Produce Talk Volume 29 Issue 15 April 12, 2018

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Dwayne Garrett
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1 Volume 29 Issue 15 April 12, 2018 Item of the Week: CABBAGE Cabbage has a round shape and is composed of superimposed leaf layers. It is a member of the food family traditionally known as cruciferous vegetables and is very closely related to kale, broccoli, collards and Brussels sprouts. All cruciferous vegetables provide integrated nourishment across a wide variety of nutritional categories and provide broad support across a wide variety of body systems as well. Because cabbage's inner leaves are protected from the sunlight by the surrounding leaves, they are oftentimes lighter in color. However, the outer color of cabbage leaves is still the most common way of dividing cabbage into types. For cabbage, the two basic color types are green and red. Green cabbages can range from very dark to very light in color. (In fact, some of the lighter-colored green cabbage varieties are actually referred to as "white" cabbages.) Red cabbage can also range widely in color, with some appearing deep purple in color. You'll also sometimes hear the darkest shades of purple cabbage being referred to as "black" cabbage. Savoy cabbage refers to cabbage that has more crinkled or "ruffly" leaves. The leaves may also be less densely packed together. Savoy cabbage also typically has a more delicate texture than ordinary green or red varieties. However, there are light green, dark green, red, and purple varieties of savoy cabbage, just like there are similar colors of non-savoy varieties. Most of the savoy cabbage varieties commonly available in U.S. grocery stores, however, have leaves that are lighter green or green-yellow in color. 10 Health Benefits of Cabbage Bone Health Strong bones make for a strong body. Your skeleton is what holds you together, so it is important to feed it the right foods to keep it strong and free of breaks or disease. As far as food goes, cruciferous vegetables like cabbage contain substantial amounts of the important minerals potassium, magnesium and calcium. All three of these are very important to maintain bone health and strength. They protect your bones from degradation and are part of the prevention of osteoporosis and other bone weakening diseases. Keeps Low Blood Pressure Cabbage contains lots of potassium. Potassium is important as a vasodilator, which means it opens up vessels and can ease the flow of blood. This means your arteries and veins are less likely to become constricted or get stressed. This action means your blood pressure is kept at a normal rate (between 120/80 and 140 /90), out of the danger zone for heart attack risk and stroke. Making healthy changes to your lifestyle and eating habits is all part of lowering a high blood pressure reading, cabbage is one of the foods to help keep low blood pressure. Good for the Brain Cabbage is full of and vitamin K, which is an essential fat-soluble vitamin, which has many benefits for the body. One of the major roles of vitamin K is that it regulates calcium in the bones and the brain. Studies have discovered that the role vitamin K plays in the onset of Alzheimer s disease and dementia is considerably great. It is full of nutrients that preserve nerve damage and help with mental function and concentration; it acts as a natural defense against neural degeneration. Red cabbage is especially good for the brain as it is full of anthocyanins, which are not only flavonoids but also the purple pigment found in some vegetables.

