I spoke with a representative from Mirabel, a grower based in Quebec, who also offered a lettuce product packaged with roots still attached. He said the company has been offering it for years, but it’s been getting more popular. Aside from making a nice centerpiece for a table (see left), the company rep pointed out that the lettuce can last for 20 days, which is 10 days longer than the company’s product without roots.
There were also lots of beautiful varieties of tomatoes. I’ve heard from growers in the past that heirloom varieties have been selling well, and this emphasis on taste in tomatoes could be seen on the floor. Lots of these were packaged as a specialty product, such as the tomatoes pictured on the right from Redsun's artisan line.