Rainier Cherries

Rainier Cherries

Rainier Cherries

C-14 Cherries

C-14 Cherries

C-14 Cherries

We started to pick C-14 Cherries a few days ago on Tuesday in Chile. These should start arriving in North American markets next week. Our orchards are 80 kms south of Santiago in an area called Rancagua. Our crop is beautiful and Chile is anticipating it's largest cherry crop ever. C-14 is a very nice variety and tastes wonderful however it does have a little nose bump you will notice in the photos. This doesn't affect taste or quality. 

The Rainier cherries are gorgeous as you see, very big and excellent quality. We want them to color up some more (90% red blush) before we begin picking which should be next week on Friday.

Red Striped Cherry

This is a new variety of cherry that appeared in the midst of our orchards last year. We have grafted more trees and will watch how they progress over the next couple of years. Quite unique with its yellow and purple flesh, almost like a Rainier and Red cherry cross.

EXTRA LARGE GREEN PEPPERS

YOUNG GREEN PEPPER

YOUNG GREEN PEPPERS FIELD

YOUNG GREEN PEPPERS FIELD

YOUNG GREEN PEPPERS FIELD

NO.2 GRADE GREEN PEPPERS

Here are a few photos of some pepper fields I inspected a few months back and the finished product packed and ready for market.

Green Peppers picked at full maturity are as hard as fresh picked apples (this applies to all peppers including hot varieties). When you break one open it makes a loud noise like biting into an... apple. Produce buyers I deal with today are often amazed at the difference in quality. Very similar to Hot House Peppers without the Hot House price!

I like to discuss with the grower which varieties to plant before the season each year.

Staccato Cherries

Centennial Cherries

Lapin Cherries

Lapin Cherries

Lapin Cherries

Sweetheart Cherries

Packing Line in Wenatchee, WA

I always try to inspect cherry orchards before harvesting a single cherry. Controlling the fruit from farm to consumer is very important to me. I travel extensively during the growing seasons, this year in Washington and British Columbia I drove 12,000 kms in about 6 weeks. I have uploaded a few photos for my readers to enjoy. You will notice the stems are solid green, a sign of freshness you should always look for when you're shopping. Thick green stems mean the fruit will last much longer (2-3 weeks). Keep refrigerated.

This variety of apricot isn't very well known, but is becoming more popular as consumers experience its wonderful flavor, sweetness and juiciness.  Hargrants can grow quite large as you can see from the photo above, and this is quite normal not an abnormality. They have almost a wrinkled over-ripe appearance, though they can be picked 2 weeks before maturity and will still ripen and taste great.

Most of my customers had doubts about them until I offered a sample.  They do have a deformed, almost mutant appearance. Don't be fooled... probably the best apricot variety in the marketplace today. As juicy and sweet as a ripe peach and no fuzz! These can be picked and eaten with a little green tinge to them. Press your thumb gently but firmly against the fruit and it should have slight give to the pressure, an indication it's ripe. The flesh around the pit should not be brownish or blackish, a sign of age.


Perfect for supermarkets because they have such a long shelf-life. Developed by Eugene Hogue at the Summerland Research Station in Bristish Columbia, Canada. Available July thru August.

Here are some beautiful Yellow Rainier Cherries we picked this morning in Oliver, British Columbia, Canada. Bound for Vancouver and the Overseas Asian Markets, the season is short and you have to take advantage of this supersweet variety while you can.

Good quality Rainiers should always have a beautiful pinkish-red blush, be crunchy and almost taste as sweet as sugar. We select pick the fruit on the trees and the tops are usually picked first; a few days later we pick the bottoms when their sugar and colour  have also reached maturity.

When buying Rainiers look for green stems, this signifies freshness. Brown, black or dried stems are all signs of age, improper picking or handling. Premium fruit should have at least 50% blush, 70%-90% is best. Any fruit with less than 50% blush should be available at a lower retail because the fruit will be less sweet and not as crunchy.

Red spotting (speckling) on the cherries is great too and you will love their flavour and sweetness. Avoid fruit with brown discolouration or striping caused by age, wind or heat stress.

If you have a specific question you would like to ask about Rainier Cherries or any other fruit or veggie please post your query under "Comments" and I will get back to you.

ROUND BEANS

FLAT BEANS

HABANERO PEPPERS

SCOTCH BONNET PEPPERS

If you love a little heat in your dishes... THESE PEPPERS ARE NOT FOR YOU!

The hottest commercially grown peppers in the world (India has hotter varieties) Habanero and Scotch Bonnet Peppers are extremely hot. About three times hotter than Jalapeno Peppers, their juices will burn your lips and to the untrained connoisseur eating them fresh can cause vomiting. I used to offer $20 to any new Produce Clerk that could eat one whole pepper and keep it down. It was an event we all enjoyed. 

Important to Hot Pepper Lovers! When prepared (cooked) these two varieties do not cause indigestion or burn coming out your backside like other hot pepper varieties. These happen to be my favorite peppers and I can also pour a whole bottle of hot sauce on my meal without suffering for it later on.

