Locally grown fruit leads the way this week at your local fruit and veg shop with excellent quality pineapple, grapes, and watermelon from Chinchilla providing top value. Skewer fruit on kebabs, make a salsa, toss it in salads or juice for a refreshing drink. The options are endless.
Ultra-juicy and crunchy new season Royal Gala apples are coming straight from Stanthorpe. Sweet and medium in size, Galas are a great all-rounder, ideal for snacking, baking, smoothies, or making sauces. Sweet eating William pears from Victoria are also in-season. For a simple salad, add sliced pears to rocket, walnuts, and parmesan cheese.
Nectarines and large peaches are at their peak, while figs continue to enjoy a bumper season and offer great value. Succulent plums are also plentiful at the moment. Expect prices to vary depending upon variety, shape, and size. Aussie favourite avocados are at a cross-point in the season, with the Shepard variety starting to come through from North Queensland while the Hass avocado from Western Australia is nearing the end of the season.
Chinese New Year is just around the corner, so why not try some exotic longans. Sweet and mild in flavour, longans should be firm and ideally in a bunch. In berries; raspberries and blackberries are of good quality but prices are at a premium with strawberries currently in short supply. Other great buys this week include mangoes, white seedless grapes, dragon fruit, bananas, limes, and lemons.
There are plenty of vibrant vegetables, brimming with goodness at your local fruit and veg shop this week, including Lebanese and continental cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, celery and eggplants. Good eating and in plentiful supply are both zucchini from Victoria and sweetcorn from Bowen. Combine grated zucchini with corn kernels, eggs, flour and spices like cumin, coriander and chilli to make classic corn and zucchini fritters.
New-season ginger, currently coming from New South Wales, is incredibly versatile and adds flavour to stir-fries, stews and soups. Store your ginger in the fridge to avoid mould growth. Asian veggies are in good supply, as are well-priced capsicums from Stanthorpe and South Australia.
Looking to bulk up your summer salads? Your options are great-value pumpkins and sweet potatoes in abundance from Bundaberg.
Make your plate healthier by adding well-supplied leafy greens such as kale, baby cos lettuce, bok choy, spinach and spring onions. Great value buys this week include baby broccoli from Victoria and green beans. For a quick side dish, sauté them with olive oil and garlic until they are vibrantly green and tender, then drizzle over lemon juice and roasted peanuts for added crunch.
This week’s hero is flavoursome nectarines from Victoria and South Australia. Look for fragrant, brightly coloured firm fruit with smooth skin. Due to its smooth exterior nectarines are also known as the fuzzless variety of peach. For a delicious dessert, try poaching fresh nectarines in rosewater and sparkling wine. Serve cold with a scoop of ice-cream.
– Produce report supplied by Brismark