Produce notes from Allen.....80 local items!

I had a request from a member that I would like to share with you.  She asked me to please stop members from doing horrible thing to the fruits and vegetables.  I agree with her sentiment and hereby ask you (and to ask you to ask everyone else) to stop doing these horrible things:

• Dumping Apples out of boxes instead of hand placing them. 
• Removing fruits from the protective trays in which they are delivered 
• Making mounds of Bananas. 
• Peeling Corn and leaving the now worthless Corn behind. 
• Leaving Carrot greens or Fennel fronds on the shelf.
• Mixing Sugar Snap Peas with Peas in the Pod. 
• Breaking off Portobello stems (don't kid yourself-this is stealing) 
• Breaking off Asparagus "butts" (don't kid yourself-this is stealing) 
• Tearing off Leek greens (don't kid yourself-this is stealing) 

It is very difficult for workers in the produce aisle, with little or no experience or supervision, to make the right decisions concerning produce handing or even where to place the approximately 250 different items we carry.  We have a tool which very few workers are aware of, one which will help guide you with necessary fundamentals of produce handling.  There is a green flyer in a rack to the right of the Mushrooms, entitled "An Introduction to Working in the Produce Aisle".   Please take a few minutes to read this before you start your work.  

Here are a few interesting numbers for the two week period that ended 5/20:

• 8,324 pound cups of organic Strawberries (By the way, the first few local Strawberries arrived 5/22 and 5/25. We only received 384 pints this week and look forward to higher numbers next week) 
• 7,172 pounds of organic Mineola Tangelos (whose season may be ending) 
• 7,498 pounds of Avocados 
• 22,325 pounds of Bananas 
• 4,333 pounds of Mangos 
• 1,152 Pineapples 
• 5,592 bunches of various Kale 
• 9,742 pounds of Carrots 

We averaged over 6,000 cases in each of the last 2 weeks, maintaining our average rate of produce sales of one case per minute.  In the next couple of weeks we will see some big shifts in product. Most Apples and Pears will disappear. Last year's Potatoes will give way to new crops.  Greens which had shifted from Mexico to California or Florida are now coming mostly from local farms. Fruits coming soon are Cherries, Apricots, Nectarines, Donut Peaches, and Green Grapes. Vegetables coming soon include Spring Onions, freshly dug Garlic, Garlic Scapes, local Sugar Snap Peas and Peas in the Pod.

Today we have 80 local items.

 Allen Zimmerman - Produce Buyer - General Coordinator

Hottest fudge on the shelf!

We are now carrying Emack & Bolio's delicious Hot Fudge!  

Before Ben & Jerry ever scooped a cone, Boston based Emack & Bolio's was serving up the most exciting flavors in a town known for it's ice cream.  The company is family owned and run with the same commitment to social responsibility and creativity that it was founded on.  It's made in Charlestown, Massachusetts and packaged in Maine. 

Produce Notes from Allen....74 local items!!

Keep your questions coming!  Here are some of the questions asked this week.

"I found Rhubarb on a list of vegetables that have the least amount of pesticides used on them.  Why do we only have organic?  The organic are more expensive and sometimes there are none."

You will find Strawberries on the list of fruits that have the most pesticides used on them.  We try to buy only organic Strawberries for that reason.  It doesn't make sense to me to have one item organic, and one not, when they are so often used in combination.  Many members are familiar with lists of what to only buy organic, or what may be relatively safe to not buy organic.  Many members do not, or will never buy produce unless it is organic.  We hope that this decision serves most members well.  At this point in the season, the supplies are increasing, and now that most of our Rhubarb is local, we are starting to see lower prices as well.

"I cut open a Melon and it was green inside. I was upset that it wasn't orange, because I wanted vitamin A. What happened to my Melon?"

