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soup, she suggested carrots.
“I don’t know,” I said, “carrots seem
pretty common for soups.” She responded that not a lot of people she knows make carrot soups.
I told her I was looking for something really different, a soup that would be filled with new and exciting ingredients. She apol- ogized but said she uses pretty common ingredients in soups — carrots, potatoes, peas, beans, etc. I even tried to help her by noting how the store had lots of mush- rooms for sale, including some that seemed interesting — oyster, hen of the woods, wild hedgehog, but the employee said she didn’t know a lot about mushrooms.
“How about a fruit salad? Anything exciting there,” I asked.
She suggested berries, again not terribly exciting, but we headed to the berry display. Then she again called over the produce manager, who suggested a mix of different berries, because they added color. She noted the blackberries and raspberries were a particularly good batch.
“What about golden berries?” I asked,
adding that they might be something new to try.
Now, in this instance the employee dropped some knowledge, informing me that they are indeed different from other berries because they were smooth in texture and would add a different color and a citrus flavor to a fruit salad.
She said she had never used golden berries in a fruit salad, but that it sounded interesting. So, I put a package in my basket and headed toward the checkout.
DRAGON FRUIT, PEPINOS, KUMQUATS AND STARFRUIT
It was a busy Saturday afternoon when I walked into the store, but that didn’t stop a produce staffer from generously spending time with me and listening to all my ques- tions.
And he was knowledgeable. When I asked for some suggestions that would make for a different and interesting fruit salad, he was quick to offer ideas.
The first was dragon fruit. “It has a mild flavor, but it’s very healthy and it looks cool,”
he said. He showed me a few samples, then told me how to incorporate it in my fruit salad. He said to cut it up and eat only the white part with seeds. “It almost looks like chocolate chip ice cream,” he said, going so far as to take out his phone and show me a picture of a cut dragon fruit.
Then he continued the ice cream compar- ison by instructing me to cut the fruit in half and use a small scoop to make dragon fruit balls for the fruit salad.
Near the dragon fruit was his next suggestion — star fruit. He told me this fruit was apple-like, crunchy and a little juicer than most apples. He said its flavor would complement berries and dragon fruit. He also suggested to cut it into star shapes to add a little “pizazz” to the visual appeal.
And he wasn’t finished sharing the joys of fruit varieties with me. “It wouldn’t be great with a fruit salad, but have you ever tried a kumquat?” he asked. I told him I hadn’t, and he told me they are like little oranges, but more tart.
As I put a package in my basket, he told me that even though the kumquat’s skin was
32ND ANNUAL
MYSTERY SHOPPER REPORT
32 / MARCH 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS