FreshPoint

Produce 101: Banana Guide

Produce 101: Banana Guide Bananas are one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world, and believe it or not, are actually a berry.  Bananas are grown in over 150 countries, but actually don’t grow on trees.  Fun fact: botanically, bananas are herbaceous plants, not trees. Trees have bark, these don’t. Most common variety...

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Produce 101: Peppers

Produce 101: Peppers — Let’s Start with Chile Peppers Chile peppers have long been used as a flavoring agent in cuisines around the world.  Food anthropologists believe that the cultivation of peppers began in Central Mexico around 6,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest domesticated crops still in production. Peppers were not only...

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Produce 101: Potatoes

Dan talks about potatoes–a vast category. Here he goes over the basics to get it started in Produce 101: Potatoes. History The potato is one of the most important agricultural crops in the world, ranking 5th. Long revered by ancient cultures in South America, it is believed that potatoes have been cultivated as a food...

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Fresh Things Video: Using Sea Beans

Hi I’m Chef Dan with FreshPoint, and I often get asked how to use sea beans.   I like ’em raw, thrown in a salad, or even as a garnish. It adds a bright crunchy texture with a vibrant salty flavor. They get their name legitimately It does taste of  salt water and of the sea. More...

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Produce 101: Cruciferous Vegetables

Produce 101: Cruciferous Vegetables Here, Dan talks about cruciferous vegetables–a vast category, also known as Brassica. Here’s the basics you need to know to get started. History Cruciferous, or brassica, vegetables are an amazingly diverse group of vegetables, ranging from stalky items such as broccoli, to leafy greens such as arugula and even root vegetables...

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Produce 101: Asparagus

Produce 101: Asparagus Dan spearheads a discussion on asparagus in this edition of our series, Produce 101. Asparagus History Asparagus is a true harbinger of spring, though these days, it is available year-round. Related to the onion, this member of the lily family has been grown for thousands of years, in fact, we have historical...

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Fresh Things Video: The Difference Between a Mandarin and an Orange

Hi, I’m Chef Dan, and one of the questions I get asked all the time is: “What is the difference between a Mandarin and an orange?” Well, there’s a few differences They’re both in the citrus family, and they both have that wonderful bright slightly acidic sweetness. Mandarins are smaller than regular oranges. Typically much...

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Root Vegetables and Tubers

Root Vegetables and Tubers: A Brief History Before the widespread domestication of plants, our earliest ancestors foraged for wild root crops, like carrot and beets. Later cultivated, these underground riches included nutrient-dense root vegetables and tubers with limitless culinary uses.  Now a common food staple, these nourishing veggies became fundamental ingredients of regional cuisine across...

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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...

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Fresh Things: What Do You Use a Shallot For?

You may have seen shallots in the kitchens before on all the cooking shows and you may wonder, “What do you use a shallot for?” What do you use a shallot for? Well, traditionally, it’s always been used like garlic, as the base of certain ingredients. Classically, in French cuisine, the sauce beurre blanc always...

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Fresh Things Video: What is an Heirloom Apple?

You may be wondering, what is an heirloom apple? While there is no true consensus on what defines an heirloom apple, most botanist and food scientists tend to agree that any variety released from 1945 or earlier qualifies as an heirloom. You may wonder why 1945? There’s a watershed moment in history, World War II...

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Fresh Things Video: Is a Quince a Pear or an Apple?

Fall is just around the corner, and I’m always asked, “is a quince a pear or an apple?” The answer isn’t as simple as you might think. It’s related to both, but it’s really neither. You can’t eat them raw because they’re super astringent. When you bite into a raw quince it isn’t gonna hurt you...

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Fresh Things Video: The Best Apples to Cook With

Apple season is upon us. So what are the best apples to cook with? I get asked often which variety of apple is best to cook with, and it’s really hard to beat the Granny Smith. It’s my all-around favorite for the kitchen; great flavor with a subtle acidity, and a deep dense texture that...

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Fresh Things Video: Why Do Cranberries Float?

A few things are as a ubiquitous with the fall season as cranberries are. The history of cranberries is fascinating. The first commercial crop was in Massachusetts in 1816, native tribes used cranberries to make a meet based snack known as “pemmican”, which is very similar to beef jerky. The pemmican sustained them through the...

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How do you eat a pomegranate?

The pomegranate have become an incredibly popular menu item, both for their delectable arils and their delicious juice. Prized since antiquity, pomegranates have a deep cultural and religious history.     What is the history of pomegranates? Well, indulge me for a bit, I need to geek out a little.  Native to the region stretching...

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Fresh Things Video: What do Figs and Wasps have in common?

Hi I’m Chef Dan with FreshPoint, and well, I offered to shoot this video only wearing a fig leaf, but…well, you’re welcome… (Thanks Dan!) So figs and wasps have a unique relationship. Why is that? Well the fig tree isn’t pollinated by bees like most other crops. It’s actually pollinated by the fig wasp. Even...

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Fresh Things Video: Different Types of Heirloom Tomatoes

Now that the summer harvest is upon us, the tomato bounty is here as well. Exactly how old are heirloom tomatoes? What is an heirloom tomato? I brought along a few today, and you can see that they’re a little lumpy. They’re different colors, but boy oh boy, do they taste great! What are the...

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Fresh Things Video: What is a Hatch Chile Pepper

The Hatch chile pepper harvest has begun. It’s a three week season, very short, and people in New Mexico go absolutely crazy for these gems. So what is a Hatch chile pepper? Much different than a traditional bell pepper–it’s a variety of Anaheim pepper grown in Hatch, New Mexico. Picked green it’s used in chili...

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Fresh Things Videos: Types of Papayas and How to Use Them

What are the different types of papayas and how to use them? Hi, I’m Chef Dan with FreshPoint, and I have a couple different papayas to talk to you about today What can you do with papayas besides eating them as fruit? They’re great meat tenderizer. They have an enzyme known as papain that breaks...

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Fresh Things Video: Can you eat the kiwi skin?

Hi, I’m Chef Dan with FreshPoint, and I’d like to talk to you a little bit about kiwi, and whether or not you can eat the skin. I’m old enough to remember when it came out in the 70s and created quite the splash in the culinary world. Can you eat the kiwi skin? The...

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