What's Ripe: Can we talk squash?

The other night was the annual Sneak Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night. This time of year, there's a lot of zucchini to be seen -- too much for many people. But may I suggest that there is a whole wonderful world of summer soft squash beyond Italian zucchini and yellow crookneck. In the middle of summer, we start seeing other varieties in stores and at farmers markets: gold bar and round zucchini, gray squash, green scallop (also known as Patty Pan) and sunburst scallop, just to name a few.

Because there are no natural oils on squash's skin, they dehydrate quickly, so refrigerate them in a plastic bag. Most will retail for around 79 cents to 99 cents per pound, and most are being grown either locally or in Fresno.

Summer squash is tailor-made for the season. It has few calories and is full of moisture, and our bodies need fewer calories in the summer -- and we certainly need more moisture on hot days.

In cooking summer squash, simplicity is best. Sauté it in a little butter, with some red onions or shallots and garlic. Grate some fresh Parmesan cheese and dice some fresh basil or parsley on top.

-- Michael Marks

In the bins	Growing area	Nutrition	Price	Buying tips
Asian pears	San Joaquin Valley	low calories	$1.39 to $1.79 each	The new crop is just arriving, so over the next month or so supplies will increase -- and that means prices will drop.
Hass avocados	Southern California	vitamin E	$1.25 to $1.69 each	As the California crop comes to an end, we will see prices jump to around $2 each, until Chilean fruit starts showing up in September.
Blackberries	Watsonville	vitamin A	$1.50 to $1.99 a basket	Open the container in the stores: The larger the round drupelets on the berry, the sweeter the berry. If the berry is really shiny, it's fresh.
Grapes	San Joaquin Valley	antioxidants	$1.49 to $2.49 per pound	There currently is a wide price range because there is a wide range of berry sizes and color on the red grapes -- caused by the July heat wave.

Source: Michael Marks, known as "Your Produce Man" during the noon news Mondays on Channel 13 (KOVR), has been in the produce industry for more than 25 years.