I just read an article where the manufactures of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) have applied to the Federal Government for permission to use a new name on food labels. These manufacturers feel HFCS has gotten a bum rap over the last few years. There is fear among consumers regarding HFCS; consumers think that HFCS is more harmful and more likely to cause obesity than ordinary sugar. This has led to a significant drop in consumption of HFCS, in fact it has fallen to the lowest level in 20 years. This perception apparently needs to change.
It appears that the manufacturers of HFCS put far more of their hard earned dollars into their laboratories than into their marketing department. They just can’t keep up with their pharmaceutical brethren when it comes to product names. When Big Pharma needs a name for a product they use obscure letters like V and Z and X and frequently end the name with a vowel. Pharma folks know how to name products! The HFCS guys are woefully inadequate. Could they use a Z or X or even a Q? No. So what name did they come up with? “Corn sugar”. Dullsville.
We here at Fresh Earth Farms put a lot of money in our marketing department. We realize that marketing makes or breaks a company or product. Without a strong marketing arm we are just a farm that grows vegetables.
So with the little bit of spare time our marketing group found today we felt it was beneficial to help out our fellow food creators and come up with a few new product names for HFCS.
Corn Fat.
Obesitose
That’s all we could come up with. As I said, we only had a little bit of spare time.
The nice thing about growing food instead of manufacturing it is that the food already comes with names. We have things called potatoes and tomatoes. Both great names. And everyone knows what they are. Granted sometimes other companies try to usurp these names for similar looking but not similar tasting produce (e.g. store bought shipped 1000 miles tomatoes). But for the most part the names we are given are good enough for us.
Speaking of product names, what products will we receive this week? Well, glad you asked. We should have potatoes (this week we will be featuring a russet potato – good for mashed potatoes!), winter squash (probably carnival or acorn as well as spaghetti and delicate), garlic (still chesnok red), onions, carrots, some peppers, some tomatoes, some tomatillos, some fennel, and finally the new item of the week edamame.
What is edamame? It is an immature, edible soybean popular in Japan, China, Korea and Denmark Township (OK, I just threw that last one in there since we enjoy it quite a bit). Edamame grows similar to other beans in that it is on an upright stalk with one to many bean pods hanging off the stalk. The pods tend to be hairy and contain two beans. The tricky part of Edamame is that once it is ready to be harvested it has to all be harvested. With green beans you have a window of several weeks in which to harvest the beans. Green beans do not all “ripen” simultaneously. With Edamame all the beans ripen at once. Actually they aren’t ripe yet, but if they are not picked they ripen and become far less palatable.
Edamame can be boiled or steamed. Salt can be added to the water for taste. Some people cut the ends off the pods before cooking; seems like extra work to me. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and serve. Eat edamame by popping the beans out of the pods – the pods are not very edible. Makes for a delicious snack, side dish or appetizer.
FruitShare We have a mixed box of apples and pears this week. The apples are HoneyCrisp and Gala. The pears are Bartlett and Starkrimson. The apples are ready to eat. The pears need a few days to a week on the counter to ripen. Pears are ripe when the neck gives to slight pressure.
CheeseShare We have Carlton Cream (“The soft, smooth texture of this cheese sets it apart from the others. It is almost spreadable when at room temperature, melts well, and has a buttery flavor”) and Garlic Pepper Haven (“This cheese is slightly softer than our Gouda’s and the flavors are nicely balanced, not overpowering”) from Green Pastures Dairy as well as cheese curds and butter from Castle Rock.
EggShare There is always EggShare
FlowerShare The flowers are done for the season. However we will have fall decorations coming up shortly. Look for gourds, pumpkins and ornamental corn in a future week. If any FlowerShare members want corn stalks please let us know. We cannot deliver them to drop sites but you are welcome to pick them up (once they are ready).
MeatShare No MeatShare until next month.
CoffeeShare I believe we have CoffeeShare this week.
And for you members who are not on Facebook (and really who can blame you?) here is a joke: Two potatoes were in an oven. The first potato says, “Man it is HOT in here!” The second potato says, “OMG a talking potato!”