Dave's Market Update 20.10.15

IN FRUIT

Seedless melon has eased considerably in price this week. At nearly half the price of last week and quality superb seedless melon is a must for this week’s shopping basket.The Northern Territory mango season has hit a bit of a hurdle. Inconsistent temperatures during the winter months have resulted in an uneven flowering which translates to a stop start sort of a season. One positive is that the Katherine part has started and the eating quality of the Kensington pride mangoes are amazing.

IN VEGETABLE

Spring heralds strong supplies of fresh peas and broad beans. Whilst peas can generally be sourced for the majority of the year, they rarely get down to these prices - except in spring. Broad beans on the other hand is a seasonal product. Fresh broad beans are sweet and delicious pod beans that have a beautiful smooth creamy texture. They only have a short natural season during the spring. Choose young thin beans as they are more tender and sweeter than larger beans. Excellent spring growing conditions has also seen some magnificent quality in locally produced leafy vegetables. Largely from suppliers within the Sydney basin, vegetables such as English spinach, kale, basil, shallots, red radish, rhubarb, Dutch carrots, continental parsley, silverbeet and Asian greens are all excellent quality. Lebanese cucumbers also flourish in these warm conditions are in supply and excellent value. The perfect complement to any salad or sandwich, these cucumbers are by far the most popular cucumber these days. Loose corn has been in short supply but some excellent growing conditions up north have seen a good supply and prices have eased considerably. A worthy mention is the bi-colour corn which is a super sweet variety of corn and well worth a try.