Commodities
Strawberries may lower blood pressure, improve memory and heart health, and reduce the risk of some cancers.
Availability: March through DecemberVarieties: Albion, Camino Real, Gaviota, and San Andreas.
Jalapenos are named for the town of Jalapa in Veracruz, Mexico. Bright to dark green, 2"-3" tapered long by 1" to 1 1/2" wide. Very widely used in any dish requiring heat; salsas, dips, stews, sauces, as a diced topping for appetizers, pickled or roasted, stuffed with cheese, meat or seafood. Available June truogh November.
Hot, vegetable flavor.Add to stew, salsa sauces. Try pickled or stuffed.
Picked when bright green and firm flesh.
Popular mild, fresh chile in Mexico. Deep green with hint of purple and black, 4"-5" tapered long by 2 1/2"-3" wide. Always cooked or roasted and used for stuffed chile dishes such as rellenos, rajas or in mole and pipian sauces. Available year round.
Bell pepper-like flavorAdd to Salsa, or soups. Famous for Chile Relleno.
Choose smooth, unwrinkled skin. Darker Flavor means richer flavor.
AKA: California, related to New Mexico, mild, long light to medium bright green, approx. 6" tapered long by 2" to 3" wide. Used to make stuffed rellenos and rajas, stews and sauces, also great for roasting. Available year round.
Sweet, mild flavor.Add to stew, salsa, soups or try stuffed.
Choose glossy, unbroken skin with well-attached caps.
Grown at high altitudes in Mexico. Color ranges from a bright dark green to bright red as chile ripens, tiny, 1"-2" long by 1/2" to 3/4" wide. Has a clean acidic heat with touch of sweet as it ripens. Used in salsas, pickled and roasted for sauces, may also use 3 serranos to 1 to substitute for Thai peppers and dishes. Available year round.
Hot, Maturing to slightly sweet.Use in table sauces, relishes, with with vegetables or pickled.
Choose firm, heavy, smooth-skinned.
Manzano chiles have thick walls, related to the habanero, but are quiet hot. Usually used in salsas, sausces, or stuffed. The average chile is about 2 1/2" long. The manzano is grown in Michoacan and is the only chile with black seeds.
Hot, Maturing to slightly sweet.Use in table sauces, relishes, with with vegetables or pickled.
Choose firm, heavy, smooth-skinned.
Habanero means from Havana and is an extremely hot pepper believed to originally have been taken to the Yucatan Peninsula from Cuba. Habaneros are green in color and ripen one of numerous colors including red, orange, salmon, white, chocolate... depending on the variety. Their average size is 1 to 2 1/2 inches long, 1 to 2 inches in diameter and they are lantern-shaped, round or oblong. Technically, their species name is Capsicum Chinense Jacquin. Habaneros are the hottest chile peppers and rate around 200,000 - 300,000 Scoville Units.
Extremely hot.
Hot sauce or hot salsa.
Choose shiny Skin, and bright, firm flesh.
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Sweet, hot, waxy chile with thick flesh, approx. 2" tapered long by 1"-1 1/4" wide. Used in salsas, ceviche, roasted, in stuffing, bread or pickled (en escabeche). Peak availability in the fall.
Slightly sweet.Usually pickled, but can be used in sauces, casseroles, or salsas.
Choose bright color and smooth skin.
Deep Red Color, average Size 2 - 3" long, 1 1/2" diameter, similar in size and shape to jalapenos, cylindrical, tapering to a rounded end. Often confused for the red jalapeno but they're thinner-walled and less succulent.
Hot with subtle Sweetness.Add to salsa Ceviches, bread batter. Try Stuffed.
Choose brightly colored with firm flesh.
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The Banana Wax chile, also known as Hungarian Wax, has a banana shaped pepper hence the name, that changes from pale to deep yellow or orange as they mature. The Banana wax chile is sweet, long and tapered. They can be fried or sauteed, used raw, in salads, sandwiches, or stuffed.
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Wedge shaped, typically 5" long by 3" wide. Very sweet. The Gipsy chili can be served fresh or fried.
Cubanelle peppers are similar to Anaheim peppers but slightly less flavorful. they are considered a sweet pepper. Cubanelles can be stuffed or used in salads and casseroles, and also good on pizzas or subs.
Tomatillos look like small green tomatoes encased in a papery husk.
They're pleasantly tart, and principally used to make Mexican salsas, particularly salsa verde.
They're good raw, but many cooks cook them briefly in order to enhance their flavor.
Tomatillos are closely related to tomatoes, though of a different genus.
They are native to Mexico, where they are still grown extensively, particularly for salsas.
The plant is an annual, which can grow quite large and has a somewhat vining character.
The papery husk (they are also known as 'husk tomatoes') is discarded prior to preparing the fruits for eating.
Tart, vegetable flavor. Used in Green Salsas.
Choose bright green, firm flesh.
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Yellow straight neck squash is amongst the most popular vegetables in the South. You can find it fresh, frozen, or canned at any time of the year. Usually 6"-10" in length and 4" in diameter. Yellow squash can be served raw with other vegetables, dips, salads, deep fried, boiled, or stuffed.
Eat raw or cooked, perfect for stir-fries.Select snap peas that are crisp, bright in color, and free of blemishes.
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Many choose this special squash as the best yellow variety for buttery flavor and firm texture.
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Mexican squash is light green with darker green speckles and has a plump stubby appearance. The Mexican squash is slightly sweeter than zucchini.
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A variety of summer squash with a dark green skin covering an off-white flesh. The cylindrical variety is much like a cucumber in size and shape. Typically harvested before they reach a foot in length, Zucchini Squash begin to lose their tenderness and flavor as they increase in size thus, it the smaller, younger zucchini that are more desirable. In addition to the long slender Zucchini, another variety that is popular is the small ball-shaped Zucchini Squash that are harvested when they reach the size of a baseball or smaller. This round variety, sometimes referred to as Eight Ball Zucchini, Round Zucchini or Globe Squash, is an enjoyable option for stuffing with ingredients when hollowed out and cooked with a meat or rice stuffing.
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Broccoli possesses abundant fleshy flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick, edible stalk.
Chinese Cut CrownsRegularCrowns
Bunch 14's, 18's
Chinese Cut Crowns
Green beans are long, slender, meaty green pods with tiny seeds inside. Fresh green beans are available year-round; however, peak season is May to October. Green beans can be served on their own or used in salads, casseroles, and soups.
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Garden peas were the subject of Austrian monk Gregor Mendel's now-famous experiments elucidating the basic laws of heredity. Peas were thought to have been domesticated first around 7000 B.C. in the Near East. They reached China shortly after the time of Christ. Snow peas are an important item in Chinese cuisine.
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The Gooseberry is a small, smooth round fruit wrapped in its own papery case. The fruit itself is an orange/gold color and can be unwarpped and eaten as is. These tiny gooseberries make excellent jams and jellies.
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