This member bought a Galia Melon, which slightly resembles a Cantaloupe.  It is green on the inside, a color which wouldn't surprise a Honeydew eater.  (Although we occasionally carry orange flesh Honeydews.)  She wanted me to warn people what color fruits are on the inside, and I replied that I could not do that, although we do identify all Watermelon by color.  If you are concerned about the color of each fruit, google them before you shop.  You can find our daily produce selection updated Monday through Friday at: click here
 

As far as the vitamins go, I leave that up to you.  I am the produce buyer, not the vitamin buyer.  I think that you can't go very wrong when you eat any fruit in place of another.  By the way, galias are very high in Vitamin A.  She did say that it was delicious, and you can find out for yourself when they return to our shelves next Friday.

"How can hydroponic produce also be organic?  I know that stuff is added to the water.  How can you add stuff to the water and still claim that the produce is organic?"

  

It is not the coop that makes the claim that something is organic.  A farmer or producer may make that claim after they have been inspected and certified by an independent party (such as CCOF or NOFA).  All produce sold as organic at the coop has been certified by an independent party.  Many nutrients, fertilizers and various chemicals may be added to the water for hydroponically grown organic produce.  Many nutrients, fertilizers and various chemicals may be added to the soil for field grown or hot house grown soil based organic produce.  The National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances may be seen at: click here  Organic doesn't mean "free of chemicals".  Anything added to the soil or water must be considered benign, safe for consumption, and will be described in the USDA National Organic Program.

"How can I know which produce items are locally grown?"

 

 

 We only identify items as locally grown when 100% of that item is sourced locally.  For the last few weeks, a great deal of the Lettuces and Kales were locally grown, but we were not able to supply all of our needs for the item locally.  Now that we are starting to have access to more and more local produce, there are three easy ways to identify the source of each item.  

Go to our daily menu (click here) and click on the column "Origin".  The origin of each item is also on the shelf price sign of each item.  If you would like to see all of the local items at a glance, see the green highlighted lists, updated Monday through Friday, at the front and rear of the produce aisle.

Allen Zimmerman - Produce Buyer - General Coordinator

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Produce notes from Allen.....71 Local Items!!

We have a few more questions from our members,  Today's theme is "What happened to...?"

"What happened to the Fiddlehead Ferns?" 

We started the season late, as we waited for our regular supplier to get their first delivery.  We're still waiting for that supplier, but we're not waiting for Fiddleheads.  We had to pay a higher price than ever, but they are the finest quality we have ever seen.  We've been enjoying daily deliveries, but experienced a few gaps in supply.  One problem was that the rainy, cold weather in the northeast limited the supply, and another was that we can eat all the Fiddleheads faster than our supplier can provide them.  By the way, they taste kind of, sort of like asparagus, and can be cooked as you would asparagus.  It is recommended that they be cooked thoroughly, to avoid the risk of microbial infection.  When eating wild harvest produce, one can not be certain of the water source, so cooking Fiddleheads must be seen as a necessary precaution.  We think our supply next week will be strong.

"What happened to the Avocados?  They were so consistently ripe and ready, and now they are mostly green?" 

Those ripe ones were the end of the Mexican season, and the green ones are the first of the California season. We try to find a bit of ripeness in the Avocados we buy, but the transition was abrupt this year, and we couldn't find any fruit that was ripe on time.

"What happened to the organic Ginger?" 

Low-cost Chinese Ginger has dominated the global market for years, and it has become harder for us to find sufficient supply from Hawaii.  The produce department is committed to avoiding Chinese produce.  Leaving all political values aside, we think there is reason enough to steer clear.  There have been too many reports of contaminated product, and we are aware that the integrity of the organic certification has been challenged at times.  As far as the quality of the root itself, the Chinese varieties seem to have a greater" heat to flavor" ratio than the Hawaiian, which simply packs more essence of Ginger in the flavor.  When Hawaiian Ginger is in short supply, we have often been able to source Peruvian or Brazilian, but have been unable to do so for the last few weeks.  We have a bit of conventionally grown Hawaiian this week, and the organic appears to be returning in better supply on Monday 5/7.  Along with the return of the Hawaiian Ginger, we will also enjoy the return of tuRmeRic from Hawaii. Please note the two r's in tuRmeRic.  I would appreciate it if you single r "tumeRic" fans stop messing with my OCD.

