News and views from the produce department.
Had a lemon lately? If you`re unhappy with the lemons you`ve been buying or the prices you`re paying, have patience. Lemons are between seasons. ”Many of them in the stores now have been in storage,” according to Bob Nelson, produce buyer and merchandiser for Cub Foods. ”They`re perfectly good to use, but they have less juice and the meat is woodier in texture. The new crop will be harvested within a week or two and the new supply will bring the prices back to normal.” What`s normal? Averages will range between 59 and 79 cents a pound as opposed to the investment consumers are making now, from 98 cents a pound and up, a situation produce guru Frieda Caplan of Frieda`s Finest Produce in California calls ”out of sight. What`s a consumer to do?” Caplan quips, ”If you don`t like the lemons, try limes. They`re really juicy.”
Champagne to munch. ”Cute as a button” is how Don Winslow, produce buyer for Treasure Island, describes champagne grapes. At a recent Tribune Food Guide tasting, writer Barbara Sullivan described the tiny bunch of burgundy-colored grapes ”a cluster of little jewels.” Food Guide editor Carol Haddix countered, ”No, they look like maxi-size caviar.” Well, whatever. The size of a currant, champagne grapes are the hottest luxury fruit this week. Sold in pound-size bunches in plastic net bags, they have fragile skins, an intense sweet taste and a price around $2.49 a pound. Just popping a bunch in the mouth is a treat. ”They go by other names,” explains produce wholesaler David Brill of Herbs Now! ”Groseille rouge, zante currants, black cornith.” Relative to the prices of the recent grape glut (Thompson seedless for 39 cents a pound), the $2.49 price tag is steep.
”They`re costly to package and transport because they bruise easily. Plus the supply is limited,” adds Brill. But in California, produce growers` representative Allan Corrin can`t help but chuckle when he hears about the price in the Midwest. ”They`re not new here. We`ve been fooling around with champagne grapes for 20 years.
Back then we used to call them black cornith grapes. Now they`re a novelty, a unique little item that`s `in.` People are making a big deal over them. Of course, the price reflects it.” Next year? ”Something else will be trendy and champagne grapes probably will retail around $1.89.” They`re available at some Treasure Island stores; Big Apple, 2345 N. Clark St.; Shop & Save, 521 W. Diversey Pkwy.; Dearborn Market, 725 S. State St.; Sunset Foods in Highland Park.
Today, Bannockburn, Ill. Tomorrow, Clark Street? Check out this shopping list: Kiwi preserves, carambola, clover radish sprouts, yellow cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, French butter pears. They`re just a few of the items that Michael Klackle, produce buyer for Dominick`s Finer Foods will be slating for a few of their stores, including the new store at 2503 Waukegan Rd., Bannockburn. ”One of the challenges of this job is deciding which items will sell and which ones won`t. Every store has its own personality. The shoppers at the new store appear to be experimental. They want to try new things. We`ll see what goes and what doesn`t.”