When handling hot peppers place a plastic bag over your hand first.  You don't want to get any juice on your fingers because if you accidently rub your eyes you will suffer terribly. Remember to wash your hands if you handle any type of hot pepper with your fingers (if you have young children with you make sure they do not touch them).

Habaneros should be completely orange in colour, while Scotch Bonnets can be yellow, orange or red. Green coloured peppers are immature and should be avoided. A sign of freshness is solid green stems (not brown, shrivelled or black), peppers with cracks or black spots are old. Always try to handle peppers by their stems, sometimes their juice can be absorbed into your skin even through a plastic bag.

I admire the Jamaicans for their ability to eat these raw by the bagfull (they seem to have cast iron bellies). Wonderful flavour both of these varieties though Scotch Bonnets have a little bit more pungent bite.

Kumquats are a unique fruit with a wonderfully sweet, citrus flavour. Most people are wary of popping the first one into their mouth, expecting a backlash of sourness and are pleasantly surprised. The first one tastes ummmm... okay, the second one a little better and by the third you realize your eating whole little oranges skin and all but they taste great.

The rind of a kumquat is sweet while its flesh is sour, the complete opposite of a normal orange. The size of grape tomatoes they make a wonderful, healthy snack and travel quite well in your backpack or lunchbox. These are normally sold in clamshells like blueberries in your local supermarkets or bulk in Asian stores.

Kumquats should be stored in your refrigerator and not on your kitchen counter or fruit bowl. Due to the high sugar in their rinds they can break down and spoil quickly if left out at room temperature.  Good quality fruit should look visually appealing, green stems and their skins a bright unblemished orange colour. Sticky fruit and fruit with translucent skins have already begun to deteriorate and should be avoided.

Remember to wash this fruit before eating it, usually they have travelled a long way to get to your destination. You are after all eating the skin of a fruit which can get dirty and moldy in transit; but don't let this deter you from trying something new. Remember my motto "You have to try everything once or how will you know that you hate it!

During my years as a produce buyer I have purchased these delicious veggies from as far away as Holland and as close as a stone's throw from my backyard. Visually speaking... it's pretty easy to tell the difference between good quality peppers and bad quality. Softness, wrinkling, black stems, and mold are signs of age, though softness is usually a sign that the pepper has been picked too early. Peppers picked at their peak of perfection are rock hard and very heavy. They have a beautiful sheen to their skin and should be blemish free. Rough handling and sunburn, often ruin the appearance and flavor of this popular veggie.

The biggest difference between a field grown pepper and a greenhouse grown pepper is the thickness of their flesh. Usually greenhouse peppers have thicker, sweeter flesh, the quality is consistently superb to field grown varieties. This of course reflects in the higher retail you will also pay at the checkout.


When peppers are picked at full maturity they will almost make a sound like biting into a crisp apple or pulling the lid off your tupperware container when you are cutting them up for a salad or hot meal. They make a hollow "thump" sound when they rub against each other on the pepper display. I have spent many years in the field inspecting produce and peppers were a big part of my purchasing.


Coloured peppers cost much more to grow because they take longer to mature in the field from green; this means the sun beats down on them all day for an extra few weeks and sunburns a significant percentage of the crop. The sunburned peppers cannot be marketed and the loss is absorbed by the coloured peppers that do make it to market. So it is not unusual to pay twice to three times the price for coloured peppers.


Do not buy peppers that are soft or wrinkly as these are signs of immaturity, age, or improper handling. If the top of the vine looks brown or black this is definitely a sign of age, or if the seeds inside the pepper are brown or black. The signs are pretty obvious to even a first time shopper.

If you are purchasing bagged peppers hold the package up to your nose and if there is an overpowering aroma of peppers the package is not fresh.

Wikipedia Link: Peppers

Eat lots of Produce and support Local Growers whenever possible!

Sweetheart Cherries are fast becoming one of the world's favorite cherries because of their super sweet flavour, crunchiness and long shelf-life. Sweethearts are one of the few "Naturally Red" cherries grown, though many shoppers are turned off by their colour assuming they aren't very sweet. Nothing could be further from the truth!

SWEETHEART CHERRY vs. BING CHERRY

• Crunchier
• Sweeter
• Smaller Pit
• Extremely Long Shelf-Life

I love the fact Sweetheart Cherries are heart-shaped too. Makes a great gift for your "Sweetheart". LOL!




Lapin Cherries are probably the most eaten cherries in the world today, though many new strains are being planted today that will one day usurp the Lapin as the "King of Cherries". Lapins are very dark in colour almost black and they can look more appetizing than a Sweetheart Cherry. Don't be fooled! The Sweetheart variety is superior in taste and crunchiness.

When you're buying cherries look for a nice sheen to the skin , good quality cherries always have beautiful eye appeal. The stems should be a solid green colour, if the stems are a brown or black colour the fruit is not fresh (bought at a discount may be an option if your pocketbook is a little light). Perform the pressure test... lightly squeeze a cherry between your fingers and it should be very firm. If samples are offered the "taste test" is always best.

