What's Ripe: Ring in the russets

Out with the old and in with the new. New-crop russet potatoes are being dug in California, Colorado, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Acreage is up this year, so we should see better supplies. Most of the crop is still in its final month of growth, so until it's dug, a lot can happen to the size and quality of a spud.

These new-crop russets will be hitting the produce shelves as "fresh dug" potatoes. That means they have not been stored. They go from the field to washing, to sorting, to packing, to the shelf. This could mean that the spuds haven't fully dried from the washing. This is important to determine. Check your bagged spuds to see if they are wet. If they are, you must dry them out, or decay will set in. Simply open the bag, gently dump out the potatoes in a cool, dry area. Once the spuds and the bag are dry, you can reload the bag for longer storage.

Even at higher retail prices of $2.99 to $3.99 for a 10-pound bag, or loose russets at 69 cents per pound, potatoes are one of the best values in the produce department, providing your body with more energy per penny than any other fruit or vegetable.

-- Michael Marks

In the bins	Growing area	Nutrition	Price	Buying tips
Apples	Washington, California, New Zealand	fiber	99 cents to $1.99 per pound	Grocers are having trouble filling their apple displays because of very low supplies. That means prices will be at their highest of the year. A new crop is just starting.
Artichokes	Castroville	folate	$1.59 to $2.49 each	The early fall crop is just starting. The fall 'chokes will be more pointed and thorny, and the meat will be tougher than usual -- but the flavor still will be good and nutty.
Bartlett pears	California, Washington	natural sugars	89 cents to $1.29 per pound	Because the California crop was so late this year, Washington pears have already starting hitting the market, producing great retail prices as the supplies overlap.
Cauliflower	Salinas	low calories	$1.39 to $1.89 each	This is a great vegetable value right now. You might detect some slight "creamy" color to the head, but that doesn't affect quality at all.

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.