Brighten Up Winter with Meyer Lemons

Meyer Lemon

Brighten up the chilly winter months with Meyer lemons! The Meyer lemon is a hybrid citrus native to China. It was first introduced to the United States in 1908 when Frank Nicholas Meyer, an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, collected a sample on a trip to China. It is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. The Meyer lemon is yellow with a thin edible rind and high volume of juice. They are rounder, taste sweeter, and are less acidic than common lemon varieties. Meyer lemons can be substituted for regular lemons when you want a burst of bright, aromatic lemon flavor without an acidic bite. Add some to your order today!

 

Adding Fresh-Cut to Your Department

Fresh Cut Package     Fresh Cut Package

After the New Year, many people have goals to eat better. Providing fresh-cut fruits and vegetables is an easy way to help customers reach their new goals. Fresh-cut items are not only convenient, but they also inspire and drive sales because they are visually suggestive and spark inspiration! These prepared items are appealing to health-focused customers, as well as busy parents and customers who are looking to save time with pre-peeled or pre-diced ingredients. From an inventory perspective, adding a fresh-cut item could also be a way to move an item with sluggish sales or has slightly blemished exterior but still good quality inside. For example, beets can be time-consuming to prep and cook. By providing beets cut and ready to cook, you can encourage customers who may be curious but reluctant to purchase whole beets. If adding fresh-cuts to your department sounds like something you’d like to do, here are a few things to take into consideration:

  • Check with your health department and find out what regulations you have on cutting and preparing product in your store. You may or may not be able to cut produce in your prep area and may need to borrow some time in your deli or kitchen.
  • Make sure to store product in a refrigerated case that is at the proper temperature. Under 41 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.
  • You will need to date any product you prepare and package. Make sure you have a system in place for this. Generally, a price gun is used for tagging with a date.

If preparing your own fresh-cut product is not available, check with your Veritable Vegetable Account Manager. We offer bulk fresh-cut produce items by pre-order and can help you get started with your fresh-cut displays.

 

New & Exciting!:

Fuerte Avocado

  • Fuerte Avocado: Smooth, medium-thin green skin that peels easily. Slightly oily with a rich, creamy flavor. Considered by many to be the best-tasting avocado! Available through January. Add these limited treats to your order today!

Did you know California didn’t get its first avocado trees until the 1800s? Only one variety survived the severe frost of 1913 and was named the fuerte (“strong” in Spanish) avocado. By the 1950s, two-thirds of all avocados grown in California were the Fuerte variety.

  • Page Mandarin: Resembles a small orange. Slightly flattened at each end. Bright orange rind that is easy to peel. Flesh is nearly seedless. Tastes sweet with a balanced acidity.

Blood Orange

  • Blood Orange: Orange rind with leathery texture. Flesh ranges in color from orange with red blush, to deeper red. Flesh is soft, juicy, and nearly seedless. These amazing treats are only available for a very short window! Add these to your order now!

Mandarinquat

  • Mandarinquat: A hybrid of a mandarin and a kumquat. Small to medium in size, averaging 2-4 centimeters in diameter and five centimeters in length. Elongated tear-drop shape. Can be eaten whole with the peel. Skin is crunchier than that of the kumquat. Flavor starts sweet and transforms into tangy and tart. Flesh is juicy, soft, and contains seeds.

 

Promotable:

  • Berry: Mexico-grown strawberries are expected to be steady through January. Blackberries are in great supply with sharp pricing.

Gold Beet

  • Gold Beets: In good supply. Gold beets taste a little sweeter than red beets. When raw, they are crunchy. When cooked, they develop a tender and smooth consistency with a mild sweet flavor.
  • Bok Choy: Baby bok choy is in good supply and looking great.
  • Brussels Sprouts: In great supply with sharp pricing.
  • Ginger: Yellow ginger from Peru is in good supply with sharp pricing.
  • Kiwi: In good supply and tasting great!
  • Melon: Mini seedless watermelon have started out of Baja California.
  • Turmeric: In great supply, and it’s the perfect time to stock up! Great health item to promote.

 

Limited:

  • Artichoke: Gapping. Supply should improve by mid-January.
  • Arugula: In tight supply. Cold weather is destroying the leaves and slowing growth.
  • Hass Avocado: Mexico-grown in short gap. Availability should improve in a week. Prices are expected to rise leading up to the Super Bowl.
  • Basil: Supply is volatile due to weather. Intermittent gaps are expected.
  • Berry: Import blueberry availability has tightened. Volume is expected to improve by the end of January. California-grown blueberries expected to return in mid-January. Raspberry availability has tightened with prices rising.
  • Broccoli: Prices are on the rise. Cold temperatures and weather have affected production and availability.
  • Kishu Tangerine: Small—roughly the size of a golf ball. Glossy and fragrant skin and easy to peel. Seedless, juicy, and sweet. Limited in availability with possible gaps in supply.

Cherimoya

  • Cherimoya: Egg-shaped, globe-shaped, or heart-shaped fruit with unusual velvety, thin, light green skin. Pulp is white with a mild, tropical flavor similar to a blend of banana, vanilla, and mango. Texture is soft, almost custard-like. Flesh is studded with inedible black seeds. Can be added to salads or smoothies, or used in dessert applications. Very limited in availability.
  • Collard Greens: Limited due to high demand and tight supply.
  • Cucumber: Slicers are extremely limited with very high prices. English hothouse are also limited in supply.
  • Sunflower Sprouts: Natural Trading is gapping until further notice due to inclement weather.
  • Heirloom Tomato: California-grown heirloom tomatoes have been halted due to rain. Will be back in supply in March.

 

Done for the Season:

  • Bartlett Pear
  • California-Grown Keitt Mango
  • Comice Pear
  • Dragon Fruit
  • Eggnog
  • Fairchild Tangerine
  • Forelle Pear
  • Mutsu Apple
  • Persimmon
  • Pomegranate

 

Download January 10 2020 Produce Notes

Related Articles