grapefruit and have firm and juicy pink flesh that tastes similar to a grapefruit, only less acidic and quite sweet, more complex, almost floral.  The season on Organic and Conventional Pummelos is peaking in California.  Take one into work this week for a snack and create a stir.  You can just tell all the gawkers you’re getting ready for The Year of the Tiger (Chinese New Year begins 2/14).

3.  Asparagus

This should be your side dish for a special Valentines Day dinner at home or any meal this week – fresh Green Asparagus.  The new season of Organic and Conventional Asparagus has started in Mexico and imports from Peru continue to be available too.  The shorter length spears, called Asparagus Tips, can also be found for the first month of the new crop harvest.  Quality is excellent and there will be aggressive ad promotions to take advantage of.  Asparagus is packed with Folic Acid, Vitamins and Fiber.  It’s also really flavorful, so try it steamed, roasted, grilled, sauteed or blanched some night soon.

4.  Cara Cara Oranges

By the power vested in us by the Internet, we at ProduceGeek.com have named Cara Cara Navel Oranges the Unofficial Fresh Fruit of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.  Take that!, Canned Fruit in heavy syrup.

Here’s a summary of our decision:

• Sweet, Delicious, Low Acid
• Rich pink flesh, almost seedless
• Loaded with Vitamin C and tons of Antioxidants
• Definitely in Season this month
• Organic and Conventional from California
• Nicknamed “The Power Orange”

Cara Cara Navels may not improve your Freestyle Ski Jumping tricks or help you with your Curling technique, but they will give your immune system a boost and your taste buds a treat.  Go Team Fresh!

5.  Minneola Tangelos

OK, so you really enjoyed the Clementines in December and January, but this last box/bag you bought in February had a lot of soft ones that went bad and others that were dry inside.  There are still lots of good Clementines out there from Spain and Morocco, but quality is a little more hit and miss as the season winds down.  If you want an easy to peel, on-the-go fruit that is a bit more consistent than Clementines right now – try Minneola Tangelos.  They’re those dark orange skinned citrus fruits with the knob at the stem end.  Minneolas are tart-sweet and almost seedless.  Organic and Conventional ones from California are outstanding this month.  You may even be able to find Minneola Tangelos from Florida, called Honey Bells.

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 02/01/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday January 26, 2010 features: Fuji Apples, Organic Navel Oranges, Grapefruit, Cauliflower, and Fingerling Potatoes.

1. Fuji Apples

Are you a fan of the Fuji? – nicely crisp, so very sweet.  Fuji’s are the No.1 apple variety in Japan and China.  Here in the States, Fuji’s have skyrocketed in popularity over past two decades into the Top 4.  In Natural Food Stores and Coops, Fuji and Gala are neck and neck for the top apple spot with flavor-savvy organic produce shoppers.  The Organic Fuji’s I ate this week where outstanding!  If you’ve never tasted a Fuji Apple for yourself, now is a great time.  Buy. Eat. Enjoy.

Fuji Apples are about as sweet tasting an apple as you will find, just dripping with sugary flavor.  The flesh is crisp with a fine texture.  The skin is green with a red to dark red blush that covers some to almost all of the apple, depending on growing conditions.  The fruit tends to grow in a round shape and the trees produce very large apples.  Fuji’s are a fantastic snacking apple and ideal for salads, but they’re also good for cooking and baking because they keep their shape well and require less added sugar.

Organic and Conventional Fuji Apples are mostly coming from the Yakima Valley of Washington State right now, with some additional conventional supplies from New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan.  Fuji’s store well so they are known as a “Winter” variety even though the fruit comes off the trees in October.  Demand is so strong on Fuji Apples this season, especially for Organic Fuji’s, that growers began raising the prices at wholesale a couple weeks ago to slow movement down to make sure they don’t run out before new crop fruit is available from Chile and New Zealand later in spring.  In spite of the case cost increases you will still find many stores promoting Fuji’s.

2.  Organic Navel Oranges

Prices are lower than last month on Organic Navel Oranges from California and quality has been great from most growers.  In fact, I sampled some from a load that arrived this week and they were, hands down, The Best Navels I’ve eaten this year!  So juicy, outrageously sweet – wow!  Buy some fresh looking Organic California Navel Oranges that feel heavy.  My hope for you is that they’ll be awesome as the ones I ate.

3.  Grapefruit

February is National Grapefruit Month, so here’s a head-start.

Conventional: Florida had the freeze, but there will still be plenty of decent Grapefruit.  Pink and Red flesh varieties are good, Star and Dark Red varieties are really good.  White Flesh Grapefruit are also available, if you want to mix it up.  The best tasting Grapefruit this season, in my opinion, has been the Rio Star variety from Texas – deep red, loaded with juice and very sweet.

Organics: Rio Red and other Organic Pink/Red varieties are nice, but higher price out of California and Arizona.  Florida Organic Pink and Red Grapefruit are in very low supply and hard to come by, but Florida Organic White Grapefruit (if you can find them) are quite impressive.

4.  Cauliflower

Reasonable pricing, good quality, a seasonal cooking ingredient – Conventional and Organic Cauliflower grown in CA and AZ have all of the makings of a good buy right now.  Enjoy steamed as a side, pureed into a curry soup or chop raw for snacking and dipping.

Like Cauliflower, but want some more flare on you plate?  Keep an eye out for Romanesco, a green colored cousin to Cauliflower shaped with dramatic spiked cones.  Romanesco has full Cauliflower flavor with hints of broccoli.  Try it steamed and serve with a little browned butter – oh yea!

5.  Fingerling Potatoes

Small, heritage (think heirloom) potatoes that are shaped like stubby little fingers are called “Fingerling Potatoes.”  Chock full of buttery, nutty potato flavor, Fingerling’s are typically roasted, fried or boiled and served whole or halved with the thin skin on.  Top varieties, which often are packaged together as a medley, include: French Fingerling, Russian Banana, Purple Peruvian, Ruby Crescent and Austrian Crescent.  Buttercream and Klamath Pearl are delicious varieties that are very small yet more round in shape than long.  Organic and Conventional Fingerling Potatoes are available right now from CA, CO, ID and OR.  Pick some up this week and turn Wednesday night supper into a restaurant-style meal.

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