Limes can be substituted for lemon, with few exceptions

Excerpts from a Miami Herald article by Kathleen Purvis

Lime and lemons can be used interchangeably in recipes. Besides a slightly different taste, there are few instances where it will matter. Limes are a bit more floral, even if the lemon juice is acting as a thickener, such as in a lemon curd or lemon pie, the lime juice should still have enough acidity to do the job.

One instance in which you cannot swap is when you are canning tomatoes in a boiling-water canner. Recipes for canning tomatoes call for commercial, not fresh, lemon juice because the percentage of acidity in fresh fruit can vary widely, from 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent. (It depends on how old the fruit is, the season when it was picked and even how rainy it was.)

You need a dependable level of acidity to make tomatoes safe for canning, so you should always use bottled lemon juice if the recipe calls for it. And you certainly shouldn't swap in lime juice.

Top 10 Ways to Enjoy Papaya

Excerpts from an article from Fruits and Vegetables Matter More.


1. A Tangy Appetizer. Serve papaya strips with thin slices of prosciutto as an appetizer. Drizzle lightly with lime juice.
   


2. Picnic with Papaya! Serve this delicious Avocado Papaya Grapefruit salad at your first spring picnic.
   


3. The Perfect Mobile Snack. Try dried papaya for a sweet treat, or add chopped dried papaya to rice pilaf.
   


4. Do Papaya Popsicles. Freeze spears of papaya on a stick for a summertime treat.
   


5. A Unique Dessert. Bake an unripe [mature] papaya. Cut papaya into quarters and remove seeds. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Put a little bit of water in a baking pan and add papaya. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. Serve hot.
   


6. Grill ‘em! Cut in half, scoop out seeds, and grill until grill marks appear.
   


7. Papaya Salsa? Absolutely. Try our Papaya and Black Bean Salsa with chicken or fish, or dip some chips!
   


8. Sweet Salad. Add papaya chunks to chicken, tuna or shrimp salad.
   


9. Smoothies. Add with strawberries and bananas to a smoothie.
   


10. Get Exotic! Add an exotic twist to your fruit salad with papaya.

Brooks Tropicals' avocados handsomely displayed

Food Safety Audit Certificates

Food safety audit certificates for Belize and Homestead, now available.

In the avocado groves

I've been waiting for the clouds to clear to take some shots of the avocado harvest. The other day I finally got some blue sky.

Again Homestead food safety audits achieve superior scores

The Homestead food safety audit scores are in and again Brooks Tropicals achieves superior scores of 99% and 97%. "Superior" is how Primus Labs describes the scores.

The audits took place on June 2nd. The Cooling and Cold Storage facility obtained a 99% with the Packing House coming in a close second at 97%.

Food safety audits are extensive reviews of the buildings and outside perimeters. Packing materials, chemical storage, cleaning utensils, pest controls, equipment and vehicle use are all visually checked. Auditors also want to see extensive documentation showing that procedures and training are in place to follow food safety guidelines between official audits.

Congratulations Packing House and Shipping docks!

More at-home consumption

Excerpts from a 06/08/2009 article in The Packer by Jim Offner

Mary Ostlund, marketing director for Homestead, Fla.-based Brooks Tropicals Inc., said she anticipated no problems caused by the down economy.

“As far as I can see, folks are cooking more at home, and they are looking to vary their menu to make it more exciting, get their families to eat healthier,” she said. “I’m not seeing a big impact from the recession at all.”

Brooks will be working with individual retailers on customized promotional programs, Ostlund added.