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NEW!
• Crespo Nam Doc Mai Thai Mango (Mexico)
• California Esquire Mango (BLOG)
• Durst Orange Flesh Honeydew
• Full Belly Charentais, Goddess and Orchid Melons (Monday)
• Fully Belly Yellow Doll Watermelon (Monday)
• Tutti Frutti Red Kuri -
COMING SOON
• Anna’s Organic Watermelon Gherkins
• Forbidden Blueberries
• California Keitt Mangos mid-August
• California Granny Smith 2-3 weeks -
BACK IN STOCK
• Orange Crush Cantaloupe
• Ambrosia Melon
• Dwelley Bi-Color Corn
• Pink Variegated Lemons
• Eggplant - Globe and Specialty Varieties -
TIGHT INVENTORY
• Domestic Apples
• Avocados (larger sizes 40/48)
• Brussels Sprouts
• White Corn
• Green and Red Butter Lettuce
• Sweet Potatoes -
GAPPING
• Utility Apples
• Colored Cauliflower 1-2 weeks
• Lakeside Watermelon Radish for the next 5 weeks
• Covilli Pineapples -
WINDING DOWN
• Domestic Apples
• Cherries (PNW) -
FINISHED
• Apricots (PNW)
• HGO Pluots and White Nectarines (California)
BUYER’S NOTES
Updated August 14, 2022
FRUIT
California Stone Fruit season is winding down and White Nectarines are finished. We will continue to see Yellow Nectarines and Peaches steady in August with plenty of opportunity to promote. Cherries from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) are all but done. Grab the last bags before they disappear. Plums (CA/PNW) and Pluots (PNW) will go through the Fall. Air Chief Red, Green and Black Seedless California Grapes are available in cello bags, loose cases and recyclable tote bags. Specialty Grapes include sweet Candy Snap Grapes and Thomcords (tastes like grape jelly). Candy Heart Grapes coming soon!
New on the Mango front is the Nam Doc Mai (translates to sweet nectar of the blossom), a Thai cultivar and Thailand’s best known “dessert” mango. One of the world’s most coveted mangos and the mango best used in Thailand’s famous dish-Mango Sticky Rice. California Mango season started up with the Esquire Mango and California Keitt Mangos are just around the corner! With a subtly sweet flavor, the Esquire is the first variety coming out of the short season in California's Salton Sea area! Maywood (Corning) main and sweeter crop of figs is well under way. Now is the time to enjoy sweet California Figs all on their own. California Hass Avocados 70ct return Monday while 84ct continue to gap. Plenty of 48ct and 60ct for all your Avocado needs!
Candy Snap Grapes
Nam Doc Mai Mangos
Black Mission Figs
APPLES
Last of the domestic Fujis and Honeycrisp. Washington new crop Galas by the end of the week. New crop premium Fuji imports good inventory coming our way. Gravenstein local deal from Sebastopol is quick- don’t miss out!
AVOCADOS
Rincon has a few more weeks . Traceland (Morro Bay) starting up in a week or two and will go through October with a smooth transition into Mexico.
BANANAS
Download Earl’s Banana Handling & Receiving Guide for more helpful tips.
retail floor “do’s and don’ts”
Do not stack banana hands more than 2-3 layers high due to risk of bruising
Do not down-stack fruit into shopping carts or other items that can bruise or dent fruit
Treat all bananas with care – ALWAYS hand place on shelf and NEVER drop or throw fruit
BERRIES
Blackberries: California blackberries continue to be tight. Tomatero fruit is sizing up slower.
Blueberries: Bridges blues have high bloom, good flavor and large berries. Getting close to the end of the PNW season.
Strawberries: Watsonville season is slowing down - will see good volume from Tomatero, Sun Valley and Martinez through September.
Raspberries: Lot of volume on AG Berry with fantastic flavor. Bringing in Sun Valley as it becomes available.
citrus
California Lemons are going up. A few more weeks left and then we will see more Mexico product come on. End of August/beginning September California desert lemons will start up.
figs
AJM Brown Turkey look really nice. Maywood recent rain affected the Brown Turkey on the tree, waiting for more volume on the trees before harvesting. Black Mission Figs are the most common variety with deep purple to black skin, watermelon to pink colored flesh and good flavor. They are delicious eaten fresh or dried. Find Buying and Storage Tips on our blog.
grapes
Sweet Candy Snaps are a customer favorite. More delicious varieties continue to come on – Candy Hearts soon. Now harvesting Red Seedless Ruby Rush and Krissy, Green Seedless Ivory and Black Seedless Sable. Grape season matures into late September/early October when the fruit develops high sugars.
