9 Must-Have Vegetables for Holiday Cooking

Inspire new holiday flavor experiences for shoppers with specialty ingredients

LOS ALAMITOS, CA (November 2015) – Retailers need to make the most of holiday sales this season with a fully stocked produce department. One of the hottest trends in home cooking is putting a modern twist on traditional recipes by using new ingredients. While the mainstream holiday staples are in high demand, specialties are positioned to further bolster seasonal produce sales.

Frieda’s Specialty Produce recommends these nine, retro-chic top-sellers:

1. Pearl and Boiler Onions

Traditional creamed pearl or boiler onions get a modern treatment with white, red, and gold pearl onions.

2. Cipolline Onions

Roasted vegetables are always a fall favorite. These Italian miniature onions add just the right twist.

3. Shallots

With shoppers looking for fresh, unprocessed ingredients, crispy fried shallots are replacing the canned fried onions commonly used to top holiday green bean dishes.

4. Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a must-have, but some shoppers will be looking to wow their families with a colorful new sweet potato dish.

5. Colored Baby Carrots

Beautiful heirloom root vegetables add more than just orange to your holiday table.

 6. Parsnips

These underappreciated root vegetables play well together with sliced sweet potatoes on a roasting pan in the oven.

7. Baby Potatoes

Nobody’s knocking mashed potatoes, but whole-roasted baby spuds are where it’s at for holiday cooks.

8. Colored Cauliflower

Colored cauliflower in purple, orange, and green demand shoppers’ full attention as they shop for holiday menus.

9. Sunchokes®

Sunchoke purée used to be something you’d only see on a restaurant menu. Now home cooks are impressing their dinner guests with these knobby little roots.

These nine holiday essentials are ready to ship. Interested retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice distributors can contact Frieda’s to order or for product information and high resolution images to assist with any marketing needs.

(Click on each image to view full size.)

About Frieda’s Inc.

Frieda’s Specialty Produce celebrates a 53-year legacy of inspiring new food experiences for friends, family, and food lovers everywhere. Credited with introducing more than 200 specialty fruits and vegetables to U.S. supermarkets, Frieda’s has helped introduce unique items like Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes, Sangria Artichokes, Habanero Peppers, Sunchokes®, and Organic Finger Limes. Founded in 1962 by produce industry icon Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, subject of the 2015 documentary “Fear No Fruit,” the family company is now owned and operated by Frieda’s daughters, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins in Orange County, California. Inspire. Taste. Love.