We cannot respect each other if we do not respect our produce. Something happened today which concerned me. I was at a neighborhood produce stand I often frequent. I'll call it Marco's (not the real name).

As I was rounding up my Fuji apples, Yakima asparagus, Romaine lettuce, Vidalia onions, garlic, bananas, peaches, strawberries and mangos, a guy about 65 or so was looking over the lemons. So was I, because Chicken Vesuvio was on the menu (it turned out smashingly, by the way).

I could tell he was looking for some good ones, but didn't know how to tell. Sure enough, he shouted out, "Marco, how do I pick a good lemon, anyway?"

And then Marco said, "Close your eyes and pick one."

I puckered instinctively, having just seen that most there were quite unsuitable.

I'm no lemon nut, but my mother was - still is, actually.

She squeezes about one whole into each of her many cups of tea. Which may explain why, early on, our firstborn used to suck raw lemons until they were completely dry, with great, great relish. Freaky I know, but now at age 7.66 he only eats crackers, juice, yogurt, steak, tuna, baked oysters, shrimp, corn, grapes, apples, bananas and strawberries. (Actually, that's not so bad, is it?).

Well anyway. Every time Mom sent me to Pete's grocery store, on E. 55th Street, between Cornell Blvd. and Hyde Park Blvd. in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, back in 1960-something, there were only a few things on her list.

Too often calf's liver, but that's another story (or perhaps not). If I was lucky, V-8, Triscuits and Fritos might be included (our family's version of decadent snack food). One thing was for sure: lemons, usually about a dozen. IF their condition warranted, and only if.

Mother's lemon specifications were very exacting, and as it turns out, utterly, completely correct. Thin skins, and some real give on the flesh when you squeeze. Thick-skinned, hard lemons were to be avoided at all costs.

SO, I shared this hard-won knowledge with the man at Marco's, who was quite receptive. I tried to be tactful, briefly explaining to Marco, who was listening in, that I had a bit of a history with lemons, although not really by choice.

Marco said nothing, but shortly afterward re-asserted control (he is known to do that). He called me over, and trimmed four ears of sweet white corn, insisting I take them home for just $1. Which I did happily. He's basically a good guy who runs a pretty good produce stand.

And I'm sure he really knows better about lemons.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at May 11, 2004 09:03 PM

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