Cantaloupe is a part of the Cucurbitaceae family, along with honeydew melons, watermelons, and cucumbers. Other names for cantaloupe include muskmelon, mush melon, rock melon, and Persian melon.

Not only does cantaloupe make an easy, refreshing summer snack, but promotes health as a source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Their high water content and fiber helps prevent dehydration and constipation. Cantaloupe is a rich source of Vitamin A and C. Vitamin A contributes to the growth and maintenance of all tissues in the body, including those in the skin and hair. Vitamin C enables the body to produce collagen, which provides structure to cells, skin, and hair.

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Chinese mustard greens, also known as gai choy in Cantonese, is a type of mustard plant. Chinese mustard greens are common green vegetables served as a side dish or appetizer. They are full of nutrition and low in carbs. You can braise, saute, blanch, or pickle them.

Chinese mustard greens are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K. They are high in antioxidants and fiber, help lower cholesterol, detox liver and blood, and packed with phytonutrients. Read more about their nutritional profile here.

Preparation

Because of it’s peppery and bitter mustard flavor, kai choy is often blanched in boiling water first to remove some of the bitter taste. The best way to clean is to first, dice it into roughly 1-inch sections, and then thoroughly rinse them in running water.

For storage, place the greens in a sealed bag or container and store for up to three days.

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Limes (Citrus Aurantifolia) are a fruit in the citrus family. Limes are believed to have originated in the Indonesian archipelago and were first grown on a large scale in southern Iraq and Persia. They are now grown worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas. The fruits are edible and the acidic juice and the fruit’s zest (the outer layer of peel) are used for its flavor in cooking or beverages.  Limes are high in vitamin C and interestingly limes exceed lemons in both acid and sugar content.

Preparation

Tips for squeezing the most juice from citrus:

• Use a reamer or other citrus juicer
• Rolling the fruit on the counter helps burst some of the individual segments
• If the fruit has been in the fridge, putting the fruit for 20-30 seconds in the microwave on high helps the juice flow more easily. Let it cool for a minute before juicing.
• Cutting the fruit lengthwise instead of crosswise makes the fruit easier to grip and squeeze by hand

Tips for zesting citrus:

• Wash the fruit before zesting then peel only the outside colored part of the peel (the white part is more bitter)
• For strips/ ribbons use a micro-plane zester
• For larger strips use a peeler or knife
• For very fine pieces use a grater

Interchangeable substitutes:

• 1 tsp fresh lime zest
• 2 Tb fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp dried lime zest
• 1/2 tsp lime extract
• 2 tsp grated candied peel

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Hawaii’s bananas are called apple bananas because of their slight apple-like scent. This hybrid cultivar of two wild species is commonly grown in Southeast Asia, South America, and Hawaii. Apple bananas are sweeter, shorter, and usually thicker than the average banana, making them a perfect snack! They have a slight tang to them with tropical, flowery, and fruit notes.

Preparation

Sometimes you may have a banana that still has a green skin. Give it a few more days and wait until the skin is nice and yellow. When ripe, you can peel off the skin and bite right in! Black-brown markings are not a sign of spoilage, rather they indicate a sweetening of flesh. Peel and freeze your brown bananas to be used later in smoothies and other recipes (like banana bread).

Storing

Store avocados at room temperature, keeping in mind that they can take 4-5 days to ripen. To speed up the ripening process, put them in a paper bag along with other ripe fruit (apple, banana, avocado, etc.) When the outside skins are black or dark purple and yield to gentle pressure, they’re ready to eat or freeze.

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This Week’s Box Featuring Avocados – Week of Aug 16, 2021

This week we have some beautiful Avocados from Kamaaina Land.

The Avocado tree is an evergreen tree that attains heights of 40 to 80 feet and has many branches. The avocado fruit may be round, pear shaped, or oblong, and the skin of the fruit may vary in texture and color. The skin may be pliable to woody, smooth to rough, and green-yellow, reddish-purple, purple, or black in color. The flesh of the fruit is greenish yellow to bright yellow when ripe and buttery in consistency, but inferior varieties may be fibrous. The avocado fruit has one large seed which makes up to 10 – 25% of the fruit weight. The fruit of different avocado varieties may vary in moisture and oil content, from less than 5% oil to more than 30% oil. Avocado fruits range from 0.25 lb to more than 3 lb in weight.

Storing

Store avocados at room temperature, keeping in mind that they can take 4-5 days to ripen. To speed up the ripening process, put them in a paper bag along with an apple or banana. When the outside skins are black or dark purple and yield to gentle pressure, they’re ready to eat or refrigerate.

Preparation 

Wash them before cutting so dirt and bacteria aren’t transferred from the knife onto the pulp.

While guacamole is arguably the most popular way to eat avocado, you can also puree and toss with pasta, substitute for butter or oil in your favorite baked good recipes, or spread or slice onto sandwiches.

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Avocado
Local Harvest

Citrus
Kamaaina Land Nursery

Sweet Corn
Aloun Farms

Japanese Cucumbers
Ho Farms

Romaine Lettuce
Sensei Farms

Sweet Potato
Adaptations

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