Emerging Food Trends--Peruvian Items Are On The Rise

If you're involved in the ethnic foods industry (whether that's growing, selling, education, or just plain consuming), I suggest joining the Ethnic Greens and Herbs Workshop Facebook group.  This group was formed to disseminate helpful research information and news regarding the ethnic produce industry to growers, wholesalers, retailers, Extension personnel, researchers, and association representatives.  


Fellow blogger Kathy Kelley recently posted a link to the article "From Aji peppers, amaranth and pichuberries to purple corn and quinoa, Peruvian cuisine is hot, says Packaged Facts".  In the article, results from the 'What's Hot in 2014' survey of American Culinary Federation chefs shows that 57% of respondents "voted Peruvian cuisine the top trend in the ethnic cuisines and flavors category".  The article also reports that "the UN declared 2013 the 'International Year of Quinoa' (a Peruvian staple) and the Culinary Institute of America has declared 2014 to be the year of Peruvian cuisine".

So what kind of foods are popular with Peruvians?

• Purple corn- most commonly used to make chicha morada (a drink) and mazamorra (a pudding). 

  

  Purple corn being sold at a farm market. Photo taken by Kathy Kelley on a 2013 trip to South America.

• Aji peppers- a species of chili pepper.  Aji Amarillo, Aji Panca, Aji Rocoto, Aji Mirasol, and Aji Limo are the most commonly used varieties of Aji peppers in Peruvian cooking.

  

  Aji panca pepper.  Photo from TheHotPepper.com.

• Amaranth- a grain with a high nutrition value; the seeds are consumed whole toasted or milled into flour. 

  

  Amaranth harvest.  Photo from NationalGeographic.com.

• Pichuberry- a polyphenol-rich fruit.

  

  Pichuberry. Photo from LAMag.com.

• Pisco- a grape brandy produced in Peru and Chile.

  

  Two different brands of Pisco.  Photo from wikipedia.com.

Why is this trend important to you, the food producer?  Hispanic and Latino populations in the United States are seeing dramatic increases.  According to the 2010 Census, 16% of the US population were of Hispanic or Latino origin.  (The US Census Bureau defines "Hispanic or Latino" as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.)  The Census also shows that between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population grew by 43%, which was four times the growth in the total population.  

With this tremendous growth, Hispanic and Latino customers are not to be ignored.  Are you looking to expand your product line and/or market to a new target audience?  This might be your answer, but as always, do your research to find out if you should start selling any new product or marketing to a new audience.  

Guidance for Crop Insurance During the Drought

Much of Pennsylvania is an unwilling participant in the widespread drought that has led to agriculture being a daily national story in the major media outlets. For those farmers who produce crops covered by crop insurance, it may be time to make preparations for submitting a claim. Below is guidance that has been provided by Gene Gants, with the Pensylvania office of USDA-RMA. Maximizing the Benefits of Your Crop Insurance Policy   Your “Summary of Protection” or “Schedule of Insurance” should have arrived within a few weeks of you filed your acreage report. It reflected the information on which your 2012 protection is based.  Compare it to your acreage report to make sure that it is correct.  If there are discrepancies, contact your insurance agent immediately to get it corrected, otherwise it could adversely affect your premium bill and/or claim payment.   Reminder and Guidance on Reporting Damage or Loss:  Crop damage or loss reporting for the insurance policy for most crops requires that written notice be given to your crop insurance agent (by crop by unit (farm)): • Within 72 hours of discovery of damage or loss, • 15 days before harvest begins **, and • Within 15 days after harvesting is completed but not later than 10/20 for corn harvested as silage; 12/10 for grain corn and soybeans. • A pre-harvest appraisal is required for most direct marketed crops • Don’t destroy evidence of damage until a loss adjuster evaluates it!   File timely notice with your county FSA office too, as you may be for some disaster benefits.   **Prior Authorization is Required to Leave Sample Rows for Yield Determination:  If loss adjusting workload does not permit appraising damaged crop acreage before you are ready to start cutting silage, prior authorization must be obtained from your insurance company, through your crop insurance agent, before sample row areas can be left for later yield determination.   For this reason, it’s important that notice of damage be filed with your crop insurance agent as early as you determine that damage occurred so that harvesting is not delayed.     Cutting Damaged Corn for Silage:  If you plan to cut damaged grain type corn for silage, it’s important that the grain content be determined before harvesting regardless of whether you insure on a tonnage or grain yield basis.  If you insured on a grain basis, a loss is determined by comparing the revenue or yield guarantee to the appraised yield (times the October CBOT average price for the December contract for revenue protection).  If you insured and harvest on a tonnage basis and your grain content is significantly below normal (less than 4.5 bushels per ton), the grain content appraisal becomes the basis for quality adjustment which may reduce the amount of silage tonnage that counts against your guarantee.   Additional details are available from a crop insurance agent.