2 Detox Food Detoxing the body is an important way to cleanse the system of a buildup of toxins, free radicals, and uric acid. Naturally detoxing the body with good food and cutting out the bad stuff (i.e.: carbs and sugars) is a perfect option to detox without going on a fad detox diet. Vitamin C and sulfur are important in detoxing the body, as these are the main influencers of various diseases such as arthritis and rheumatism, gout, eczema and skin diseases. Eating cabbage can purify the blood and keep you healthy. Weight Loss Many people link detoxing with weight loss, but the fact is a detox is primarily to cleanse your system and rid it of toxins. You may lose weight in the process, but it is not specifically to do so. However, when you include cabbage in your regular healthy eating plan, it benefits your weight loss. Cabbage is a smart carb. It only contains 33 calories per cup and cooked cabbage is even better as it is high in fiber and low in fat. Most people think that cabbage is a boring vegetable, one more fed to animals than humans, but it is also quite tasty when cooked correctly, you just have to do some recipe research. Cancer Preventative An anticarcinogen is a substance, which counteracts effects of carcinogen. These causes degeneration and cancers in living tissue. Scientific studies have proven that these preventative compounds are found in foods such as cabbage. Sulforaphane, lupeol, and sinigrin inhibit the growth of cancers and stimulate enzyme activity. Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, bok choy, brussel sprouts, and watercress, just to name a few, are part of the Brassica genus of plants and all benefit the prevention of some cancers. The four kinds of cancer that have had studies where preventative actions have increased though eating cabbage are Prostate Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Lung Cancer and Breast Cancer. Anti-Inflammatory Inflammation refers to conditions where a localized area of the body become red swollen and red and painful as a reaction to infection or injury. This means inflammation but also allergies, irritations, joint pain, fever and some skin disorders. Glutamine is an anti-inflammatory agent and cabbages contain glutamine. To be specific, their cabbage leaf accumulates cadmium-binding complexes, of which, the main components is glutamine. This is why crushing a cabbage leaf and using it directly on the skin can reduce some pain from headaches when you place it on your forehead, mastitis when you place it on the infected breast if you are a breastfeeding mother, or even some joints to relieve joint pain and swelling. By crushing the leaf before application, you release all the good anti-inflammatory properties. Good for Beauty In regards to beauty, cabbage is quite useful to maintain healthy skin, hair because of its antioxidant properties. These include vitamin C, sulfur, and anthocyanins. Eating cabbage can turn around the aging process because of the good things it contains, destroys the free radicals in the body, which play a major role in wrinkles, aging spots and other skin discoloration, hair and nail health, and skin elasticity. If you are coming from the outside in, cabbage can also be used as a facemask to feed the skin directly and help dry out oily or acne- prone skin. Eye Health Most people will say that carrots are good for your eyes. This is completely true, but not many people know that cabbage, and other leafy green vegetables, are just as good as carrots and other red/orange vegetables with the beta-carotene pigment. This is especially prevalent for the delay of forming cataracts later in life. Cabbage is full of beta-carotene. Apart from eye health, beta-carotene is also beneficial for reducing the risk of certain cancers. Vitamin C It is not commonly known is that cabbage is abundant with vitamin C, even as much as oranges. Vitamin C crosses over many, many benefits and helps the human body in various ways. Vitamin C is an antioxidant; it helps to treat ulcers and depression, it boosts your immune system, works to fight off a cold or a cough and can help to speed up the healing process if you are wounded or have damaged tissues. It is recommended that we ingest up to 90 milligrams of vitamin C per day. 100 grams of cabbage will give you 36.6 milligrams of vitamin C. Well on the way for your daily requirement.

garlic powder 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste 1/8 teaspoon paprika 1 large head cabbage, cored & sliced Directions: Place the bacon in a large stockpot and cook over medium-high heat until crispy,

Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes more.

3 Recipe (Source: Allrecipes.com) FRIED CABBAGE W/ BACON, ONION & GARLIC Ingredients: 6 slices bacon, chopped 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 large onion, diced 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste 1/8 teaspoon paprika 1 large head cabbage, cored & sliced Directions: Place the bacon in a large stockpot and cook over medium-high heat until crispy, about 10 minutes. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion caramelizes; about 10 minutes. Immediately stir in the cabbage and continue to cook and stir another 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes more. BROCCOLI COLE SLAW Ingredients: 1 cup olive oil 1 large head fresh broccoli, diced 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar 2 carrots, grated 1/2 cup white sugar 2 carrots, grated 2 bunches green onions, chopped 1 cup sunflower seeds 1 (3 ounce) package chicken flavored ramen noodles, crushed, seasoning packet reserved Directions: 1. In a small bowl combine oil, vinegar, sugar and the seasoning packet from the ramen noodles. Mix well and refrigerate at least one hour before serving, or overnight. 2. In a large bowl combine broccoli, carrots, green onions and sunflower seeds. Crush ramen noodles and stir in. Pour dressing over salad about 10 minutes before serving. Crosset Company s Annual Produce and Floral Conference will be held on Wednesday, August 22, 2018

