Food science marches on
May. 3rd, 2026 04:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petrea_mitchellTwo new things to me at the farmers' market:
1. Ergonomic beets. They look like tiny chonky sweet potatoes, but they're elongated beets, allegedly easier to hold and peel than the regular spherical kind. One of the youngsters manning the cashbox at that booth said the term they use is "cylindrical beets".
2. Edible strawberries in May! Used to be we didn't get strawberries at all until June, and the first varieties would be the kind which is better for pies and preserves than eating directly. But yesterday there were ripe, full flavored ones available. I was expecting an explanation that involved climate change, but no, it's not that drastic here yet, they just have a trick involving wrapping the plants in plastic to get the berries to ripen faster.
Inflation marches on, too: those delicious strawberries are $6 for a pint, so I think that'll be a one-off treat. I expect cherries to be $10 a pound or more at the market this summer.
1. Ergonomic beets. They look like tiny chonky sweet potatoes, but they're elongated beets, allegedly easier to hold and peel than the regular spherical kind. One of the youngsters manning the cashbox at that booth said the term they use is "cylindrical beets".
2. Edible strawberries in May! Used to be we didn't get strawberries at all until June, and the first varieties would be the kind which is better for pies and preserves than eating directly. But yesterday there were ripe, full flavored ones available. I was expecting an explanation that involved climate change, but no, it's not that drastic here yet, they just have a trick involving wrapping the plants in plastic to get the berries to ripen faster.
Inflation marches on, too: those delicious strawberries are $6 for a pint, so I think that'll be a one-off treat. I expect cherries to be $10 a pound or more at the market this summer.
