Produce Buzzers - A Podcast for Lovers of Fresh Fruits and Veggies

Fresh fruits and vegetables are a bit of a paradox because they are probably the only thing you can buy that are usually the least expensive when their quality is at its best. That is because the peak volume and supply typically coincide with the peak quality. We are once again joined by Robert Schueller of Melissa's World Variety Produce, a recognized "Produce Expert." Robert is eager to share wi...

What is the hottest pepper in the world? Not the Carolina Reaper, not the Ghost Pepper, not the Scotch Bonnet! It's the Hatch Chili Pepper! But we are not talking about Scoville or heat levels. We are talking about popularity. It's so popular that it has a cult following. But they are only available six to eight weeks each year. From August to September, many Hatch chili enthusiasts buy scores of...

As our regular listeners know, we focus primarily on fresh fruits and veggies on the podcast, but we are not discriminatory when it comes to frozen and canned fruits and veggies. Especially knowing that freezing and canning of fresh produce is often done just hours after harvesting and preserves the nutrients of those fruits and veggies allowing them to be enjoyed much longer than fresh. So today...

July is one of the most abundant months for all kinds of fruits and veggies. And there are many celebrations featuring so many of them. July is National Blueberry Month and National Peach Month. So, we join in the celebration by replaying a couple of segments from last year in which we featured these two most delicious summer fruits. The blueberry is one of only a few fruits native to North Americ...

Corn is now the world’s most abundant grain surpassing wheat and rice by huge margins. Twice as much corn is produced annually as rice and more than one and a half times more than wheat. But it is not primarily used for human consumption. But since it is National Corn Month, we salute sweet corn as a mainstay for those summertime barbecues. Learn how to select and cook the perfect corn on the cob....

Mark Twain once wrote, “to taste watermelon is to know what the angels eat.” July is National Watermelon month. And this week we celebrate American Independence. Watermelons are always on the table at Fourth of July parties. So, we celebrate this fruit deservedly called “The Happy Fruit” in this week’s episode. Our guest is a seasoned veteran of the produce industry and has helped promote, market,...

June is National Mango Month. So, in this week’s episode, we celebrate this delicious and healthy fruit, one of the most popular fruits in the world, if not the most popular. Mangos originated in India and are considered a sacred fruit there as well as in other Asian cultures. We don’t know if mangos are actually sacred, but we do know that the experience of eating them is divine! And the health b...

June is National Fruits and Vegetables Month. Our modern world is so blessed with such an abundant supply of fresh fruits and veggies. Not only in terms of quantity, but also with amazing varieties, and with supplies of almost all of them year-round. It is as if we have found the mythical “cornucopia” that Zeus, the leader of the Greek gods, head of the pantheon on Mount Olympus, created. The corn...

Every now and then, news breaks announcing an occurrence of food-borne illness in the food supply. These sometimes cause panic and inspire fear of buying fresh fruits and vegetables. As often as we hear about them, the reality is that they are very rare considering how much food is being shipped every day. This week’s guest is Tracy Fry of iFoodDS, a company that is pioneering methods to track eve...

This week, on June 10th, we celebrate National Herbs and Spices Day. So, we dedicate this episode to honor these delicious flavorings that make our fruits and veggies taste even better. To do that we have invited Melinda Richardson to join us on the podcast. She is an account executive at Gourmet Garden, an Australian company that is spicing things up with its delicious products that give you the...

May is a great month for celebrating veggies! It’s National Salad Month, National Salsa Month, and National Asparagus Month. So, we dedicate this episode to them all. Learn about the history of salad. Surprisingly, it’s really quite interesting. And we dance around with America’s favorite condiment. No, it’s not mayonnaise or ketchup. It’s salsa! And then we tell you all about wonderful asparagus....

Beautiful spring weather is all around and we hope that is bringing you joy. And there is no greater joy of spring than the arrival of one of the fruits that have been most often cited by people as the most joyous of all fruits and veggies—strawberries! May is National Strawberry Month and so this week we have a very special guest who has to be one of the world’s leading experts on the fruit. Jim...

