Dave's Market Update 10.02.2015

IN FRUIT

As the summer months come to their end we start to think about our favourite Autumn fruits. First the apple season is now underway with some really good quality new season Galas, many of which are grown extremely closely to us here in Sydney in this early part of the season. The crisp fresh taste of these apples is something I really look forward to each year they are a great addition to the school lunchbox. Cooler weather in the growing regions has improved the quality of this line dramatically in the last fortnight. A year ago these local apple growers were surrounded by bushfires, it is great to see mother nature helping them this year. The other new fruit is the Williams Pears, my favourite pear. Only around for a few months this is the pear we are famous for overseas. They tend to ripen quicker than later season pears and as soon as they start to turn yellow it is time to put them in the fridge. Autumn approaching means plums, figs and grapes all hit their straps. The plum of choice for me this week is the Dapple Dandy one of the blood plum types, absolutely fantastic to eat. For figs we are now into the second crop, a bit smaller but a sweeter better eating bit of fruit than the late December and January fruit. Our tray sale figs represent extraordinary value, usually with a smaller size piece of fruit. Of course late February is when our Aussie grapes hit their best as do rockmelons and this year is no exception. Berries are all good at the moment, no great bargains but none to dear all eating fantastically. We are now nearing the end of a great mango season however our Honeygolds are still in full swing and the Palmer variety has just started this week. These Palmers look quite different, a lot darker than we are accustomed to but also a good eating piece of fruit. We have a window of opportunity in grapes over the next few weeks with a very old fashioned tasty piece of fruit, those tiny little sultanas we all ate as kids. They are sweet and delicious.

IN VEGETABLE

Things are looking a little brighter in the vegetable category, especially salad lines where iceberg lettuce has eased in price considerably and telegraph cucumbers and cherry tomatoes round off the salad combination very nicely. A couple of figs from the punnets available at great prices in our shops this week or even a Palmer mango sliced up and added to the mix and you have the perfect meal for this warm weather. Hard produce continues to be great value with most potatoes, onions and pumpkin still quite inexpensive. Cauliflowers and broccoli are both easing in price so as always there are bargains to be had. Don’t forget Valentines day this week, lots of options at Harris Farm Markets for anyone looking to impress someone special.