Can-you-dew-it? Yes you can! March 6, 2006

I love Bob the Builder, that Canadian claymation contractor, if for no other reason that he exists in a world where happiness comes from having a pleasant conversation with an anthropomorphized backhoe. That’s the life for me – chatting up boisterous bulldozers or offering a bit of advice for a down in the dumps dump truck. Sure, I’ve been kicked out of my share of building sites for conversing with the construction equipment, but I’m always very respectful and never discuss depreciation.

I mention this because the world of fantasy is alive and well in the world of marketing. We are all guilty of it at some level – telling stories lends itself to embellishment and fun. But when I heard this week that there was an organic grower who was producing a “Can-A-Dew”(cross between a Cantaloupe and Honeydew) the name caught my Bob and me the Builder sunny-side-is-always-up excitement kicked in. The voice in my head said: “Should I buy it? Eh, I should!” I don’t speak Canadian, so I called my friend from Vancouver to translate. I had said: “Should I buy it? Yes, I should!”
The small, organic Can-A-Dew, is in the Horn of Plenty and organic crates this week. It is a bit of a departure for us in that it is not something that can be eaten out of hand but must be cut. It is a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of thing that I thought you’d enjoy – it’s unique and tasty.

Essentially, once we get past the cool marketing name, the reality of this organic melon is it is a unique winter variety of the Galia melon. It looks like a Cantaloupe on the outside and is green like a Honeydew inside. To judge its ripeness, put your two thumbs on the bottom of the stem end. It is ripe when it gives slightly under pressure. If you have a Steve Austin bionic melon eye, you can notice a nuanced change to the color behind the netted skin from a green to a lighter green when it is ripe. Cut and enjoy with friends at the office, it’s a neat treat.

Ataulfo Mango

The Ataulfo Mangos are here. Those crook-shaped, yellow mangos are sometimes also referred to as “Champagne” or “Manilla” mangos. They are very sweet, and my personal opinion is that they are the best tasting of the mango varieties we put in the crates. I learned recently that mango trees (Mangifera indica) are a distant relative of the pistachio and cashew trees. Mango skin contains an irritant compound similar to that in the cashew (don’t eat the skin).

Enjoy & be fruitful! – Chris Mittelstaedt chiefbanana@fruitguys.com