IN FRUIT
Perfect for those hot days is some cool seedless watermelon. There are strong volumes in the market at the moment and prices are very reasonable. The abundance of blueberries continues this week with prices about as keen as it gets for this time of the year and the eating quality is exceptional. Limes are increasing in supply and net limes, in particular, are excellent value this week. There are some good numbers of passionfruit and figs in the markets, the figs are great eating right now. Grapes from Mildura in the south are increasing in supply with the fruit quality improving all the time. Tasmanian apricots are now available - this year there is a lot of smaller fruit around which eats great and is great value this week.
IN VEGETABLES
Mother nature can be a difficult business partner at times. The heat wave last week impacted many of the growing regions with many lines adversely affected. In these situations, I recommend keeping purchases as close to the day of use as possible as to avoid disappointment. Many vegetables will simply not have the shelf life that is normally expected. Leafy vegetables, broccoli, lettuce and cauliflower all particularly affected. In better news, there is a strong supply of Broccolini, sweet corn, sweet potato, kumera, zucchini, sugar snaps, snow peas and loose beetroot. Snake beans from the Sydney basin are well supplied and a fantastic option to substitute green beans which are heat affected. On the tomato front, we are seeing strong volumes of Truss tomatoes around the markets. In snacking tomatoes, the sweet delights and Samparis are available this week in good volumes. An old-fashioned tomato is the ox heart tomato. The ox heart tomato tastes the way we remember tomatoes tasted years ago. It is one of the tastiest varieties available and the perfect accompaniment for the summer salad.