"What happened to to local Asparagus this year?  We see it in the farmer's markets, but not at the coop." 




Supplies of conventional "Jersey Grass" have been scant at the Hunt's Point Market.  Just as we begin to think that the supply might improve, some rain gets in the way.  It's annoying when rain interferes with a harvest, even as it does so little to provide relief from a severe local drought.  Most of the local Asparagus that we carry from year to year comes from a bit further north than the farms we enjoy at our local markets.  As recently as a couple of weeks ago, our farms were still experiencing some snowfall (do you remember snow?), and night time lows occasionally in the 20's.  I think that climate change has produced a slightly earlier harvest near us.  We will probably begin to get supplies from our long-time growers in a couple of weeks, which would be the typical starting time for those farms.

Allen Zimmerman - Produce Buyer - General Coordinator

Interested in supporting your local farmer? Support NOFA

The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) has worked tirelessly for nearly 30 years on behalf of farmers and consumers who believe in the benefits of local, sustainable, and organic foods.  When they first organized, around 1986, there were 4 farms in all of New York State that were organically certified.  Today there are over 950.  Not only does NOFA support and aide farms in their efforts to attain, and remain, organically certified; they also act as a certifier themselves.  Many of our New York State local farmers are certified through NOFA, including Hepworth Farms.  Currently, NOFA is in the midst of a membership drive.  If you are interested in becoming a member (many of your fellow coop members already are), or just learning more about their events and works, click the link below.

http://www.nofany.org/memberdrive

Produce notes from Allen....72 local items!

Here are a few questions submitted by members:

"What is Kale good for?" 

I told her that the value of a food is found in what is important to the eater.  I told her various uses and she repeated, "What is Kale good for?"  Since I think that food is good for eating, and don't think of the health applications of one vegetable over another, I didn't realize right away that she was asking about the benefits of Kale eating.  I told her about vitamins A and C, and fiber, and she then said, "I eat Collards; why should I eat Kale?" I told her that I believed that they were nutritionally fairly equivalent, that she might like to try something different.  She said "You haven't convinced me; I'm sticking with Collards".  I wasn't trying to convince her.  I do believe that you can't go wrong eating vegetables and if you are choosing between vegetables, you really can't go wrong.

"Why are we buying Pears individually wrapped in paper?  Is this really the best packaging?  I'd really like to know."

Nearly 100% of all delicate skin Pears, east or west coast, North or South America, come wrapped in tissue paper (or bagged in plastic).  One consistent exception is that none of our locally grown Pears (the minimally treated ones from Hepworth Farm) are ever individually wrapped.  We buy these local pears from late summer until early winter.  Even during that time nearly 100% of the organic Pears that we buy will be wrapped in paper.  Another exception to individually wrapping is the Bosc variety, often shipped unwrapped because of its thicker skin.  Most Pears are thin skinned, unlike Apples, so the saying that "one rotten Apple can spoil the whole barrel" should really have been said about Pears.  This practice is probably more than a century old.  There are stories of people lining up at their grocer during the depression hoping that their grocer will give them the tissue papers that Pears were wrapped in, toilet paper being unaffordable for so many.  The wrappers from Cactus Pears were reserved for their least favorite customers.

"What is a new potato? Are red potatoes the same as new potatoes?"

Writers about food and authors of recipes are often confused, and confusing, about this.  No wonder that so many people are.  Very often, when you find New Potatoes on a menu, or in a cookbook, what really is being referred to is small Red Potatoes.  In fact, any freshly dug Potato, early in the harvest, red or not, is a New Potato.  That Potato may be harvested when the tuber is immature, and the skin still thin and flaky.  One key characteristic of New Potatoes is that they are very moist, making them unsuitable for baking or frying.  Another is that their sugar content is higher, the sugar not yet having converted to starch as much as it will when they age.  Just as puppies are baby dogs, not a type of dog, New Potatoes are young Potatoes, not a type.  As such, New Potatoes are available from spring into early summer.  At the coop we are eating the last of last year's crop, and will soon have the first of this year's new crop.  They will all be new, but they won't all be small or red.

