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Next Fresh Thing: New Products in VT (Feb 27, 2017)

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Check out these new and fabulous products coming down the pike!

PRODUCE:

Conventional White Asparagus – White asparagus is quite different from green or purple asparagus – it is grown in total darkness so that it does not develop chrlorophyll and has a distinctly different texture and flavor – a pleasant bitterness usually firmer texture. The outer layer is tougher than green asparagus, and the stalk is more brittle, so it is recommended that you peel it by keeping it flat on a surface and drawing the peeler or knife down its length. After the asparagus is peeled, it is usually boiled and then served with butter and lemon.

Organic Maitake Mushrooms 3.5oz Hokto Kinoko Co. – AKA Hen of the Woods mushrooms, Maitake are incredibly nutritious and delicious.  Mushrooms are a vegetarian source of B vitamins, and are naturally high in Vitamin D, worth noting in our Northern climate!  Mushrooms are an excellent source of nutrients, particularly for those that eat a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Organic King Trumpet Mushrooms – 9.5oz Hokto Kinoko Co. – This is the largest species in the oyster mushroom genus pleurotus.  They have a large stem and relatively small cap.  They are an incredible vegetarian substitute for scallops – seared in oil they mimic the texture splendidly.  King Oysters are a great mushroom for just about any other application – they have a chewy and dense texture that holds up when sauteed or included in sauces.

Organic Brown Beech (Bunashimeji) Mushrooms – 3.5oz Hokto Kinoko Co. Brown Beech mushrooms are so called because they often grow on fallen beech trees.  They have a nutty, buttery flavor and firm, crunchy texture.  They should be cooked because they are easier to digest and a bitterness that they have when raw disappears completely once cooked.  Bunashimeji are very popular in Japanese cuisine. They hold up well in stir-fried dishes, and are suitable for soups, stews and sauces.  The stem and cap are both used, only the very ends need to be trimmed before cooking.

Organic Blood (Moro) Oranges – Moro blood oranges are the ones we’ve been looking for – they get their dark color from anthocyanins (those again!) and so have more antioxidants that your average orange.  In my opinion, they are slightly more bitter than very sweet Cara Caras or regular Navels. This makes them perhaps more suitable for culinary applications because they have a depth of flavor that is usually overwhelmed by the tons of sugar present many citrus varieties.

Organic Ataulfo Mangoes – These mangoes are smaller, usually yellow, and differently shaped than the large round Atkins/Kent mangoes you most often see.  They are also sometimes called Champagne mangoes, which I think does a better job of calling out how good these are.  The flesh is soft and very juicy, with less fiber than an Atkins mango.  Sometimes they can be very sour.  They are ready to eat when they yield to gentle pressure, though some prefer them once the skin is slightly wrinkled and very soft, I like them before they reach that point.

Organic Broccoli Bunches – We’ve traditionally carried only organic broccoli crowns and conventional broccoli bunches, but since we discontinued conventional broccoli bunches in both stores some time ago, it’s time to try the organic ones out! Broccoli stems are great for many different applications, they are not something to be discarded! Try them steamed on their own, or chopped in cheddar broccoli soup.

Taylor Organic Chopped Salads – Organic Asian Ginger Chopped Salad – 11oz, Organic Toasted Sesame Chopped Salad – 10.4oz, Organic Sriracha Ranch Chopped Salad – 10.4oz

Organic Bartlett Pears – Bartletts are far and away the most popular of the pear varieties.  They are ripe when they yield to slight pressure near the stem (or neck) when pressed.  All Bartletts start out as green and then ripen to either yellow or red.  Red Bartletts and even “Red Sensation” pears were originally “sports” of the Bartlett – meaning the variety is the result of a random mutation a tree that was recognized for its value and propagated to maintain the color.

Organic Formosa Papayas – Formosa Papayas are sweet and ready to be eaten when they are green and yellow striped. A very healthy fruit variety, one large papaya contains up to 150 percent of the recommended intake of Vitamin C, has high levels of antioxidants, beta-carotene, lycopene, and papain.  Papain is an enzyme that breaks down protein and can support digestive health!

Organic Graffiti Eggplant – This is a pretty variety of eggplant, very similar to the regular large Italian (dark purple) eggplant, though it is a little smaller.

Organic Buttercream Fingerling Potatoes 2# – This is a small, new type of potato that is super starchy, so it is very fluffy when cooked. It has golden skin, yellow flesh, and is 1 to 2 inches in diameter with a smooth buttery flavor.  They are excellent boiled, steamed, or baked – though they are not for use in salads because they are so fluffy – they are too soft!  Being small and consistent in size makes them easy to cook, no cutting required to make them the same size (and cook at the same rate).

Organic Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes 1.5# – This is an excellent variety of fingerling, it’s yellow with a super rich, buttery flavor.  It has a texture that is lends itself to being baked, fried, or used in salads due to a lower starch content.  You wouldn’t want to mash these but you would want to pan-fry them then toss them in herbed butter (yum).

Organic French Fingerling Potatoes 1.5# – This type of fingerling has smooth, pinkish-red skin and yellow flesh with streaks of pink.  It’s creamy-smooth and nutty, great for baking, roasting, steaming, grilling, frying and sauteeing (everything but boiling, essentially).

Organic Girl Supergreens Salad – 5oz – This salad has baby arugula, baby red chard, and baby spinach, which makes it Organic Girl’s most nutritious salad. It’s triple washed and ready to go in the salad bowl!

Organic Girl 100% Baby Kale – 4oz – Baby kale may be better than big kale, just sayin’. Ready to saute or juice, this bite sized kale is sweet and is even super clean.

Organic Girl Sweet Pea Salad Mix – 4oz – This mix has baby romaine leaves, sweet pea shoots, and tango

Last but not least, we got our High Mowing Organic Seeds in for the season! They are $2.75 a packet this year and we have 144 varieties in each store.  They include tomatoes, peppers, flowers, herbs, kales, chards, lettuces, eggplants, okra, squashes, cucumbers, pumpkins, corn, alliums, cruciforms, and root vegetables of all types.

GROCERY:

Flax 4 Life – New gluten-free line of muffins and mini brownies (coming soon from Garden Spot, eventually from unfi hopefully)
muffins: apple cinnaamon, carrot & raisin, wild blueberry, chocolate chip
chocolate, cappuccino, & toasted coconut brownies

K’UL Chocolate – They combine an array of super foods with dark chocolate to make a unique, energy bar type experience. 5 flavors total – endurance, stamina, power, electrobar, and marcona almonds. All are 70% dark chocolate

Matt’s Cookies – All are soft chew, and very addictive. 6 flavors total – chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, cranberry walnut, double chocolate chip.

Imagine Hearth Bone Broth – It contains a combination of chicken, beef, and turkey bone broths.

Zest Tea – These are high caffeine teas and come in 4 flavors – blue lady black tea, pomegranate mojito green tea, earl grey, and cinnamon apple black tea.

Cucina & Amore – Pasta sauces are new for the pasta sauce set. 3 total – tomato basil, puttanesca, formaggio.

Curts Classic – Organic raw nut clusters. Find them in line with the other Curts Classic Raw Food Central items.

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