The tomato market is on fire as all local deals are done and Florida is weeks away from helping out. The 20lb vine ripe market is approaching $30 rapidly as are 25lb 5x6 tomatoes. Product is coming in on the pale side, so we're scrounging to supply red tomatoes to our customers. We even bought hot house tomatoes for the weekend to help the cause. Grape tomatoes are also deer and romas are on the upward swing, too. We may not have seen the peak yet!
Here's some other news:
Berries--Chilean product is supplementing blueberries from Argentina and prices seem to be coming down. Quality is variable. Strawberries from California have seen a little upward movement, but warm weather in the growing area of Oxnard, keeps product moving along. Raspberries, which are coming from California and Mexico, seem to be stable.
Lettuce--iceberg remains expensive, while other lettuces show some relief. All romaine products are lower, as are red and green leaf.
Cantaloupes--prices are lower for melons, which are now coming from Arizona. The offshore deal, meaning Central America, usually begins in late November and carries us through around March. Honeydews remain quite reasonable, though quality has been only fair.
Asparagus--the market has been very soft for Peruvian product. Prices hover around $2 per pound for all sizes.
Sweet Potatoes--some new crop, uncured sweets are showing up, as last year's crop is winding down. These "green" sweet potatoes, from Louisiana and Mississippi, are available until right around Thanksgiving, when cured product carries us through for the rest of the season.
Cauliflower--prices fall significantly after a week of being high.
Persimmons--both the hachiya and fuyu varieties are available. Fuyu's can be eaten when hard like an apple, while the hachiyas must be very soft to be enjoyed.
Snow Peas and Sugar Snaps--prices are on the rise for these products from Peru. They must be encountering some weather problems in the land of Machu Pichu, since both snow and snap peas and haricovert, which come from there, have been problematic as of late.
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( 2.8 / 81 )How come we don't have drive "Inn's" for voting in Michigan. We always seem to wait for trends to shift from the coasts to the heartland. Why is that? Oh yea, we're just getting into the absentee ballot. Works for me!
Many growing areas in California are in transition as the shift from Salinas to the desert has begun. Every year as local deals finish up, volume becomes a bit unstable in these short lived California deals. Mexico is beginning to crank up its winter deal beginning with cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash. Here's a look at other produce items.
Broccoli and cauliflower--the California market is getting "stupid", as prices are approaching the mid $30 range for both. We've been fortunate to source some Michigan broccoli which is significantly less expensive and quite tasty.
Brussels Sprouts--quality is excellent right now for this winter vegetable. People either love 'em or hate 'em. Where do you stand? We have been able to source baby brussels sprouts if you're interested. Great for roasting!
Russet Potatoes--good news here as more states begin to harvest. Prices are lower and the quality looks great.
Seedless Cucumbers --prices are on the rise as Canadian product becomes a bit scarce. Slicing cucumbers are coming from a variety of states, with the best quality from Mexico. Quality is excellent.
Tomatoes--prices are on the rise for slicers, grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. Romas seem to be stable for now. Product is shifting mainly to Southern California and Baja California, which happens to be in Mexico. Wait a second here!
Lettuce--iceberg lettuce has been expensive for awhile, and there is no relief in sight. Green leaf and romaine seem to be stable for now, and quality is very good. Red leaf doesn't have much color, especially after the beautiful Michigan red lettuce we've had recently.
Artichokes--produce heavily in the spring and fall. The fall crop, so far, seems abundant and prices are quite reasonable. Many sizes are available, and purple artichokes are available as well as their green brethren.
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( 2.9 / 69 )Ah, yes, the election is right around the corner. Should we stay out of politics here, yea, I think so, but you do remember the cabbage patch doll, don't you. It is right in the midst of cabbage season, an extremely versatile vegetable. Huge heads for stuffing or pickling, or small heads are available to us now and the quality is superb. As the weather begins to cool down, all the root vegetables will improve their flavor. This includes parsnips, carrots, turnips, cabbage, and horseradish. This cooler weather is signaling the end to many other vegetables, such as tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, cucumbers, and corn. Here's a look at where the slack is being picked up from.
Cucumbers--this is one hot market right now as product begins to come in from Mexico, California and Georgia. Prices are much higher. Seedless cukes are about the same, while pickling cucumbers are much higher.
Zucchini and yellow squash--this fast growing vegetable is now coming from Georgia and Mexico. Supplies are high and prices are low.
Fennel--this winter favorite is abundant right now and prices are very reasonable. Fennel gains in popularity every year and rightfully so. It is so very versatile.
Corn--this should be the last week for local product. Prices are higher and quality is lower. Florida will soon dominate, but there is a quality gap right now.
Pineapple --is a bargain right now. Prices are much lower for Costa Rican golden ripe pineapples. A good choice for your winter fruit salads.
Cantaloupes--product shifts from California to the Arizona desert, where nights are cool making it difficult for the melons to ripen properly. This transition happens every year and quality usually suffers. The winter deal from Guatemala and Costa Rica is just around the corner.
