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Maggie Bezart, Ocean Mist Farms in Castroville, doesn't mince words when it comes to thornless artichokes. She wants retailers, foodservice buyers and the consumer to know "not to buy thornless artichokes. They have no heart, have very little meat and are difficult to cook. Only buy artichokes with a heart. I want to shout this from the highest hill."
By the time this article is published, desert production of artichokes from the Coachella area will be winding down to its last days while the Castroville region (the artichoke capital of the United States) will be ready for peak harvest time in April and May. According to Bezart, Ocean Mist Farms supplies 80 percent of the nation's artichokes, so this is a very busy time. She said that there is a very small overlap from desert to Central coast production, and, Mother Nature willing, this year's supply looks excellent once again.
Nationwide consumption of artichokes is something that Bezart and Ocean Mist are very cognizant of, and, of course, the company is attempting to make this an even more popular item for the consumer. "Artichokes are very popular on both coasts and in Chicago," Bezart said. "Anywhere there is a strong European base, people know about artichokes. We want to get the message out to more people telling them the attributes of artichokes and the ease in preparing them."
One way that message is being told is through point of purchase materials to be made available to retailers. "Our program this year stresses simplicity. 'Easy as 1-2-3' is our motto. This signage at the retail level will let the consumer know that using artichokes is simple. We believe we will increase consumption by pro
moting ease."
She doesn't want consumers to pass "on these uniquely wonderful vegetables just because you've never fixed them before." Bezart added that they are trying to get the message across that artichokes are just as easy to pre pare and cook as baking an apple, peeling a potato or chopping an onion.
Bezart added that she also wants to get the message out to consumers to "keep artichokes refrigerated. It is a flower and when a flower opens, it blossoms."
Although the peak artichoke season is in April and May, that by no means is the only time artichokes are plentiful. "The Castroville growing season is year-round," Bezart said, "and from now through the summer we will also be heavily promoting our baby artichokes." This "baby boom", as they call it, has become more and more popular over the past few years.
Baby artichokes are mature and ready to eat. Bezart added that they are smaller because they grow toward the bottom in the shade of the large, frond-like leaves of the artichoke plant. Babies are sold in a variety of ways; loose, in plastic bags or trays. Just like so many other items in the produce department, these tray packs have become very popular to the consumer in the past few years. Bezart said the new two-pack should be extremely popular with consumers.
California
Artichokes
Crop Size:
Similar to '99
Peak of the Season:
April and May
Merchandising Tip:
Stress how easy they are to prepare
Consumer Tip:
Keep them refridgerated
Fast Fact:
Artichokes are flowers and will blossom
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Another way Bezart believes that artichoke consumption will rise in 2000 is an aggressive program of getting the artichoke message to a varied array of national magazines. "We have recipes in Better Homes and,Garden, Martha Stewarts Living and Gourmet Magazine to name a few," Bezart said. "We would like retailers to keep a close eye at their newsstands so they know that artichokes will be featured in many of these publications. We do not want them to miss an opportunity to sell more artichokes when they are being featured prominently."
Something else retailers should be looking for in the next few years is an artichoke that will make the produce department a little more colorful. Last year, Bezart said, Ocean Mist grew 1/4 of an acre of what are called red globes. "The red globe is an Italian artichoke that we grew from Italian seed brought from Italy. In 2000, we grew four acres of red globes which will yield only about 3,000 boxes, which means
that there will only be a limited supply. They are a beautiful red color and when cooled they turn a deeper magenta. This provides beautiful plate coverage. They are a green globe variety, but red."
She said that this year's limited supply will
be heading back east, but the future holds great promise for the red globe. "Although we haven't done any formal testing, I believe the flavor of the red globe is a little nuttier than the green globe. We will certainly increase acreage because the demand has been great and in the next few years you will see this in produce departments on both coasts. It will be marketed under Ocean Mist Red Globe."
Bezart added that food safety has been a top concern of Ocean Mist for many years and that audits and field testing for residues has been implemented for quite some time. 'We use Nutriclean for all of our artichokes and broccoli," she said.
Since first being cultivated in the Mediterranean region, artichokes have been on people's menus for thousands of years. And whether served hot or cold, with butter, mayonnaise, dip of choice or just plain naked, their popularity, and now their color, keeps expanding.
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