I was just at Publix which I rarely mention as a good source of produce. I picked through the sweet onions until I found some from south Georgia. Onions have to be "from" Vidalia to be labeled that way and, of course, none of these were. I'm sure they were grown close. It takes a certain soil. I took both of them with me. The rest of the sweet onions in the stack were from Peru and you could tell it. Long trip.
There was an article in the NY Times last week about a grower in Wimuama, Florida who is making a name for himself shipping Tasti-Lee (www.tasti-lee.com) tomatoes all over the country. The food reviewer gave them high marks. Winter tomatoes with the taste and smell of summer in them. I took a stroll around the bin of sickly fruit from somewhere else and, sure enough, there they were. Perfect little box of four. Just the size that a person can eat a whole one - slow-roasted or sliced raw. Publix, I quickly realized, has a new contract with Red Diamond Farms and I've got my winter tomatoes, thanks to them!
Then there is Pero Family Farms (www.perofamilyfarms) of Delray Beach. Peppers. Green and yellow. Orange and red. Quite large or in miniature. I've been eating them for several years. Squirrel and I go through a bag a week. Large or small to suit our immediate needs. I think they must be shipped all over the country. Sometimes I feel so lucky to be a Floridian. Just like someone from New Jersey, the produce capital of the northeast.
And, in winter, it's all about oranges. I was going to head up toward Thomasville to find a roadside stand. It's tangelo season. You do a lot better with citrus if you buy the orange of the moment instead of searching out the bags labeled juice orange or naval. There are so many varieties and they ripen at different times. I found a beautiful bag of fruit. Again, there were also California oranges on the shelf (most Florida oranges end up in juice) but Publix has contracts with many of the big groves to get some for the stores. At Fresh Market the citrus is imported. At Tomato Land it's the worst of the best.
The blueberries in the store were from Chili. It isn't blueberry season anyway. I got a quart of Plant City strawberries that smelled and looked like a strawberry should. It is strawberry season in Florida. Pickers worked around the clock on that one frozen night this winter to harvest them, save them from the cold. The rest of the winter has been mild. The strawberries are heading out!
What gets me is the avocado. Avocado is in season almost all year. In St. Petersburg, they are falling from the trees to the sidewalks. All the avocados I saw in the store today came from abroad or had been shipped in from California. Keep your eyes open. When the Florida Alligator Pears go into the produce department at Publix they're usually priced 3 for $5.00. I can remember when it was two for $1.00 and even less - but that was long ago.
Go shop. I just can't imagine that I am going to get an orange, an avacado, a strawberry or blueberry, in my CSA bag. I might see onions and peppers in there and I know there will be tomatoes. But that will be another day. Right now it's the dead of winter. Thank goodness for central and south Florida and for Publix where shopping is a pleasure.
