PRODUCE TALK Volume 28 Issue 38 September 21, 2017
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Index: Commodities Update: Pg. 3-5 Add/Delete Sheet: Pg. 5-6 Floral Survey: Pg. 7-12 10295 Toebben Drive Independence, KY 41051 PRODUCE TALK Volume 28 Issue 38 September 21, 2017 SWEETEST DAY Sweetest Day is a holiday that is celebrated in the Midwest United States and parts of the Northeastern United States on the third Saturday in October. It is a day to share romantic deeds or expressions. Ten states and parts of two states observe Sweetest Day: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Washington and areas of both New York and Pennsylvania, west of the spine of the Appalachian Mountains. Sweetest Day has also been referred to as a “concocted promotion” created by the candy industry solely to increase sales of sweets. Origin The first Sweetest Day was on October 10, 1921 in Cleveland. The Cleveland Plain Dealer's October 8, 1922 edition, which chronicles the first Sweetest Day in Cleveland, states that the first Sweetest Day was planned by a committee of 12 confectioners chaired by candymaker C. C. Hartzell. The Sweetest Day in the Year Committee distributed over 20,000 boxes of candy to "newsboys, orphans, old folks, and the poor" in Cleveland, Ohio. The Sweetest Day in the Year Committee was assisted in the distribution of candy by some of the biggest movie stars of the day including Theda Bara and Ann Pennington. There were also several attempts to start a "Sweetest Day" in New York City, including a declaration of a Candy Day throughout the United States by candy manufacturers on October 8, 1922. In 1927, The New York Times reported that "the powers that determine the nomenclature of the weeks of October" decreed that the week beginning on October 10, 1927 would be known as Sweetest Week. On September 25, 1937, The New York Times reported under Advertising News and Notes that The National Confectioners Association had launched a "movement throughout the candy industry" to rank Sweetest Day with the nationally accepted Mother's Day, Father's Day, and St. Valentine's Day. In 1940, another Sweetest Day was proclaimed on October 19. The promotional event was marked by the distribution of more than 10,000 boxes of candy by the Sweetest Day Committee. The candy was distributed among 26 local charities. 225 children were given candy in the chapel at the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children on October 17, 1940. 600 boxes of candy were also delivered to the presidents of the Jewish, Protestant and Catholic Big Sister groups of New York. www.crosset.com Good Selling!! Recipe (Source: Allrecipes.com) HONEY MUSTARD MOZZARELLA CHICKEN Ingredients: 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 3/4 cup honey 1/2 cup prepared mustard Lemon pepper to taste 4 slices bacon, cut in half 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 2. Place the chicken breast halves in a baking dish, and drizzle evenly with honey and mustard. Sprinkle with lemon pepper. 3. Bake chicken 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Top each breast half with 2 bacon slice halves, and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Continue baking 10 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear, bacon is crisp, and cheese is bubbly. CHEESECAKE PIE Ingredients: 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls 3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/4 cup honey Directions: 1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. 2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. 3. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake. 4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares. www.crosset.com Good Selling!! Western Vegetables AVOCADOS: Organic avocados are extremely tight right now. Prices will remain high until mid-October when the New Mexican crop starts. BROCCOLI: The broccoli market has tightened up in the west. Volumes have decreased in the fields as product pulled forward the past few weeks due to warm weather in addition to product being affected by the heat from two weeks ago. We are transitioning into Michigan product as it is a strong market with great quality. CAULIFLOWER: Volumes remain steady from the past few weeks. We are starting to see the effects of the heat two weeks ago and yields have begun to drop lightly. Volumes are expected to remain lighter than average for the next four weeks. CELERY: The celery market remains somewhat depressed. Industry is still tight as yields have been affected due to quality issues. Volumes are expected to increase as we move closer to November. GREEN ONIONS: Product continues to be extremely tight as the growing region in Mexico underwent extreme heat followed by hurricane rains which have caused many fields to be submerged in water. LETTUCE: There is a wide range in quality and pricing throughout the industry. The product has been through a lot of different weather patterns which has caused it some stress. With high temperatures followed by humid nights and foggy/wet mornings. Product has been pulling forward with minor quality issues. Value-Added Shortages continue to increase in the Salinas Valley due to the extreme heat. Baby spinach, arugula, spring mix and butter lettuce are some of the items most affected at this time. Expect limited supplies of these items and any salad blend containing them over the next few weeks. Southern Vegetables BEANS: Good supplies from Michael’s; will go to about October 15th, weather permitting. CABBAGE: Good supplies; will go to November 10th. CORN: Supplies and prices have dropped off due to lack of demand. CUCUMBERS, EGGPLANTS, YELLOW & ZUCHINNI SQUASH: Market has increased drastically over the last 4-5 days due to cool nights. GREENS: Good supplies on collard, mustard, kale and topps. ONIONS: Markets remain steady; supplies and quality are good. PEPPERS: Good supplies out of California. POTATOES: Markets remain mostly steady. Large Idaho bakers have come down in price; supplies continue to grow and quality is improving. Organics 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: Due to weather issues (heat) in growing regions in the west, we are seeing suppliers limit available supply driving market cost up. There will be discoloration to the tops as heat will cause a darker head on the broccoli. BUNCH CARROTS: Supply is available, though due to high temps, we are seeing discoloration to the tops of the product. CABBAGE: Regional supply has really come on from Ohio and other surrounding areas. Great time for promotion! CAULIFLOWER: Supplies are starting to improve and the quality is good. Market has gradually decreased; high temperatures out west should not affect supply. www.crosset.com Good Selling!! CELERY: Supply is getting better as we have moved up in to California product starting out. Pricing has come down and it’s getting promotable. CUCUMBERS: Supply is extremely limited! Western supply has not been available and most product in the southeast has been affected by the various weather issues. GREEN PEPPERS: Steady supplies regionally with good quality. KALES: Great supplies of kale currently; plenty of regional product from all over the Midwest available. We are sourcing from North Carolina, Ohio and other regions. Product is in great supply and pricing is very promotable. LETTUCES: The inbound quality we are seeing out west is showing russet and leaf mildew. We are sourcing as much from Canada as possible due to better quality. Iceberg lettuce will be a struggle as supply is not meeting good arrival. RADISHES: Supplies are improving with better quality tops. Very little damage now to the tops and they look much cleaner than they have been. YELLOW SQUASH & ZUCCHINI: Supply has been very good out of Ohio on the zucchini with yellow being much more limited. Asparagus Scarce supplies due to the hurricane; should improve over the end of this week and into next week. Looking at better volume and better pricing as we go into October. Fruit APPLES & PEARS: New Crop Washington apples are starting to roll in new varieties will be added each week. Looks to be a good crop this year with the volume being in 80 size and smaller. New crop Washington Honeycrisp are now available. Adding new varieties weekly, check your catalog. Michigan Honeycrisp are now available and the fruit is beautiful. New Crop Washington pears are starting; crop outlook is good this year. BLACKBERRIES: Weak quality out of California as recent stretch of extreme heat has caused shortage and quality issues; price firm, as supplies out of Mexico and Guatemala keeping berries in the system. Organic blackberries jumped significantly with little overall supplies available due to main production is out of California.