FreshPoint

Filtered by: Our Fresh Produce Articles

By FreshPoint
11/15/2017

Pear-a-dice Found: From an Ancient Obsession to a Bottle of Brandy–the Interesting History of Pears

The history and culture of the pear is as ancient as it is interesting. The history and culture of the pear is as ancient as it is interesting. First mentioned in a literary by Homer in the 9th century BC, they originated in two distinct locations, creating two very distinct types. The first mention of...

By FreshPoint
11/3/2017

Is it Really Pumpkin You’re Buying in Those Cans?

Very few items are as evocative of a season as are pumpkins. Jack-O-Lanterns, pumpkin pies and warm spices all come to mind. Yet, the history and importance of the pumpkin is often overlooked. Native Americans prized pumpkins and squash as a sacred crop, as they also did with beans and corn, in fact, these three...

By FreshPoint
11/3/2017

Cranberries floating in water before harvest.

Do Cranberries Really Grow in Water?

Often thought of only as an ingredient on holiday menus, cranberries have a long and colorful history and was an incredibly important food source for the early Native American Tribes. However, the cranberry was not only used for food, they were also used as a textile dye, hunting bait, herbal medicine, and the leaves were...

By FreshPoint
10/5/2017

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Why You Should Always Eat the Winter Squash Seeds

Hard squashes, aka winter squash and fall squash, are a uniquely American product. Early Native Americans held them in a place of reverence, as one of the Three Sisters, the other “sisters” being corn and beans. You may be wondering why. Well, it all comes down to the symbiotic nature these crops shared. Nutritionally, these...

By FreshPoint
10/5/2017

A Face for Radio: Heirloom Apples

Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, and Gala along with a few others seem to dominate the apple selection in most markets, but did you know there are over 7,000 apple varieties being grown worldwide? In fact, 90% of the apples sold in the United States are from only 11 varieties. These varieties, for...

By FreshPoint
10/3/2017

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Feeling the Squeeze: Compressed Fruit

Compress [verb kuh m-pres; noun kom-pres] verb (used with object) to press together; force into less space. So what does this have to do with produce? Compressed fruit (or vegetables), have become a popular technique in which we can change not only the texture of the produce, but also enhance and change the flavors. Wondering how and why? Think...

By FreshPoint
9/25/2017

What is Citrus “Regreening”?

Does an orange have to be 100% orange to taste good?

Not all of the time, but it’s not always so simple.

By FreshPoint
8/8/2017

GFSI: When your Reputation is on the Line, Food Safety Matters

We take the lead in the industry when it comes to food safety, for us, it’s priority one. Joe Stoner, our Regional Director of Food Safety, took some time to tell us what food safety means to FreshPoint. What does GFSI certification mean to FreshPoint? “This globally accepted certification for FreshPoint shows our dedication to...

By FreshPoint
7/18/2017

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The Head of a Lion, but Mild as a Lamb: Shishito Peppers

Today we’re going to talk about Shishito peppers. As you can see, the head of the Shishito pepper looks just like the head of a lion, I guess. Shishito peppers are a mild pepper—you can eat them raw, but most people cook them. The cool thing about them is they’re thin-skinned, so they can be...

By FreshPoint
7/18/2017

From Ancient Low-Tech to Modern Day High-Tech, the Power of Corn

From the summer grill to your holiday centerpiece, corn is perhaps the most versatile crop grown today. It’s also one of the oldest and most sacred crops grown in the world. Thought to have been first cultivated 8,700 years in Mexico’s Central Balsas River Valley, corn, or maize, became a critically important food crop. Why?...

By Karen Beverlin, The Produce Hunter
6/19/2017

The Best Tasting, Sweetest Corn We’ve Found

The corn grown in the Brentwood area of California’s Sacramento River Delta is the best tasting, sweetest corn we’ve found. Known as Brentwood corn, this product has the well-deserved reputation across the country as the benchmark against which all other corn is measured. However, all Brentwood corn is not created equal! Over the past eight...

By FreshPoint
6/19/2017

What the Supreme Court Says About the Tomato, and Other Things to Know.

Can you remember that tomato your family grew in their garden, that tomato full of summer goodness, bursting forth with a warmth and flavor that we are forever chasing? I do too. Food is often evocative, bringing someone back to a specific time or place, sparking memories of time gone by. Picked and quickly washed,...

By FreshPoint
6/5/2017

Phil talks to us about the perfect piece of stone fruit, Georgia peaches.

Can this be the Perfect Piece of Stone Fruit?

Today we’re going to talk about Georgia peaches. These peaches are from Pearson Farm in Fort Valley, Georgia. In my opinion, they’re the perfect piece of stone fruit. They have a very thin skin, the mixture of acidity and sweetness is almost perfect—not too sweet, not overly mushy, not too acidic, not too hard… this...

By FreshPoint
6/1/2017

How to Win Summer: Cold Soup

Want to win at summer? Try cold soup. Soup is the quintessential comfort food for many people; yet, it’s often relegated to the fall and winter seasons as it is often hearty and warming. So what about summer soups? There is a long and varied history of cold soup in many parts of the world,...

By FreshPoint
5/30/2017

Florida Lychee: limited season, limitless flavor

Francy heads into the cooler and talks to us about Florida Lychee! https://youtu.be/G22eZz0N4oY We are super excited that Florida Lychee are now in season. On the outside here you can see why some people would call them the Chinese strawberry, because it looks like a strawberry, with a bumpy leathery skin, but on the inside...

By FreshPoint
5/15/2017

Quick, Easy, and Basically Free—Potato Peels will Become your Favorite Snack.

The next time you are tempted to toss your potato peels, step away from the trashcan and whip up this dressed up bar snack. It’s basically free, you were planning on tossing them anyway, and with truffle oil*, pepper, and Parmesan, these crisps are certainly snackable! You really can’t go wrong with potato peel crisps, they...

By FreshPoint
4/24/2017

Carrot Tops, One Chef’s Trash is Another Chef’s Pesto

I’ve said it before…I love cooking with “trash!” I still haven’t found a use for the white pith on a pepper, lemon seeds, or the twist tie that holds baby vegetables together, but I can use just about anything else. In my line of work, I don’t only get to cook with delicious vegetables, but...

By FreshPoint
4/18/2017

Florida Peaches, a Success Story

Florida has long been associated with citrus, especially oranges, but how the times have changed. With booming real estate prices and a series of devastating hurricanes in 2004, the once mighty citrus industry is facing challenges as never before. According to last Florida Agricultural Census, citrus had a value of $1.35 Billion, while decorative plants...

By FreshPoint
4/4/2017

Move over kale…fiddlehead ferns are the new superfood in town

A fiddlehead fern is one of the first true signs of produce that spring is upon us, along with ramps and morel mushrooms. And if you look, you can tell a fiddlehead fern that gets its name because it’s curled much like the head of a fiddle or the head of a violin. These are...

By Karen Beverlin, The Produce Hunter
4/3/2017

You Haven’t had Asparagus Until You’ve had Zuckerman’s

“Doing cartwheels of joy!” — Karen Beverlin, with The Produce Hunter The California Sacramento River Delta boasts exceptionally rich peat soil. This magnificent soil and the area’s climate combine to grow what many people consider the world’s best asparagus. In 2004, Russ Parsons’ prescient article about the state of California’s asparagus crop, Delicate Harvest in...

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