Lemons and Limes --now that it's the weather is turning cooler, the prices of lemons and limes are down. Figures eh! When we use a lot of them the prices are high, and now they are low. It's a free market economy of supply and demand, and there's just no demand.
Berries--the better California strawberries have shifted from the Salinas Valley in the north, to Oxnard, in the south. Quality is improved and prices remain very reasonable. Blueberries are already shifting to Argentina, and prices are a bit higher.
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( 3.1 / 120 )It's really getting scary out there, and it's not because Halloween is around the corner. We are certainly feeling the pinch here in the U.S., but the wierd thing to me is that the dollar is gaining strength against the Euro and the pound. Does that mean that the economy in Europe is getting slammed as bad or worse than here? I believe that might be the case. This should be an interesting winter in the produce industry, since it is basically a commodities market. Exporters tend to follow the strong currency. Gosh, I was getting to feel like a second class citizen, after hearing sellers at the Produce Terminal saying the "good stuff" was being shipped overseas. Well if the dollar strengthens against other currencies, even in a weak environment, other countries will ship the "good stuff" back to the good ole' USA.
Here's a look at this weeks happenings:
Lettuce--while the iceberg market stays strong, the romaine market begins to drop. This is true for all forms of romaine, i.e. hearts, cleaned and trimmed, and old fashioned heads of romaine. The leaf market is also showing signs of weakness.
Zucchini and yellow squash--these fast growing vegetables rarely stay too expensive for too long. Product from Georgia and Mexico have begun to show up at the market, relieving some pressure. Prices are lower.
Pineapple-- prices are significantly lower after a long ride of being high. Quality is good as usual for golden ripes. What ever happened to Hawaiian pineapple?
Corn--very few growers have fresh product left in Michigan. There is no really good alternative at the present, so maybe it's time to give corn a rest. It has been a lovely corn year though. Ah, one of the truly wonderful things about summer. I hope you got your fill!
Broccoli--prices are much higher as product from Maine and Michigan winds down. California has little competition and it shows.
Apples--prices continue to fall for almost all varieties of shipped in apples. The list includes galas, fuji's, granny smith, red and yellow delicious. Later varieties of Michigan apples to be harvested include Northern Spy, Empire, and Ida Red.
Melons --product is shifting from California to Arizona, where cool nights usually hinder color for the melons. Watermelons are in a bit in a gap, where the color of the meat is not as red as we'd like.
Tomatoes--it's getting close to the time where we have to look for other options. The warm weather this week should extend the season a bit, but vines are getting old and tired. California or "down South" is usually the next option, so we'll have to see what transpires. Grape tomatoes are on the rise as are romas.
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( 2.9 / 134 )I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the processed iceberg lettuce recall last week, due to a serious outbreak of e coli, found in our home state of Michigan. The finger was immediately pointed at Aunt Mid Produce Company, though they may have been a convenient scapegoat. Aunt Mid, has recalled all product and tested product in their plant which showed no trace of e coli. After the CDC or FDA accused the tomato industry recently of an e coli outbreak which was eventually found in jalapeno peppers, it's clear the source of these outbreaks is not so easily found. This is a good field for lawyers, though, as the law suits start flying after these outbreaks. By the way as you may have noticed, Frog Holler has conducted business with Aunt Mid for many years (over 3 decades to be exact), and they are one of the more reputable wholesale houses out there. They run a state of the art processing plant, which we've often visited(wearing hair nets and booties), and we hope they are absolved of this serious accusation.
So, what's going on in the market these days.
Berries--strawberries and raspberries are a deal right now, especially as other fruits wither with the cool weather approaching. California is the only game in town, but there must be a great deal of fall harvesting going on to keep prices so depressed. Blueberries, on the other hand, will switch to the smaller 4.4 oz. package next week. Prices will be significantly higher.
Citrus--there are quite a few options here, thanks to the globalization of the produce industry. In the old days, the only orange available in the summer or early fall would be the California Valencia orange. Today, we also offer navel oranges from Australia and South Africa, as well as honey tangerines, clementines and minneola tangelos. The California valencia is great for making juice right now, and is the sole orange used in the orange juice we currently sell. Florida grapefruits have just begun, marking the beginning of the real grapefruit season.
Pomegranates--this season is still in its beginning stages as the early foothill variety is being shipped. Better varieties like the wonderful pomegranate is on the horizon.
Quince--early varieties of quince are also on the scene. The leading variety we see here is the Pineapple quince which is at its best once it turns a creamy yellow.
Cranberries--are a true sign of fall, and the season is right around the corner. Wisconsin and Massachusetts remain the largest producers of cranberries. Can Thanksgiving be far away? Another wonderful specialty that hits the market at about this time of the year are chestnuts, from Italy. All over Europe in October, chestnuts are a familiar site and smell as they are roasted and sold outdoors by street vendors. Hey, who wants to set up a chestnut cart? Just the thing to have after a night out on the town.
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