Volume: IX | Issue: 13 | Week of: April 1, 2015
Inside this issue:
Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe
1
Now Showing
1
Chef’s Table
2
New Items
2
Trivia Time
2
Cantaloupe—Tell More
to Sell More
3
Recipe
3
How to Pick the Perfect
4
Cantaloupe
Contact Information
4
Cantaloupes (Item #: 13031) are an
excellent source of both Vitamin A
and Vitamin C. A six-ounce serving, or
roughly a quarter of a melon, provides
100 percent, or more, of the U.S.
recommended daily allowances of each
vitamin. Cantaloupes are also high in
dietary fiber as well as folacin; a
nutrient needed for growth and the
development of hemoglobin. All of the
nutrition in cantaloupes comes with
minimal calories. There are 60 calories
in a six-ounce serving of cantaloupe.
Cantaloupes contain no fat or
cholesterol.
Merchandise This Week for Sales and Profits:
 Apples—Bulk and Bag (Mix n Match)
 Navels and Bartlett Pears—Bulk and
Bag
 Strawberries/Glaze
 Grapes/Fruit Dip
 Cantaloupe/Mini-Seedless
Watermelons
 Asparagus
Refer to Page 3 for a great cantaloupe
article, including a sales strategy for
your produce department
(Cantaloupe—Tell More to Sell
More).
 Green Beans
Shopping Tip
Refer to Page 4, How to Pick
the Perfect Cantaloupe.
 MLB Brewers/Tigers/Twins Bag
Peanuts
Storage Tips
Place the cantaloupe in a paper bag,
close, and leave on your counter to
speed ripening.
Seven Layer Dip
Now Showing
Store ripe cantaloupe in your
refrigerator at home for up to four
days.
 Sweet Corn
 1015 New Crop Sweet Onions/
Bag Potatoes
Chef ’s Table
Tired of eating cantaloupe only for breakfast? This
is a fun and delicious way to have cantaloupe at any
time of the day.
French Dressing Cantaloupe Salad Recipe
New Items
 6/15.2oz Bolthouse Farms Blueberry Banana
Almondmilk
 6/32oz Bolthouse Farms Blueberry Banana
Almondmilk
 8# Florida Peach
 Organic Honeydew Melon, 10ct
 Organic Tommy Atkins Mango, 12ct
Ingredients
 2 tablespoons white sugar
 2 teaspoons paprika
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
 1 clove garlic, minced
 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
 1 pinch cayenne pepper
 3/4 cup vegetable oil
 6 cups baby arugula leaves
 1/4 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, cubed
 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, cubed
 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
 8-10 strips bacon, cooked
salad dressing is thick and creamy.
2. Place the arugula leaves into a salad bowl, and
sprinkle with the cantaloupe and avocado pieces.
Drizzle with the salad dressing, then sprinkle
with toasted almonds and bacon to serve.
Your partner in the produce aisle,
Directions
1. Whisk the sugar, paprika, salt, mustard, vinegar,
garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper
together in a mixing bowl. Slowly drizzle in the
vegetable oil while whisking rapidly until the
Chef Nate
Trivia Time
True or False: Cantaloupe is named after the papal gardens of
Cantalupo, Italy, where some historians say this
species of melon was first grown.
Page 2
Cantaloupe—Tell More to Sell More
Background: Cantaloupe is available to us year round, See below for a refreshing Cantaloupe Agua Fresca
spring through autumn from California; otherwise from recipe. Agua fresca is a light fruit drink popular
throughout Mexico. It is simply made, by blending fruit
Central America.
with water, a bit of sugar and a little lime juice. Begin
Choose: Refer to Page 4, How to Pick the
with sweet, juicy melon, or your fruit drink will have a
Perfect Cantaloupe.
very light flavor.
Store: If you receive ‘sweating’ cantaloupe at time of
Nutrition: Fat and cholesterol free. High in vitamins A
delivery, keep them out of refrigeration until dry to
and C.
avoid mold from developing on the melon rinds. To
hasten ripening, leave them in the shipping carton out of To Sell More: Display in center-aisle when quality is
refrigeration. At home, customers can leave cantaloupe strong. Use a table, waterfall, or case-stack. A sign with
simple ripening and cutting instructions will help
on their counter, and put it in a closed paper bag to
customers feel more confident.
speed ripening. Store ripe cantaloupe, refrigerated at
home, for up to four days.
Sources: www.whfoods.com, PMA Nutrition and
Prepare: Be sure hands, utensils and surfaces are clean. Produce Labeling Guide, 2009, The Packer 2014 Fresh
Rinse melon under clean cool running water and gently Trends
scrub surface with a brush. Cut off the stem end and
discard. Cut melon in half. Scoop out seeds. Remove
remaining rind. Slice to desired portion size—chunk,
melon ball, spear, or wedge. Immediately and always
refrigerate cut melons at 40 degrees or below.
Cantaloupe Agua Fresca Recipe
Ingredients
 8 cups cubed seeded cantaloupe
 1 cup water, divided
 1/3 cup sugar, divided
 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
 4 cups club soda, or seltzer water, well chilled
 mint leaves, for garnish, optional
Directions
1. Combine half the watermelon, half the water
and half the sugar in a blender; puree. Pour
through a coarse strainer into a large container.
Repeat with the remaining watermelon, water
and sugar. Stir in lime juice. Refrigerate until
well chilled, about 4 hours.
2. To serve, stir in club soda and garnish with a
mint leaf.
Servings: 10
Page 3
How to Pick the Perfect Cantaloupe
Cantaloupes can be identified by the characteristic
system of ridges that encompass the outside of the
rind and look almost as if the fruit is covered in a net.
Look for cantaloupes with prominent, cream-colored
ridges. It is perfectly normal for one side where the
cantaloupe has touched the ground as it grows in the
field to be lighter in color or to have smoother ridges.
The stem end of the cantaloupe should be smooth and
well rounded. For most cantaloupe varieties, no
remnants of a stem should be attached. Cantaloupes
will easily slip from the vine during harvest when they
are ripe. When in doubt,
use the smell test—
cantaloupe ripens from
the inside-out and will
continue ripening after
harvest. A sure sign of a
tasty, ripe melon is its
sweet, musky aroma.
Answer: True.
Russ Davis Wholesale
“Serving you for over 50 years.”
Jamestown, ND
Inver Grove Heights, MN
1411 17th St. SW
Jamestown, ND 58401
888-702-4739
701-252-2633
Fax: 701-252-2946
6085 Claude Way
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
800-645-2720
651-645-2720
Fax: 651-645-9639
La Crosse, WI
3145 Airport Road
La Crosse, WI 54603
800-214-4981
608-788-1700
Fax: 608-788-5862
Russ Davis Wholesale
266 4th St. NE
Wadena, MN 56482
800-332-7104
218-631-3070
Fax: 218-631-5068
www.russdaviswholesale.com
Merrill, WI
1200 Commerce St.
Merrill, WI 54452
888-539-2803
715-539-2800
Fax: 715-539-2899