Dave's Market Update
In Fruit
For many families, it’s all seafood and of course seafood needs lemons, so all our stores have either a premium or an imperfect lemon to help make that happen. We have lots of other fantastic fruit on offer as well. Raspberries are definitely the pick of the berries, incredibly inexpensive for such a high demand period. Be particularly wary of strawberries this weekend, you will be lucky to get them home from the shop without loss, stick to the raspberries please.
We have a fabulous selection of grapes this weekend. My favourite is the black muscatels, they are eating fantastically but yes, they have seeds which seems to mean they are not on the shopping list of anyone under fifty but for we 70 plus year olds, we love them. By far, the most popular grape at the moment is our super premium extra-large white seedless grapes, dear but look and eat the part to adorn every easter feast table.
Other great fruit available includes of course avocados. We are at the crossroads of changing from old season West Australian Hass variety fruit, lots of people prefer to stick with these until the end of March, others prefer to change to the new season Shepards. We have Shepards either a premium or an imperfect on offer in all HFM stores this week.
Bananas are still cheap at HFM. They are of course the healthy snack. Imported navels are still fantastic and the first of the Aussie fruit is just around the corner. Finally, figs are still very good but again the end is near. The NSW stores have an excellent punnet fig until easter Thursday, hopefully after that, transport permitting.”
In Veg
“Difficult week this week. We are seeing short supply with growers reticent to commit to high transport surcharges (thanks Donald) and general uncertainty if product will be delivered in a timely manner, and 4 days with only a very restricted Saturday market.
Any way at this stage, we do still have some very good value lines, this could change by Sunday and/or Monday. Top of the list is broccoli and cauliflowers. Both are top quality and a great price.
Fennel is cheaper this week. It goes well with seafood, and my favourite autumn veg, corn, at this stage, every shop has either loose or pre-packs at a fantastic price. As well, our old reliable bags of carrots are wonderful value. Tomatoes have shortened up particularly the snacking varieties; I guess all good things come to an end.
Enjoy Easter with your family and please drive safely, remember the slower you drive the less fuel you use.”
- David Harris
Dave's Pick of the Week - Shepard Avocados
The Shepards only grow in far North Queensland for a couple of months a year and are fantastic to eat. They don’t change colour as they ripen, so to test for ripeness give it a gentle squeeze and if the fruit has some give in it, then it is ready.
Don’t store in the fridge until its ripe and then don’t store for long. Their best attribute is they don’t go brown when you cut them."
Recipe Inspo
