Market Minute: Veggie markets are timely for summer grilling
By
Ron Pelger
Market Minute: Veggie markets are timely for summer grilling
Since the warmer summer weather is here, it’s time once again to fire up that grill for some of your favorite charred and smoky flavored vegetables. You can grill almost any vegetable. You can also add garlic, olive oil or even some herbs like rosemary, oregano or basil leaves.
Set up a nice “grilling section” in your produce department for the summer. Promote several items in a nice attractive part of your weekly ad flyer. It’s all incremental sales.
Here are some vegetables that are available now for that grilling section:
Red and Yellow Potatoes: Transition from storage to California with Arizona crops beginning soon.
Onions: Good quality coming out of California. Larger sizes. New Mexico onions will start shipping very soon.
Bell Peppers: A popular grilling veggie. California is starting to harvest and ship. As usual, the quality and size will be outstanding. Red and yellow peppers may be light. Green Bells out of the eastern area are in good supply.
Eggplant: Georgia and Mexico have some good quality product. Excellent for grilling.
Sweet Corn: Outstanding quality in the West and supply out of Georgia is ideal. Corn on the cob is always the perfect grilling item for cookouts.
Green Zucchini and Yellow Squash: There is plenty of good quality supply out of the West. The eastern squash is lighter, but the new Carolina crop should cover your needs.
Mushrooms: The market is steady. Supplies are good. Portabella mushrooms are excellent for grilling.
Broccoli Crowns: There is a good supply and a steady market for the crowns.
Cauliflower: Market is now lower on a good supply. Quality is good.
All these veggie items are perfect for grilling. Work with your suppliers in order to make sure of product amounts for promoting this summer theme.
Ron Pelger is a produce industry adviser and industry writer. He can be contacted at 775/843-2394 or by e-mail at [email protected].