Oppy offers an Oregon-grown taste of Italy
Sweet, juicy, and brimming with late-summer flavor, Italian-style prune-plums are available once again from Oppy in the legendary Blue Goose label.
The deep purple, free-stone fruit is available in 2-, and 1.5-pound high graphic bags, as well as 30-pound bulk boxes, through mid-September.
“We’re packing this year at Orchard View Farms, our premium Oregon cherry grower partner,” said Evan Myers, executive category director of South American Imports, who also oversees Oppy’s stone fruit business. “Orchard View now has the rights to the Blue Goose trademark. As a result, all the expertise and efficiency Orchard View is renowned for is being applied to the plum-packing process, and it’s showing in the quality.”
Prune-plums are a unique item with a distinctive regional appeal, said Myers continued. Grown by local small-scale farmers in Oregon’s Milton-Freewater area, prune-plums enjoy popularity throughout the major eastern U.S. and Canadian metropolitan areas, and intriguingly, Vancouver.
“It’s a traditional ‘old world fruit’ that occupies an interesting niche,” he said. “Wholesalers who serve neighborhood grocers in places like Chicago or New York can have excellent results with prune-plums.”
At the same time, Myers said, they are being discovered by younger shoppers eager to try something different.
“While prune-plums have been around for a very long time, they are still new to many who grew up enjoying other types of produce,” he said. “And because they have a uniquely sweet and juicy flavor, they earn attention and repeat purchase.”
The familiar Blue Goose label, which was established in 1927, has become a local, national and export favorite over the years thanks to the efforts of dedicated growers involved in the Blue Mountain Co-op, Myers said.