4 Organic Produce BEETS: Beets still remain a challenge due to curly top virus that impacts the plant leaves and bulb. Supplies will be limited for a few more weeks until growers move to lower elevation new fields that should be clean. BROCCOLI: Supply has leveled off on broccoli and has become stable. Pricing is starting to come off and we are going to see promotable volume over the next several weeks. BUNCH CARROTS: Supply has rebounded quite well and we are seeing much better quality. CABBAGE: Supply has been stable and the warmer temperatures in Florida have increased supply. We are fighting inbound issues with yellowing that is causing orders to be prorated. CAULIFLOWER: Supplies are starting to stabilize as new fields have come online for growing. Cost has remained high, but showing good quality. CELERY: Supply has been greatly affected by insect pressures out west. Supply has become very limited and the price is starting to rise. CUCUMBERS: Supply is starting out stable in the market but we are going to see a little dip in supply as Mexico is seeing colder temps. We should remain in stock, but cost could increase. GREEN PEPPERS: Steady supplies are available between Florida and growers out west. KALES: Great supplies of kale currently, plenty of regional product from all over the Midwest available. We are sourcing from Georgia, Florida and other regions. Product is in great supply and pricing is very promotable. LETTUCES: Inbound quality on leafs have suffered due to the growing transition out west. We are continuing to see insect pressure on inbound arrivals. RADISHES: Supplies are impacted by weather out west as rains and the growing transition has affected the tops. We have moved to using product out of Florida to remain in good shape as the quality is far superior. YELLOW SQUASH & ZUCCHINI: Like cucumbers, temps have really affected supply in the Nogales growing region. We will see very limited supply on organic yellow squash. Western Vegetables ARTICHOKES: Product is coming out of the Mexican region and we also have domestic artichokes available. AVOCADOS: Larger size fruit is getting tight as growers in Mexico start raising prices in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo. Supplies should get better as we approach the holiday. Supply is expected to be excellent. BROCCOLI: Mexican production should finish this week and we look to be 100% out of Salinas starting Monday 4/9. Quality has been very good with some fields showing a small stems making it tough to manufacture crowns. Currently harvesting at a split of crowns to bunch. Numbers look to remain steady for the next 1-2 weeks. CAULIFLOWER: Salinas has been up and running for a few weeks. Numbers look to be at or above budget for the next couple weeks, while others are forecasting lighter than budget. Quality has been great. CELERY: The celery market has gained a little momentum as many shippers are finishing their Yuma/Mexican harvest. The Oxnard region has very good quality. We are not set to start the Salinas harvest on celery production until mid-june. ICEBERG LETTUCE: The lettuce market has been weak due to Yuma and Huron production. Yuma has finished and the market is starting to show some life. Salinas forecast to start Monday 4/9 - Tuesday 4/10 and Huron scheduled to finish Saturday 4/14. Quality overall has been decent but getting better. Weights are hovering around the 38-40# range.

5 ROMAINE/ROMAINE HEARTS/MIXED LEAF: The market has remained active on romaine hearts, romaine, green leaf and red leaf while butter lettuce still have ample supplies. We begin harvesting in Salinas next week, and continue in a very light way through next week in Huron. Value-Added Rain storms continue to affect raw produce in the western U.S. causing shortages and quality issues. Expect occasional prorates or temporary shortages of various value-added items over the next few weeks. Southern Vegetables BEANS: Market is down slightly. CABBAGE: Good supplies out of the south. CORN: Supplies will be increasing; prices are set pretty much through May on the spring corn promo. CUCUMBERS: Market pretty much the same. EGGPLANT: Dropped off a little. GREENS: Good supplies on all greens coming out of the south. HARD SQUASH: Good supplies on all hard squash. ONIONS: Southwest onion markets are steady and quality is good. New drop Vidalia onions will be on order guides the week of 4/23. PEPPERS: Mostly coming from Mexico, some from Florida. Market pretty much remains the same. POTATOES: Supplies continue to be good. Markets are steady and quality is good. YELLOW & ZUCCHINI SQUASH: Dropped off a little. Asparagus Improving volume out of Peru, coupled with unexpected volume increase out Mexican regions, have dropped asparagus costs significantly with spot deals available. Demand is flat as very little ad set causing the price drops. Peru volume will continue to increase to replace the dwindling Mexican product particularly on eastern USA shipping. Organic supplies are steady and new flush of product in Mexico has prices down. Fruits APPLES & PEARS: Bagged Michigan Apples will remain in steady supply through April, but will start to dwindle down in early May. The first shipment of Imported Organic Gala Apples has arrived and quality is excellent, and are very promotable. We will be introducing preconditioned D Anjou and Red D Anjou Pears in the coming weeks. BLACKBERRIES: Blackberry production has fallen off and very limited products is available. Production cycle will remain low for next few weeks causing market to strengthen. More volume will come as we enter May and offer next best ad opportunity. Organic blackberry supply steady but some supply issues are looming and overall market will continue to rise. Driscoll down slightly on California blackberries. BLUEBERRIES: Strong supplies now coming on in Florida; great quality fruit and cost dipping. Promotions are now available and should remain throughout April. Georgia production will be light to start as some freezing temps back in early bloom season caused some crop damage and could cause short tight frame for blueberries as April ends and May starts but once that period shifts, good strong crop will be available. Organic Florida production is very light but new California fruit is excellent quality and reasonable market.

