About Karen Beverlin, The Produce Hunter

Karen Beverlin is the Vice President of Specialty Sales for The Produce Hunter. The Produce Hunter curates the Farmers’ Markets, and works with small, local family farmers committed to sustainable agriculture, responsible production, and propagation and promotion of fruit and vegetables with exceptional flavor. Follow her as she finds the best of the Santa Monica Farmers Market every week with on Instagram (@fpproducehunter).

Baby Corn

In the movie Big, Tom Hanks helped BABY CORN growers put their product in the limelight by nibbling on an ear of baby corn at a cocktail party. Cute, but not the best use for this specialty item. The entire ear of baby corn is edible and, as a result, adaptable to many uses. Grill…

Baby Fava Bean *L*S*

Fava beans are one of Spring’ s greatest gifts. BABY FAVA BEANS are even better! Young, small and tender, BABY FAVAS are lighter green but sweeter than their fully grown counterparts! If you like Favas, you’ ll love BABY FAVA BEANS. Try a Saute of BABY FAVA BEANS with Onions, Fennel, Pancetta and Dill. Or…

Baby Fennel *L*S*

Baby Fennel is more delicious in the fall than any other time of year. With its soft anise flavor, Fennel is sweet, refreshing, and delectable. Because a bulb is a well-defined shape, Fennel can assume a strong role on the plate, especially when cooked in halves. It’s delicious braised, baked, steamed, sautéed, or grilled. Baby…

FM Baby Gold Beet *L*

The beautiful jewel-tone of Baby Gold Beets is a welcome addition to any plate. Their flavor is indistinguishable from that of baby red beets, but their color is what sets them apart. In order to limit the bleeding of color from beets, cut the beet tops off 1 to 1 1/2 inches from their base,…

Baby Green Cauliflowe

Although mentioned as far back as 1,500 years ago, cauliflower has been naturalized for only 500 years. Today it is a cultivated vegetable in the truest sense of the word and is grown around the word. Like full-size green cauliflower, these decorative miniatures come in shades of white, green and purple. Baby Green Caulifloweris one…

FM Baby JapaneseTurnip *L*S*O*

As a cultivated plant, Turnips were well known in antiquity. Before the spread of the Potato, Turnips, with their high nutritional value, were among the most important staple food for man and beast. Today, by contrast, the Turnip is of only slight importance although quite large areas are given over to its cultivation in the…

Baby Kiwi

The thin, smooth, bright green skin of the Hardy variety kiwifruit (fondly known as Baby Kiwi) protects bright green flesh that looks exactly like a miniature version of the common Kiwi. The flavor is similar, but Baby Kiwi is often sweeter. Great for amenity baskets and beautiful presentation!

Baby Parsley Root

Sweet and petite, these BABY PARSLEY ROOTS are lovingly harvested by one of our favorite organic growers. Mildly flavored but redolent with the essence of fresh parsley, these little beauties would be lovely in a spring saute featuring baby red carrots and baby gold beets. Toss with a bit of minced chervil and you have…

FM Baby Parsnip *L*S*

Baby carrots a little too run-of-the-mill for you? Baby Parsnips are usually 4- to 6-inches long and have a mild celery-like fragrance and a sweet, nutty flavor. As parsnips tend to be fibrous, they are never served raw, but these Baby Parsnip are the exception to that rule. The best way to cook a Baby…

Baby Savoy Cabbage

Savoy Cabbage is a cruciferous favorite thanks to its relatively sweet flavor and tender texture. But have you ever seen BABY SAVOY CABBAGE? Our grower harvested a couple rows of their Savoy Cabbage crop at this young stage…each head is only 4- to 6-inches in diameter! The period of availability is short on this item,…

Baby White Beet *L*S*

Red, candy stripe and gold baby beets have become common over the past few years. One of our favorite growers has planted WHITE BEETS and is harvesting them while they are still quite small (You can distinguish BABY WHITE BEETS from Baby Turnips by their tops…The tops of BABY WHITE BEETS look like Green Chard,…

Baby White Eggplant

Baby White Eggplant has the same taste as the average purple Eggplant however the skin is slightly tougher and is recommended to be peeled prior to cooking. Think of the Baby White Eggplant as you would a normal eggplant but it holds its shape much better. Try roasting the Eggplant and using in Baba Ganoush,…

Colored Baby Carrot

Five years ago, baby orange carrots were a big deal. We’ ve become so jaded that growers, trying to keep our interest, have developed BABY YELLOW, WHITE and RED CARROTS. The baby red carrots are more of a burnt orange, but the yellow and white varieties are true to their color. Combined on a plate…