Keystone Fruit Marketing, a division of Progressive Produce, is known for its year-round onion program. "No one knows its Walla Walla sweet onions better than commodity manager, Dan Borer," a release from the company said. Sales and marketing manager, Andrea Scroggs, talks to him about the upcoming Walla Walla season and what makes this sweet onion so special.
Left to right: Andrea Scroggs, Dan Borer
What can you tell us about the outlook of this year’s crop so far?
Good quality and an early start.
I’ve had the honor of working with this unique group of growers – all different backgrounds and personalities – who have all come together to provide a beautiful onion for customers. What it’s been like for you to work closely with them over the last several years?
These growers are second and third generation growers who are building on experience of the past and are putting their stamp on the crop with modern farming and management practices with impressive results.
Borer says this year's Walla Walla crop got an early start.
What makes the Walla Walla sweet onion so special? How is it different from other onions in Keystone’s program?
Because Walla Wallas are an open pollinated onion, we grow our own seed which requires a whole other level of care to produce a good quality sweet onion.
We can’t forget about the heirloom Rose. What can you tell us about this onion?
Like a Walla Walla sweet, the Rose sweet bulbs are hand selected for seed. Though it’s a pain staking undertaking, it's produced an outstanding tasting sweet onion.
What is your favorite way to use Walla Walla sweet onions in your kitchen?
Bar none--grilled!
Anything else you’d like to add?
We are seeing a trend in general in onions moving to smaller consumer packaging. For this reason, we have made a big investment in equipment at the packinghouse to meet this demand.
For more information:
M. Andrea Scroggs
Keystone Fruit Marketing
Tel: +1 (717) 597-2112
ascroggs@keystonefruit.com
https://www.keystonefruit.com/