IN FRUIT
Christmas week is the highest demand for fruit of any week in our year. This means that if any product is in short supply then it becomes outrageously dear. The other difference to a normal trading week is that everyone wants absolute premium product as their fruit will likely be on display for family and friends to comment upon come Christmas day. This year supply of most products look to be quite reasonable and so we don’t think there will be any significant spike in prices.
Mangoes have tightened a little. Honeygolds which are still from Katherine in the Northern Territory would be my pick of the lot. All imperfect mangoes this week are Honeygolds and by Thursday we will have a tray line of these in our stores. If you prefer the Kensington Pride flavour these have come very good again with our premium stacks both fantastic fruit, not cheap but top quality.
Cherries are definitely dearer than normal this year but the cherries we have are superb. Look for premium 2kg cases, that would be my recommendation.
In peaches and nectarines, the white peaches are ripening and eating beautifully. Lychees are excellent, berries are well supplied, and our larger packs of strawberries are ideal if you have a big gang around on Christmas day. Personally I love boysenberries which are not as popular as the other berries. Don’t forget no berries keep for long at this time, leave buying them to Friday or Saturday please.
Grapes are now fully in season and the whites would be my pick here. Finally with avocados, the Reeds represent the best value per kg of fruit. They are not as big as in previous years but are a fantastic option to the traditional Hass variety.
IN VEGETABLE
By and large the vegetable supply is good for Christmas. Beans and Broccolini (but not Broccoli), Brussel sprouts, new season local Snake beans and Black zucchini are all well supplied to provide a green veg for the Christmas meal. All varieties of sweet potato are now available again and not overly dear. Tomatoes are not dear, in fact if you want a real treat try our Ox Heart or Cherry Truss or Cocktail tomatoes - all really flavoursome excellent fruit.
Lots of good salad options as the weather has really improved all around the country. Baby fennel (excellent if you are doing a baked dinner for Christmas), Baby cues, Iceberg lettuce, Rocket (often unprocurable at Christmas) and all of the living exotic lettuces are great quality and well supplied. So enjoy your Christmas day, I hope we have been able to supply what you were looking for on this wonderful day of family festivities and feasting!