May is Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This week we have a very special guest on the show that will tell us about the substantial contribution that Japanese Americans made to American agriculture, especially on the West Coast, from California through Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Ron Inatomi is a third-generation (Sansei) Japanese American who has been working in the produce industry for o...

Chip Carter is a natural-born storyteller. And he’s made a profession of it for over 30 years. He worked as a journalist for several prominent national newspapers before he decided to return to his farming roots and begin to tell stories about America’s farmers. At that point, he launched the Southeast Produce Weekly, a publication and Website that covered news about fresh produce in that region....

Welcome to a new season of the Produce Buzzers Podcast. We are delighted that the first episode of season three celebrates the tastes and flavors of Cinco de Mayo. In this episode, you will learn about the history of the celebration and why it is more popular in the United States than in Mexico. But that is just an excuse for us to talk about the fruit and veggie stars of Cinco de Mayo—avocados, c...

This week we have another bonus segment from season two of the series to keep you fed until season three starts next week. It's short, so it’s just a snack. But we think it will satisfy your hunger for all things fruit and veggie. In this segment, Theresa is going to tell us about the amazing nutritional value of leafy greens and how eating them every day can heart-attack-proof you. And after that...

Season two of our podcast has concluded and we are excited to announce that season three will begin at the end of April. Make sure you subscribe so you can get notifications of the new episodes. We have some interesting and delicious episodes planned for next season. But in the meantime, enjoy this bonus segment from season two that wound up on the “cutting board.” Not the “cutting floor” as we sa...

Have you ever ordered fresh produce online for delivery or pickup? How do you feel about letting someone else pick out your fruits and veggies? The Produce Buzzers examine a recent survey of consumers about their fresh produce buying preferences. And play along with the Produce Buzzers as they play guess the official fruits of each U.S. State. 

What is more joyful than eating delicious, sweet strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries? And they are so good for your health. This week’s guest on the Produce Buzzers Podcast has been selling and marketing berries for many years. Steve Trede works for Driscoll’s Berries, a pioneer in the development of some of the most delicious berries in the world. Listen today to learn all ab...

Alex Jackson is the granddaughter of Frieda Caplan, the founder of Frieda's Specialty Produce. Frieda was a pioneer in the fresh produce industry and was responsible for bringing to your table some fruits and veggies that were virtually unknown in the U.S. before she had the vision and savvy to import them. Her story is a fascinating one you are going to want to stick around to hear it. And Alex w...

You know eating fruits and vegetables is good for your health. But is it a chore to do so or a pleasure? Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak joins the Produce Buzzers to talk about her mission to make what your mother preached to you when you were a kid, “Eat Your Veggies!” a delightful habit you will crave. As president and CEO of the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), Wendy has dramatically changed...

Cabbage is the veggie star of St. Patrick's Day. Have you ever heard the word cabbage used as a slang term for money? It may have slipped out of fashion in the slang use of today. But our cousin, Mike Stepp, a guest on the podcast at the end of February to talk about his long-time work growing apples, related a story about turning cabbage, the veggie, into cabbage the money to buy a 1966 Pontiac G...

This week we feature a cruciferous vegetable that is the star veggie of St. Patrick's Day alongside corn beef. Cabbage is a very cost-effective way to get the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy. And then we will tell you about some very special nuts, no not us Produce Buzzers. These nuts get their name from a part of the brain, which is appropriate since they are especially good for yo...

How are all the different varieties of apples created? In this week’s episode, we are joined by our cousin, Mike Stepp, owner of Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard in North Carolina. His “you-pick” apple farm is one of the top agrotourism destinations in the country. Thousands of people come from miles around every year to pick their own apples and learn about life on a farm. Mike has been growing apples a...

Our guest today is Dr. James Hebert, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. Dr. Hebert has studied and researched for years how what we eat affects our health. He is arguably the world’s foremost expert on inflammation and especially on how what we eat can contribute to increasing or decreasing inflammation in our bodies. We a...