IN FRUIT
Grapes are still fantastic. This week we will change over from Menindee seedless, a rounder berry with a tough skin but very sweet, to Thompson seedless, the longer berry with a softer skin that now runs through to May. The red seedless get better every week, however its white seedless for me at the moment. Don’t forget February is rockmelon month, they are great this week. Passionfruit are sweet and juicy, my wife Cathy and I are spooning one over our blueberries in the morning, it’s a real treat. Figs are sensational, and plums are now a serious option to peaches and nectarines. Sugar plums are my pick of the plums this week and we are seeing the first of the extremely popular Queen Garnet in the stores this week. I think it’s about time to choose nectarines over peaches, but that said the white peaches I tried yesterday were very good eating. Williams pears and Gala apples are joined by Australian Nashi pears this week. I tend to associate these new season pome fruits with the change of season from summer to autumn.
IN VEGETABLES
There is always something in the vegetable world that is a bargain. This week for salads, baby cukes and medley mix tomatoes certainly hit the spot. The baby cukes are a tender and delicious small Lebanese cucumber that are just fabulous in salads. Medley mix tomatoes as well as looking sensational are full of flavour and again make a salad. Add a palmer mango (on special in all our stores) and a couple of ripe figs and you have a wonderful meal, not just a salad! Zucchinis just grow and grow in this warm weather and so they are cheap. Again as an addition to, or on the side of your salad, raw zucchini sliced thinly through a mandolin then soaked in lemon juice with salt makes a salad. Green beans, most cucumbers, imperfect sweet potato, eggplant and onions all represent excellent value this week.
