You can find grapes in the grocery store year round, but fresh from the vine California grapes can only be found in the summer and fall. In the audio clip below, farmer George Matoian tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that 99% of the grapes produced in the United States come from California and harvest in the biggest grape producing areas has begun and will continue into November. He says early harvest began in May in the Coachella Valley, with the San Joaquin Valley harvest just now getting into full swing. While shoppers generally think of grapes as green, red, or black, there are more than 90 varieties grown in “The Fruit Basket of the World,” aka central California’s San Joaquin Valley, with more being developed each year.

Matoian raises fruit on a fourth-generation farm near Reedley, CA. He’s part of a group of family farmers who pooled their marketing muscle under the Mountain View Fruit Sales banner. Their Estate Vineyards brand of table grapes are available in black, red and green grape varieties and Matoian says, “This year’s harvest promises to deliver exceptional quality grapes, with maximum berry size on the first varieties to be harvested.” He estimates the crop will come in at about 94.5 million boxes, with each box containing 19 pounds of grapes. That works out to just under 1.8 billion pounds of grapes.

He says 30-35% of the crop will be exported to Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Central America, and Singapore. There is competition from other countries, such as Chile, and while grapes are available year-round in Chicago stores, there’s a good chance summertime grapes are from California. Matoian adds that he and his fellow farmers would appreciate it if you would “support the California growers.”

Matoian says 100% of the grapes are picked by hand, and the growers rely on immigrant farm workers do to the work. “We love them,” he says, adding, “it’s almost like a partnership. They feel like they’re involved in the company and have a real sense of pride in the end product as they pack those bags and boxes of grapes.” It isn’t easy work, and right now, it’s hot work. Temperatures have routinely been above 100 degrees in early and mid-July, so the vineyard work begins at sunrise, around 5:30 a.m., and ends before it gets too hot, around 10 or 10:30 a.m. Matoian says fruit growers in California, as did farmers across the Midwest and nationwide, struggled with finding and keeping workers through the visa programs. But he says over the last couple of years the process has become easier and there’s now a good balance of work and workers.

In the 91-year history of Whitey’s Ice Cream in Moline, Illinois, Sweet Corn Ice Cream has never been one of its flavors. Until now. In the audio clip below, Annika Tunberg, vice-president at Whitey’s Ice Cream, and a third-generation family member to run the chain, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander how the concoction came about and, most importantly for the doubters, how it tastes. (For the doubters, Annika says she understands, but it really is good.) Whitey’s is a vendor at the annual John Deere Golf Classic in the Quad Cities, and when Deere wanted to feature a special ice cream flavor for the 2024 event that celebrated farming, someone came up with the idea of marrying two of the Midwest’s most important commodities: corn and dairy. Thus, “Awww Shucks,” sweet corn ice cream was born, complete with sweet corn flavoring and chopped up kernels of corn mixed into the vanilla ice cream.

Shouts of “Blasphemy!” followed by the loud clanging of a bell are what happens when a customer orders ketchup on their hot dog at Michiganders Windy City Diner. Despite being 150 miles away from Chicago, the family-owned and operated diner brings an authentic taste of Chicago to Windy City transplants in southwest Michigan. In the audio clip below, owner and founder Andra Lee tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that when she relocated across the lake to Michigan after a lifetime in Chicago, she missed authentic Chicago staples, like Vienna Beef hotdogs, and brats, and sausages, and Italian Beef, and others. So, she quit her corporate job and opened the diner in Portage, Michigan, just south of Kalamazoo. After opening in March, business is good with Chicago transplants and locals enjoying the Chicago favorites. Lee says she occasionally needs to instruct newbies to eating an Italian Beef on “The Stance” for properly eating the sandwich. Not only is the menu authentic, so is the decor. Lee says instead of going with sports-related posters like many Chicago diners do, she opted for the movies: films shot in Chicago, such as “Blues Brothers,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Untouchables,” “Some Like it Hot,” and others.

It seemed odd to WGN’s Steve Alexander that the dairy case of U.S. supermarkets contained so much butter and cheese made in Ireland. So, he asked Kate Saul, vice president of marketing at Evanston-based Ornua Foods North America, how it happened. In the audio clip below, Saul says the Kerrygold story began more than 30 years ago with the goal of exporting Irish dairy products. It’s been a success: Kerrygold products are sold in more than 80 countries, including the U.S. Saul tells Alexander the milk comes from cows on more than 14,000 Irish farms, and while it may seem odd that an Irish dairy producer is thriving at a time when American dairy farmers continue to struggle, with hundreds going out of business each year, Saul says Kerrygold’s disruption of the market has invigorated the market and benefits all brands.

A farmer — let’s call him Old McDonald, because we do not know his name or much else about him other than he farms in Kentucky — was prepping a field to plant corn. He had plowed and disked and as he was walking the field, expecting he might find an arrowhead or some other relic that had worked its way back to the surface. His eye caught something glittering in the sunlight. In the audio clip below, Chip Polston, producer and host of Kentucky Life on Kentucky PBS affiliate KET, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander what happened after the farmer found one gold coin, then another, and another, and nearly 800 more Civil War-era coins. It became known as “The Great Kentucky Hoard” and Polston and his team put together a half-hour special about the anonymous, and now wealthy, farmer.