kiwi
Cello Gold Kiwi a bit tight. Waiting for New Zealand Green Kiwis to start up. California Green Kiwis steady from Sunrise and Family Farms.
melons
Durst Watermelon Bins steady. Thomson is done on bins. New Specialty Melons from Full Belly this week - Goddess, Charentais and more! Orange Crush Cantaloupe is back. Don’t miss our colorful Melon Guide and follow the flavor through the melon season.
pears
California Bartlett and Golden Bosc have good flavor and color. Golden Bosc has a buttery soft and juicy texture. Hosui Asian Pears combine the flavor and sweetness of Pears with the crunchiness of crisp Apples. Their mild flavor is sweet and slightly tart. Starkrimson Red Pear from the PNW by the middle of September.
STONE FRUIT
HGO production on White Nectarines and Pluots is done. Apricots are done out of the PNW. D.E Boldt is wrapping up their stone fruit production and overall California is starting to wind down. We will see Yellow Nectarines through August, and White Peaches for a few more weeks. Lots of opportunities to promote Yellow Nectarines and Yellow Peaches at aggressive prices for volume promotions. Speak to your Earl’s Sales Rep for more information. Plums and Pluots (PNW) will go through the Fall.
Apricots - Finished
Cherries - Sweet Hearts
Yellow Nectarines - Beach Baby Eco Pack (may have some minor scarring), Red Jim, August Bright
White Nectarines - Polar Snow (last of the California fruit), Giant Pearl (PNW)
Yellow Peaches - 99, August Flame
STONE FRUIT, CONTINUED
White Peaches - Snow Giant, Yukon King
Plums - Flavor Gem, Black Kat
Pluots – California is finished
Peterson Family Fruit - Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC)- August Flame Yellow Peach and Beach Baby Yellow Nectarine
tropicals
Thai Coconuts are gapping for a few weeks. New Mango has arrived! The Nam Doc Mai (translates to sweet nectar of the blossom) is a Thai cultivar and Thailand’s best known “dessert” mango. One of the world’s most coveted mangos and the mango best used in Thailand’s famous dish - Mango Sticky Rice. Ask your Earl’s Sales Rep for a sample case.
tropicals, continued
Ataulfos are wrapping up. Tommys have transitioned to the smooth fleshed Kent variety. Mallika Indian Mangos have silky and creamy fiberless sweet flesh. Pale green skin turns bright yellow with light pinkish and yellow blush tones
California Mango season started with the Esquire Mango and California Keitt Mangos are just around the corner! With a subtly sweet flavor, the Esquire is the first variety coming out of the short season in California's Salton Sea area! It is a low water variety meaning non-tropical regions and regions more susceptible to drought can grow this tasty piece of fruit. They start out on the greener side but will ripen up often with little to no change in skin color. Later in the season they will land with more yellow and red on them as they ripen.
VEGETABLES
Dwelley is back with Bi-Color Corn this week. White Corn will gap until they harvest a new field. Ambrosio (Gilroy) will have limited volume. Calo continues to see heavy aphid pressure in Red Butter Lettuce and will gap until they start up out of a new field. PNW has started up with Russet counts, California is done. California Reds and Golds still available from Bakersfield through the fall. Don’t miss the gorgeous new Fingerling Potatoes from Sunrise (Austrian Crescent, Amarosa, Purple and Rainbow). Sunrise ‘new’ potatoes are freshly dug, cleaned and packed without being cured in the field or the cooler. Storage Tip: New potatoes should be stored and displayed under refrigeration to maintain the freshness and quality of the potato.
Local Cherry Tomatoes are picking up steam and have excellent flavor as well as Early Girl and Heirloom Tomatoes. Tutti Frutti Mixed Heirlooms have great flavor. Tutti Winter Squash program has started with Kabocha, Buttercup and Carnival. Now is the time to start getting excited about Tutti Hard Squash Bins! Download Earl’s Hard Squash Guide.
Sunrise Amarosa Fingerling New Potatoes
Sunrise Austrian Crescent Fingerling New Potatoes
Sunrise Purple Fingerling New Potatoes
asparagus
Mexican product is healthy with some inconsistent sizing.
ARTICHOKES
Oceanside remains consistent with a scarce market.
beets
Lakeside Gold and Red Bunched Beets looking fantastic. Loose Gold Beets are extremely tight. Expect a gap at some point this month.
bABY BOK CHOY
Aggressively priced!
