Fruits of the Grocery

I've commented in the past about how much I enjoy fresh fruit, in the widest definition of the word; here's another small pleasure: instead of simply putting price stickers on each piece, American fruit distributors put colorful stickers on them with a 4-digit code for the checker that, when combined with the weight, yields the right price. Every apple, lemon, tomato and pear has its own; I especially like the one for Mexican "sweet" peppers from this Saturday's harvest at the Jewel (chain supermarket). Sweet indeed!

One of the great mysteries of the retail produce business, however, is why red peppers always have stickers and green bell peppers never do.