Melissa’s Produce Has Just the Ticket
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
With autumn leaves falling, if you’re still longing for a summery taste of the tropics or a South Seas getaway, try heading out to the supermarket.
On a recent visit to Stater Brothers SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti came across a bounty of tropical treats just inside the entrance, beautifully arranged produce from Melissa’s, a specialty food company that provides produce from around the world.
Founded by Joe and Sharon Hernandez, Melissa’s has been providing fresh-from-the-farm produce sourced from local and global growers to restaurants and culinary professionals since 1984. The Los Angeles-based business has become the nation’s largest specialty produce company.
Now serving grocery stores, as well, grocery shoppers and visitors to its website can see what’s in season, get the latest harvest supply report, and find out what’s coming next.
SurfWriter Girls couldn’t resist looking at all the exotic fruits and vegetables and thinking about the countries they came from and the creative dishes we could make with them.
Strawberry papayas, blood oranges, finger limes, Kiwano melons, dragon fruit, Pinkglow pineapples, Passion fruit, Okinawan sweet potatoes, coquito coconuts, and more are currently center stage.
Seeing the beautiful fruits and vegetables on display reminded SurfWriter Girls of produce visionary Frieda Kaplan, the founder of Frieda’s, Inc. who revolutionized the food industry by introducing new produce that Americans had never tried before, including the New Zealand kiwifruit in 1962.
The country’s food knowledge has grown a lot since then, along with the desire to let our taste buds travel to faraway places. And lucky for us, produce suppliers like Melissa’s and Frieda’s have just the ticket.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.