In the audio clip below, Amundsen High School teacher Andrew Breen tells WGN’s Steve Alexander dozens of students have turned out for the Seeds of Change Garden Club since it was started last fall. The school has a huge campus of mostly lawn that needed some TLC. Students, with a variety of reasons for joining the club, spent their spare time–even on weekends–eradicating invasive species, planting native varieties to help feed pollinators and wildlife (as well as some that are edible by humans), and building planter boxes for tomatoes and other classics. Breen, one of three sponsors of the club with fellow teacher Todd Johnson and parent Jim Javenkoski, says Seeds of Change club members are slowly transforming the campus into a much friendlier place for the environment and climate. The community benefits, too, with a Native Plant Sale on June 1st, and giveaways during the summer of the veggies and fruit raised by the students.

When Prairie Farmer Magazine posted notice of its “Favorite Farm Dog Contest,” Devin Bollman and Dalton Johnston decided they’d send in photos and a story about Kay, their one-and-a-half year old border collie. After all, she had become so good at rounding up chickens and cattle on the couple’s Cass County farm where they raise Shorthorn cattle that she was doing the work of a couple of farm hands. She was a natural from the beginning, a born prodigy, Dalton told Prairie Farmer. “She never had any training, her herding instincts were immediate.” In the audio clip below, Devin tells WGN’s Steve Alexander more about Kay, including how she got her name.

Chicagoans have long loved their Italian Beef and the iconic sandwich gained worldwide popularity from the TV series “The Bear.” Years before the TV show debuted, a suburban chain, Beef Shack, upped the ante with its Cheezy Beef version of the sandwich served on fresh garlic bread buns. In the audio clip below, Beef Shack CEO Daniel Perillo tells WGN’s Steve Alexander some of the secrets to the chain’s success, which includes a recently opened sixth Chicagoland location in Oswego. Three more stores are planned for this year in Glen Ellyn, North Aurora and Crystal Lake. Perillo says Beef Shack’s philosophy has always been to keep the menu small with custom rolls from Chicago’s Turano Bread that are baked fresh daily, and fries that are fresh cut right in front of the customer and fried immediately before being served. He says all sandwiches are made fresh, nothing is frozen. In fact, there are no freezers in the restaurants. Beef Shack is family owned and operated with seven family members involved. Dan Perillo founded the restaurant in 2012 after a long career in the food service industry, including 10 years as president of Rosati’s Pizza.

Sumaiya Vahora and Humera Roaf were teaching at the same Chicago school when they started sharing their dreams. Sumaiya wanted to own a bakery. Humera wanted to own a business that gives back to the community, especially women who were trying to enter or re-enter the workforce. Sumaiya began baking custom cakes at home while balancing a teaching job and three young children. She’d get them to bed by 9 or 10 p.m., bake until three a.m., then grab a few hours of sleep until it was time to start the day again. In 2021, they pooled their dreams together and in August of that year, in the height of the pandemic, they opened Sweet Reserve Bakery in Lombard. In the audio clip below, the ladies tell WGN’s Steve Alexander that with everything locked down, they improvised and found a big market in selling cake jars — just what it sounds like, cakes in jars — that people would use as a way to celebrate birthdays, etc., but still avoid possible transmission of COVID. The cake jars kept them and their dreams afloat and post-pandemic, Sweet Reserve has become a favorite of people who enjoy the fusion of eastern flavors (Sumaiya is from India, Humera’a family is from Pakistan), with all ingredients made from scratch. Their biggest seller is Ras Malai Tres Leche, a cake that celebrates the Latino dessert tradition with a Pakistani flavor twist. Defying the doubts of many people who said the two were crazy to leave their jobs and start a bakery, especially in a pandemic, Sweet Reserve has done so well in Lombard, the partners are expanding to Skokie. There’s a grand opening at 3 p.m. on May 10th at 4845 Oakton Street. More locations are in the plans for this year, as is a 501(c)(3), Sweet Reserve Foundation, where Humera and Sumaiya will continue their efforts to help women in need.

The Instagrammable tulips in the medians of Michigan Avenue are there by design. The chief designer is Kris Sorich, the Senior Landscape Architect at CDOT, the Chicago Department of Transportation. In the audio clip below, she tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that each July, she decides what colors of tulips she wants to see bloom the following March and April, the bulbs are ordered from the Netherlands, and in November, they’re planted by A Safe Haven, a non-profit with a job training program for the homeless and veterans. Sorich says if the weather cooperates, there will be three magnificent blooms: early, mid, and late. As May now approaches, the late bloom is about to begin. After the show’s over, the folks at A Safe Haven go back and remove the plants. She says the bulbs are given to the Chicago Community Growers Association, which sponsors a tulip bulb giveaway on the West Side. And about Ms. Sorich’s familiar name: Yes, she hears all the time about how much her name sounds like that of Chicago football legend Chris Zorich.