Artichokes are one of the most colorful vegetables that Seagate grows. These artichokes are grown by Seagate on their own farm and delivered to their factory on the day that they are harvested. There are very few steps involved in the processing. The artichokes arrive in 1-ton plastic totes directly from the farm that is 20 miles outside of the town of Ensenada.
The artichokes are loaded into a large stainless steel rotary wash tank.
Artichokes grow on top of the dirt. It is necessary to first remove the soil particles that have accumulated in its leaves in the wash tank prior to processing. The wash tank operates very similarly to a clothes washer, with its slowly rotating perforated stainless steel cylinder immersed in a tank of water.
The agitation of the artichokes colliding into one another as the tank rotates, loosens the dirt which accumulates in the water. It is necessary to perform several wash cycles and drain this water tank until all of the muddy wash waster disappears and the water no longer turns brown. The artichokes are then loaded into one of Seagate’s freeze-dryers and dried under deep vacuum.
Seagate manages to keep their artichoke plants producing throughout the year.
As the artichoke heads are carefully harvested without hurting the plant, new balls will begin to sprout and grow.
Artichoke is one of those vegetables that everyone knows is very important to eat. However, very few people take the time to prepare it, and deal with peeling the endless leaves to reach the small central core. Artichoke is a non-fat, non-cholesterol, low-carbohydrate, high-fiber and high antioxidant food, that helps as a digestive aid, and supports liver and gall bladder function.
The fish picture of the week is a juvenile barracuda, four feet long. While its teeth are sharp and look ferocious, this young fellow followed Richard around for over an hour, staying very close to him, just like a little puppy dog. It was difficult to take pictures of other fish having this dive buddy observing at close range.