FreshPoint

The Honeybell Orange: a sweet, but short season

When my mother was a little girl growing up in Ohio, the real treat in her Christmas stocking was not the peppermint candy canes, but rather, an orange.  Land-locked Ohio was so far, far away from the swampy Indian River of Florida where she would one day move, that this edible gift was exotic and...

Read more

2019 Culinary Trends: What Our Experts are Talking About

Our experts are pretty passionate about produce. Here’s what they have to say on a few 2019 Culinary Trends they are reading about, eating, and seeing in the industry. Targeting Specific Diets Lisa Pettineo, Digital Marketing Manager The healthy eating trend has been around for years. Like Dan says below, the momentum of whole food,...

Read more

Fresh Things: How to Cook a Chestnut

Hi, I’m Francy Deskin with FreshPoint and today we’re going to talk about how to cook a chestnut. The best way to cook a chestnut is just like the holiday song would imply, roasting them over an open fire. Don’t have one of those? No problem…pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees then  you’re gonna take...

Read more

Why Clementines are Mandarins, but not all Mandarins are Clementines…

Clementines vs. Mandarins… When it comes to Clementines vs. Mandarins, the Mandarin is the master orange of the family, and Clementines, tangerines, and satsumas all fall under this umbrella. Referred to as mandarins because they are thought to have originated in China, and as they passed through the trade route across Africa (Tangier in particular,) they...

Read more

People, passion, produce, peas: shoots and tendrils

Continuing our blog about English peas, Marvin and I had a nice chat about another avenue of spring peas: shoots and tendrils. Marvin Wilhite of Cahaba Clubs in Odessa, Florida in the Tampa Bay area is a long standing business partner of Sysco/FreshPoints across the country, but here in Florida, we are fortunate enough to...

Read more

Honor Flight South Florida: Kelly shares her story

I had the honor to spend the day with Korean War Veteran, and new friend Garrison Arthur Phillips, along with 68 other World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam Veterans on the Honor Flight South Florida on April 14. I wanted to be a Guardian on The Honor Flight as a way to honor my...

Read more

Video: English peas–quick facts, and the best ways to use them this spring

Chef Dan talks to us about English peas, one of the true harbingers of spring. Did you know: most peas are not eaten fresh Only 5% of the domestic crop is consumed fresh. Since most peas are not eaten fresh, the vast majority of English peas are consumed canned, followed by frozen. Peas were first...

Read more

Everyone needs friends, including rhubarb

Good on its own, but better with friends. This could pretty much be the anthem of rhubarb, and life. There seems to be a dearth of recipes calling for simply prepared rhubarb, highlighting the spring seasonal freshness of this vegetable. Or is it a fruit? Technically speaking it is a vegetable, but here in the...

Read more

People, passion, produce, and peas.

Whoever said, “Like two peas in a pod” to describe people as being so similar as to be indistinguishable, or nearly so, really sold the English pea short. A good pea pod worth its weight in chlorophyll will have five to eight peas in it. Seven if you’re lucky! With their bright green color and...

Read more

Florida blueberries, no B.S. and more anthocyanin

I said it.  I meant it.  No B.S. Referring of course to the growing soil preferred by Florida blueberries.  Florida blueberries prefer acidic soil, and even the most-ungreen-of-thumbs, such as me know that manure is far too alkaline to contribute anything good to the terroir of Florida grown blueberries. Blueberries have not always been a...

Read more

Take Your Children to Work Day, FreshPoint South Florida style

This year, Florida moved the national Take Your Children to Work Day event from April to February 2nd, and boy did the children of FreshPoint South Florida have fun! The day started out with snacks (who doesn’t like to start the day with snacks?) and a meeting with the president, Clay Wachter. The day continued...

Read more

Video: Blood oranges and Cara Cara oranges

Dan and Francy talk to us today about Blood oranges and Cara Cara oranges.   I’ve brought along two varieties of oranges that I really love today. Blood oranges and Cara Cara oranges. The first one is the pink flesh Cara Cara orange. First discovered in Venezuela on a farm, in 1976. This was the accidental...

Read more

Blood oranges, anthocyanins, and…juggling…(yes juggling)

I grew up eating oranges off the tree in my Florida backyard, but it wasn’t until I was a first block culinary student at The Culinary Institute of America when I learned about blood oranges. I was instantly fascinated and enamored with their beauty and uniqueness.  And instantly horrified at the tale another student told...

Read more

Florida Lychee: limited season, limitless flavor

Francy heads into the cooler and talks to us about Florida Lychee! We are super excited that Florida Lychee are now in season. On the outside here you can see why some people would call them the Chinese strawberry, because it looks like a strawberry, with a bumpy leathery skin, but on the inside we...

Read more

Local Farm Spotlight with Tom West Blueberries

Local Farm Spotlight: Tom West Blueberries Tom West Blueberries is a 20-acre farm in Ocoee, FL. After World War II, Tom West returned to Ocoee, Florida, and began growing and harvesting citrus. Later, in 1954 he incorporated to Tom West Inc. In 1964, Tom was joined by his son Milton West in the citrus farming...

Read more

Local Farm Spotlight with Lady Moon Farms

Farm Spotlight: Lady Moon Farms Lady Moon Farms is a 2,400-acre farm in Punta Gorda, FL growing items such as lettuce. With a dream to live in the country, smell the fresh air and see the stars at night, Tom Beddard founded Lady Moon Farms in 1988 with his wife Christine on five acres in...

Read more

Employees Unite to Brighten the Holidays for the Disadvantaged

“Did you know FreshPoint supports hundreds of organizations throughout North America? We give MILLIONS of pounds of produce, we participate in hundreds of fundraisers, and we are very active with charities and special causes in our communities during the year and holiday time.

Read more

A Fresh Season of Generosity…

 

At FreshPoint, we are honored to give back to our communities. Below is a roundup of the generous contributions our employees and companies made during the 2015 holiday season.

Our employees not only donated toys, food, or money, in some cases, they also made a donation of their time—an equally precious commodity.

Read more

Back to School Drive

 

FreshPoint South Florida Donates School Supplies to Local Organization- Women In Distress

FreshPoint South Florida associates came together to help out. The children from this facility are affected by domestic violence, and Women In Distress is a safe haven for them and their families.

 

Read more