Dave's Pick of the Week & Market Update - 1 November 2023
Dave's Market Update
In Fruit
“Great week for all berries this week. Nothing is dear, nor especially cheap but all very affordable and excellent quality.
My pick this week is blackberries because it’s the cheapest they have been for quite a while. Mangoes are still great value. Our stacks are now all Katherine fruit which is far superior to the Darwin fruit in terms of its keeping qualities however imperfects are where the bargains are to be had. Seedless melon is excellent and way back in price and avocados continue to be very good.
We have our first cherries in store this week. I am usually very wary of the early fruit, however this fruit is a new variety, the Royal Tioga and are quite a decent cherry. It looks like our best cherry season for years coming up.
In Veg
Plenty of everything again this week. Starting with tomatoes where we have Tiny Toms on special and Cherry Truss as with last week, great value and Sweet Delights all well priced. All cucumbers are cheap and great quality. Iceberg lettuce very reasonably priced. A great week for a summer salad.”
- David Harris
Dave's Pick of the Week
“Just a few years ago, we only had the traditional wild varieties and the season was 4 or 5 short weeks late January to early March. Forward to today, we have fabulous, sweet, juicy plump varieties nearly twelve months of the year. Blackberries are now around twenty five percent of our berry category.Many of the commercial farms now have thornless varieties which makes the harvest far less problematic. They become more popular every year and sales will soon equal strawberry sales! They are really plentiful this week, so make sure to look for a bargain in your local HFM store.”-David HarrisHOW TO PICK:Look for plump, firm, fully black berries.HOW TO STORE:To store blackberries, put them in a shallow container and place them in a cool spot or in the refrigerator as soon as you can after picking. Fresh blackberries are very perishable and should be eaten or frozen with two or three days of picking.Blackberries freeze well, and frozen berries can be used for making ice creams, sherbets, pies or dessert sauces. To freeze them, just arrange them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour or two, then pour the frozen berries into a large plastic bag or container. Frozen, they'll keep for as long as 10 months.
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