Allen Zimmerman - Produce Buyer - General Coordinator

Produce notes from Allen.....60 Local Items!

 Spring is here and we're all excited about the new Spring Greens.   Spring, full of promise and vitality, is not, however, a time of plenty.  Historically, before the age of refrigeration, spring could bring greater privation than even the winter.  During the winter, Apples were still good, Roots, Squash, Potatoes and Onions were still storing well, and hadn't already been eaten.  By the time spring arrived, these storage crops were pretty much exhausted (in quantity and quality) and new crops had barely or not yet grown. We find ourselves on the verge of the local explosion, but still can't count on anything yet. 

 We have been surprised by several shortages, even if you may not have noticed them yet: 

 For a couple of weeks we were unable to get the larger sized loose Russets.  One of our suppliers still has some, but our largest supplier doesn't expect any until June!  We still have an abundant supply of Reds and Yukon Golds, primarily because Hepworth Farms still has an excellent supply from last year's harvest.  The first of this year's harvest of organic Red Potatoes is starting now, but at a price nearly double that of the storage crop. We only carry organic Potatoes because we can't be sure that the conventionally grown Potatoes have not been genetically modified.

 For the last 2 weeks Hepworth Farms has provided us with hundreds of pounds of Baby Greens, and Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative also provided some.  We had the expectation that the flood gates were opening, but we think we are now facing a severe shortage of these Greens.  Hepworth Farms, our major supplier, has to bring all of its focus to the outdoors planting, and additionally has to cope with the current drought upstate.  They hope to have relief from the drought this weekend, but not be able to get to a harvest of Baby Greens for a few weeks.

Growing conditions for Spinach and Radishes have been terrible from California, but now we are lucky to be able to supply almost all of what we need now, thanks to Lancaster.  



 We have not been without Winter Squash for this long in memory, but the storage crops have long been exhausted and the new harvest from Mexico has so far been scarce.  


 We would not have had confidence in the sweetness of the Squash this early in the season anyway.  We look forward to a new Kabocha this Tuesday and we hope that it is sweet enough.

 We know that members have been disappointed by the lack of Raspberries.  We have gone many weeks ignoring the scarce, troubled crop.  Rain and cold have produced uneven quality, gaps in supply and a price of nearly $6.00 per cup.  No relief is in sight.  

 Blueberries flooded the market out of South America, but that season is ending this week.  The early Florida and Georgia prices are going to double (or more) the prices we have been seeing.   

 Strawberry prices seem to be dropping every week, the quality is improving, but maybe I should bite my tongue.

 Apple varieties are disappearing, Citrus varieties are ending, but spring is here!  The sky is blue, the sun will shine and fruits will stop being boring!  Vegetable supplies will increase, but we are still weeks away.

Allen Zimmerman - Produce Buyer - General Coordinator

Abu's Pecan Pies and Carrot Cakes are back!

Abu's Bakery carrot cake and small pecan pies are back in the coop. Located in Aisle 7A near the other fresh baked goods. There's not refrigerated space for the sweet potato or bean pies yet, so please don't ask too often!

Van Leeuwen is back! along with some other new flavors

Back by popular demand, Van Leeuwen ice cream has returned to the ice cream case! Starting with 3 flavors- Mint Chip, Vanilla and Chocolate, you can find the local favorite next to another local, Raw Ice Cream Company. We had a bit of a break due to production hitches, but we're hoping Van Leeuwen is here to stay (fingers crossed!).




Please be sure to browse our many other local ice cream delights- keep your eye out for Adirondack's new seasonal Coconut flavor, as well as some new Blue Marble! Steve's will have their coconut based ice cream back in action in a week or two, but in the meantime, you can enjoy Lula's non dairy- Death by Chocolate or Peanut Butter Fudge, mmmm yum.

One more thing! The New York Stock Company (no, not the trading company), a local broth producer has been delivering three flavors of soup stock- Chicken, Vegetable and Mushroom Barley. You can check them out next to Amy's Mac and Cheese. While it isnt really soup season, you can use TNYSC for a tortilla soup perhaps or gumbo.