6 CANTALOUPES & HONEYDEW: Good volume continues on imported cantaloupes and markets remain stable. Market and supply should continue to be consistent over next few weeks. Honeydews are rebounding after a few weeks of tight supplies. CITRUS: Navel oranges will continue through May and early June. CLEMENTINES: Market unchanged as product flow remains steady out of Morocco. 3# bags are the popular retail pack but 5# wood boxes still a good promotional item. California clementines/mandarins are in steady supply; eating quality is excellent out of both areas. GRAPES: Imported Chilean and Peru grapes have peaked and beginning to wind down. Red varieties should remain in good supply, particular in Crimson variety. As we move into this latter stage of South American season, look for markets to begin to firm up with price spread between reds and greens with green being in lighter supply and huge price increase for good quality product. Organic grapes in supply from South Africa on red and black seedless. PINEAPPLES: Supplies are steady but supplies could tighten up as we get closer to the natural flowering process next month. The natural end and beginning of old and new crops for both conventional and organic pineapples. RASPBERRIES: Supply has hit a small gap and will be very limited over the next week to two weeks. Both conventional and organic product will be affected by this limited inbound supply. STRAWBERRIES: The strawberry market is the most affected by the weather we are seeing out west. Florida supply has finished up along with the product we would be seeing shipped out of Mexico. The California strawberry situation is getting better but we are still seeing significant inbound cuts. Tropical Fruit BABY FRENCH BEANS: Market remains level with good supply. KIWI: Steady supplies from Italy/Greece. New Zealand crop set to begin mid-may. LIMES: Prices has firmed up and increased on some sizes, with better demand this week. Size 200 and large remained limited. Overall quality is very nice. MANGOES: Product is becoming tight as the Peru season in coming to an end and the start of the Mexican crop is limited. Weather is not helping the matter as it is limiting the amount of fruit that can be picked and shipped. Supplies are expected to be tight through 5/15. MARIDOL PAPAYAS/ GOLD PAPAYAS: Supplies have become lighter after some rains affected growing regions. SUGAR SNAP PEAS/SNO PEAS: Great pricing; predominately Guatemala product. Markets at low point. Merchandising Tips It's time to spruce up your tomato displays and check to see that you are carrying a proper variety. Most everyone is already carrying the staples such as hydroponics, 4x5 vine ripes, romas and cluster tomatoes. Green tomatoes are available now along with a fried green tomato batter mix. Next to your containers of grape or cherry tomatoes, you should include the outstanding Campari tomatoes and package brown tomatoes. Don't forget to include NatureSweet cherubs and a 3ct or 4ct package salad tomato. For the adventurous produce department, you need to build a cherry tomato bar. That's right...there are seven varieties of 10# bulk cherry and grape tomatoes available. They make an eye-popping display... give 'em a try!

7 CROSSET NEW ITEM & DELETION SHEET W/B: 4/22/18 ITEM # NEW ITEMS SIZE D'Anjour Pear Preconditioned 27# Red D'Anjour Preconditioned 27# OG Bulk Rhubarb 15# Clementine's 2# 15/2# Asparagus 11# Florida Peaches 8# Avocado 16/6pk 16/6pk Avocado 36ct 36ct Honey Mango 14ct 14ct Black Mission Figs 12/8oz OG Bag Kale 8/12oz Sweethearts Salad 6/9oz DELETIONS OG Nappa Cabbage 30# OG Bagged Radishes 12/12oz Mango 12ct Florida Avocados 24ct Bunch Vidalia 24ct Sumo Citrus 18ct Rudy Tango 13# Lemon lemonade 10/3# Onion Sunion 12/3# Kennebec Seed Potato 50# Pontiac Seed Potato 50# Yukon Seed Potato 50# Pummelo 8ct

Volume 29 Issue 20 May 17, 2018

Volume 29 Issue 20 May 17, 2018 MEMORIAL DAY Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No.