Where Does Your Produce Come From

Ever wonder where those January strawberries came from? Or those tomatoes that  you ate last month and during this one? Probably not from the US. Think Mexico, Centra andl  South America and even Australia and New Zealand. Produce is not all American anymore - and with it comes a whole host of problems and dilemmas.

David Karp, a pomologist or self proclaimed "fruit detective", wrote this interesting and eye opening piece in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Supermarkets have a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables, now during a Northern Hemisphere winter. It's easy to get tomatoes and grapes along with blueberries and peppers./ Years ago, the only  fresh produce you could get during mid March was oranges for fruit and winter cabbage for veggies.That was it.I had to f you wanted anything else, you would have settle for canned, pickled or preserved. Now, thanks to farms in Mexico ,and the southern hemisphere where it's the height of summer, we can have a wide range of just picked . Of course this is wonderful, especially for families with growing kids and teens. A varied diet, full of fresh produce is vital to having a healthy kid.There's also other pluses too . It's sometimes fresher than the domestic kinds. Gala apples, harvested in New Zealand are crunchier than their American counterparts. Chile's pink , seedless Muscat grapes are more flavorful than locally grown ones.Imports, though , can also go the opposite way. Mexican and Peruvian asparagus tends to be fibrous and rubbery while our stalks are plumper, juicier and just more tastier .

There are a lot of downsides to these imports. They do suffer in transit.. They are perishable, after all and can arrive bruised , nicked and rotten. They could also be prematurely picked  and allowed to ripen in the store. or lose their flavor thanks to treatments  to kill pests. Mangoes, have to soaked in hot water while citrus has to be kept in cold temperatures to control any bugs that may sneak in..Another issue is the large carbon footprint imported produce can cause  which can irk eco minded consumers..Most harvests arrive here by plane which guarantees fresher ,"younger " fruit  but that also means carbon emissions and pollution. A scarier aspect of importers is that they can be connected to drug cartels.looking to launder money and diversify their operations control. Even scarier extorting  the production and packaging of certain crops mostly from Mexico, Growers and militias have fought back . The implications of cartel control has remained unclear, especially in the areas of quality, cost, and healthfulness. Imported produce also has one more damaging side effect - hurting local organic farmers. They suffer the most , especially in when their crops are in season. After all consumers go for the cheaper which is the non organic., whether local or imported.If we buy nothing but  imports , then these small or niche growers will suffer greatly.

What should a home chef do? If you value nutrition over the earth then buy the produce,If you;re more green minded, then don't. It is your choice and sadly there is no  happy middle ground.

Mandarins The Fruit's World's New Stars

Tangerines or mandarin oranges have been gracing tables for decades. Now they're becoming s star player  with different varieties shining in desserts and snacks. It's no wonder. There's nothing like the sweet, sunshine taste of these tasty globes.

New writer, David Karp, wrote about them for yesterday's New York Times Food section.Mandarins are making a big comeback on American tables (although  they never really left)/ Most are being grown in California's San Joaquin Valley, in the middle of the state. California harvests a whopping 92 per cent of the harvest while Florida contributes only 8 percent. It used to be the top producer with 66 percent however crops have been previously plagued by citrus greening disease,a crippling virus that changes the color.along with obsolete seeds.Despite this , mandarins are the most popular fruit in the US with Americans consuming five pounds of them a year..Oranges  on the other hand have gone down in popularity.We have Spain to thanks for the boom along with our desire for easy to eat fruits. The first started to export seedless clementines in the 1970's to the Eastern US. Factor in our desire for snackable produce such as seedless grapes and blueberries and you have the explanation for the popularity . Two companies also jumped on this Sun Pacific and Wonderful Citrus, formerly Paramount Citrus, giving the fruit consumer grabbing  names such as Cuties and Halos. (watch their commercials - you'll be craving them in no time).

Mandarins are worth their difficult cultivation. These ancient cultivars are as difficult to raise as grapes, in their terroirs or environments and sturdiness. At their best they have a juicy tartly sweet flavor but what stores sell are sometimes tasteless and bland. Shoppers should look for the Daisy SL variety These have intensely sweet tart flesh along with a  complex , lingering aroma. Its rind is silk smooth and easily to peel off.Unfortunately the types with seeds are coming back, rendering them useless to sellers.A fierce competitor is the Japanese Dekepon or as it;s known here the Sumo. It's one of the most expensive mandarins.It is larger than the average one, with pebbly skin and a distinctive bump at the top .It's very easy to de-rind and intensely sweet but is balanced by a refreshing acidity.It is also  anywhere from four to seven dollars a pound and is sold in the pricier groceries such as Whole Foods and Wegmans. There is also a hybrid out there called Ruby Tango whose parentage is a Sicilian clementine and a blood orange. It's coming out for the first time around Valentine's Day by Sunwest Fruit Whole Foods , Fairway and Fresh Direct will be selling them. Parents will love the Seedless Kishu, a golfball sized one that's easily peelable for little hands.  The juiciest fruits should have been cultivated  by from November to  mid January in a Mediterranean kind  of climate. The season ends in mid May with Gold Nugget, another sweet and seedless variety.

Mandarins are a delicious burst of sunshine in a dull winter landscape. Indulge in the rich  Sumo or have a few Seedless Kishus with the kids. Any choice is a good choice,  All have a sweetness mingled with tartness and are fun to eat.