Avoid fruit with splits in the flesh (check my 3rd post down) and if you are purchasing Bagged Cherries make sure the bottom of the bag is not full of stems, the bags are relatively dry and the fruit does not smell like wine; all signs of age.

A problem in Supermarkets today is a lack of adequate training of their Produce Clerks. Usually Produce Departments will have on only one Senior Produce Clerk while the other Clerks have little or no training. The produce is mishandled, dropped, dumped, over-stacked, heaped, the damage will often not be noticeable until after you have gotten your purchases home. Avoid messy, unkempt and dirty displays. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

WIKIPEDIA LINK: Cherries

Eat lots of Produce and support Local Growers whenever possible!

If you have ever eaten Welch's Grape Jelly, drank their purple grape juice or had their fruit snacks; then you've been eating Concord Grapes.

Concord grapes are an old favorite of my parent's generation and not so readily available today. They are produced in the U.S. and Canada during the late August and Early September months. I love to grab a big handfull and munch on them they have such a unique and wonderful flavour. Grab a straw and you can spit the seeds at your closest nemesis. JK!

Seeded fruits should be a healthy part of your diet as Mother Nature intended. Eating grape seeds is very good for your body and I personally have never heard of anyone choking to death on a grape seed. Though not common...it is more likely for people to choke on whole grapes than their seeds.

WIKIPEDIA LINKS: GRAPE SEED EXTRACT | GRAPE SEED OIL

Blueberries are so delicious and they make the perfect snack just about anytime, anywhere. Now days they are available year-round at quite reasonable prices. I couldn't begin to calculate how many pounds of Blueberries I have sold over the last 25 years... or Eaten!


When buying blueberries you should turn over the plastic container and check the bottom for wetness and mold. If there is a white liner in the bottom of the container make sure it has not turned blue, a sign that the fruit is not fresh. Always open the container and gently squeeze the berries, they should be firm and hard (not wrinkled). Soft berries spoil quickly and are usually a sign of old age or heat stroke.

Bigger fruit is ALWAYS sweeter. Blueberries have a natural white powdery look on their skin (as do plums and apples), this is a sign of freshness. Berries that look dull and lacklustre will be soft, mushy and almost tasteless.

Blueberries should be blue in color, immature berries will have a greenish or yellow tinge. If you are buying a case of berries make sure you gently shake the box of berries so you can check the interior bottom of the box for wetness and mold. You would be surprised how often a box of blueberries looks beautiful on top and the bottom is bad.

On extremely hot days, heat affects the quality of the fruit so reputatble growers will stop picking earlier in the day to maintain a certain quality standard. While not so reputable growers will continue picking fruit which becomes soft quickly due to the extreme temperatures. This can often reflected in the price at the store, a "No Name" brand versus a "Driscoll or Dole" label.

Generally speaking when you see a great buy for Blueberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Corn or Grapes in your local newspaper they are being sold as a loss leader to entice shoppers into their supermarkets.

Remember if you want good produce in your local grocery stores you need to write out customer complaint cards and include the grower's name whenever possible. With centralized purchasing the Produce Buyers often never see the produce being shipped to their stores. Customer complaints are taken seriously and will be checked out.

WIKIPEDIA LINK: BLUEBERRIES

My specialty has always been growing, packing and selling Big Cherries. Unfortunately Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate and sometimes we must deal with the impact of unseasonably wet weather, extreme temperatures and insect infestations. Ouch!

This coming 2011 season, frost damage will be widely seen in the fruit at the supermarkets. Produce Buyers will have to lower their normally high standards to ensure they have continuous supply and to appease growers. Hopefully this year's *June Drop will not adversely affect the crops.

There are many types of splits and cracks referred to when it comes to cherries but I will simplify it here. First is the "Horseshoe Split" which is on top of the cherry, a brown ring or crack around the stem caused by a drop of rain sitting atop the cherry after a rainfall. "Bum Split" on the bottom of the cherry, again this is caused by rain. The "GA Split" (Gibberelic-acid) which is a chemical sprayed on most cherries today in the Northern Hemisphere to delay the maturity of the cherry (late cherries usually sell for more) and making it crunchier. While in the Southern Hemisphere growers often use Ethrel to speed up the maturity of cherries (Early cherries sell for more).

* Every June, cherries while still in their infancy will naturally fall off the trees. This is Mother Nature's way of thinning cherry trees of their overabundant fruit.

Now here are some photos of some beautiful Yellow "Early Robin" cherries being picked a couple of days ago in Washington State. This particular variety is very similar to a Yellow Rainier cherry and will be marketed as such. This cherry tends to be very big fruit, supersweet and they have a wonderful red blush. Don't you think?





These cherries are huge they average about 1.25" inches in diameter. Probably cost about $5.99/lb for these in supermarkets if you can even find them. Most fruit of this quality is destined for overseas markets where they can command even higher prices.