The Market Report, July 18

I went round two with my beloved strawberries. And this time, I carried them around in a bag and begged for people to try them, like some bizarro, reverse homeless person. The consensus was that of deliciousness, with comments focusing on the fact that these are not necessarily sweeter, but infinitely more strawberry-y. I would love to give recipes on how to use these guys, but to be honest I have never done anything but eat them out of the bag. Anything else would be too much static on their clear flavor.

But, interestingly enough, I went one for three with my purchases. If you were to survey a gaggle (technical term) of locavores on their favorite Colorado fruit, it would probably go something like this: 1. Peaches! 2. Cherries  3. More peaches! 4. Everything else.

I am such a fan of local food, but more for quality reasons than karmic reasons. When our stuff doesn't cut it, I'm happy to let you know -- like now. The peaches I got were kinda flavorful, better than a supermarket peach, but not by much. And the fact that those pretty peaches were bruised more than a chef's ego when he gets something sent back was of great detriment.

When I get peaches from a man wearing a hat that says, "National Peach Council" after waiting in a line that's ten deep, I'm kinda ALWAYS expecting perfect peaches. I don't think that's too much to ask.

The cherries left a little to be desired as well. As in, the majority of them were at a level of squishiness that I would not electively eat them. But I bought them, and as I work through the bag, I notice that a few are actually rotten, and most are just soft. Their flavor is good, but they are almost overwhelmingly sweet, like I'm dipping normal cherries in simple syrup before I pop them in my mouth.

The biggest issue I have with all of this is the money spent. I never feel like I'm getting ripped off if the food I get is of great quality, but the contents on my cutting board were $14. That's a lot of money for fruit. Fruit that, for the most part, wasn't incredible. How 'bout them peaches?