VARIETAL BEANS
It’s summertime! Dwelley has pristine Cranberry, Blue Lake Beans, French Beans, Romano Beans and Yellow Wax Beans.
bROCCOLI & bROCCOLI CROWNS
Steady from a mix of growers.
sweet baby bROCCOLI
Tomatero is back on.
Brussels Sprouts
Covilli is done. We are bringing in what we can from local growers, but inventory is tight.
cabbage
Lakeside Napa is back with larger sizing and good color.
carrots
Sunrise gorgeous array of carrots - Rainbow, Nantes, Purple and Yellow.
Cauliflower & Romanesco
Sun Valley wrapping up for now. Tomatero consistent for a few weeks. Colored Cauliflower gapping for a few more weeks.
CORN
Dwelley picked over the weekend and we will see Bi-Color return this week. White is gapping for the moment.
CUCUMBERS
Anna’s Organic Watermelon Gherkins coming soon! Summer is the time for Specialty Cucumbers. Pickling Cucumbers now available in 10# and 22#. Comanche Armenian and Lemon Cucumbers are refreshing and crunchy. Try sliced cucumbers with local cherry tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper.
eggplant
Anna starting up with Globe Eggplant. Specialty Varieties include Chinese (long, narrow with a light purple color), Filipino (long, slender with smooth violet skin and creamy white flesh with few seeds); Orient Express (long and slender with thin purple skin and light flavor it is a favorite for Asian dishes).
ginger
Fresh new crop has beautiful hands of Ginger.
greens
Lakeside and Tomatero looking really nice. Sun Valley summer block coming on this week with Nantes Carrots and Greens.
herbs
Calo 15ct Cilantro is back. Tomatero Cilantro has gorgeous bunches.
lettuce
Tomatero and Sunrise waiting for Little Gems to size up. Lakeside Iceberg has tightened up. Butter Lettuce continues to be tight. Calo gapping for 2-3 weeks until a new field starts up at a higher altitude. Josie’s Red Leaf is back. Romaine from Calo has really nice quality.
Organic Girl Butter continues to have quality issues and will be tight.
Tenderleaf supplies look great and quality is looking good. Orders are covered throughout next week. We continue to work through various quality issues and supply gaps with Butter, Butter Plus, Little Gems and Romaine. We are actively trying to procure premium pounds however; aphid pressure is significant. Our operations team is working regularly to reduce these shortages and mitigate quality issues in the field.
leeks
Tomatero and Lakeside local Leeks.
bell peppers
Choice Bell Peppers from Divine have started but limited. We may see some from Wilgenburg. Yellow and Orange Bell pricing is up.
hot/sweet peppers
White Jalapenos have a light fruity flavor and are hotter than a Green Jalapeno, but not as hot as a Serrano. Sweet Gypsy Peppers are a light yellow. Wonderful in summer salads. Anaheim, Jalapeno, Serrano, Padron, Poblano and Shishito are in good supply. Lots of Local Hot Peppers, Padrons and Shishitos. New from Sunrise, Shishito cello bags! Download our Hot Pepper Guide.
onions
Nature’s Bounty (California) Fresh cured Medium Red and Yellow Onion. Look for some local onions from Terra Firma. Tutti Frutti Sweet Onions have less sulphur (and less crying when cutting).
potatoes
NEW! Sunrise (Austrian Crescent, Amarosa, Purple and Rainbow). Sunrise ‘new’ potatoes are freshly dug, cleaned and packed without being cured in the field or the cooler. Storage and Recipe tips in Veg update above. Russet fresh crop is back!
okra
Burgundy Okra from Comanche Creek is great for pickling, frying or stewing. When cooked, the red color will deepen to a dark purple.
Recipe Idea for the Weekend! Okra and Tomatoes with Steamed Rice.
summer squash
Beautiful Zucchini from Tomatero! Yellow Bar and Straight Neck Summer Squash from JAS, Sunrise Sunburst and gorgeous Mixed Squash from Comanche. Download Earl’s Squash Guide here.
sweet potatoes
Waiting for new crop to cure up. Will continue to keep inventory tight on old crop.
tomatoes
August is the time when local tomatoes hit their peak flavor. Tutti has moved into field grown tomatoes with larger sized fruit. Early Girls from Comanche and Dry Farmed Early Girls from Ambrosio and Tutti. A bounty of Cherry Tomato varietals from local growers.
winter squash
Tutti Butternut mid-week. Mixed bins packing right after Labor Day! Fall is around the corner.
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