Dave's Market Update
In Fruit
“New season Kanzi and Jazz apples are in stores, however the pick in apples this week are Royal gala apples. Sourcing primarily from Orange in the central west of NSW. The fruit is eating well and excellent value this week.
For something different this week, try a Fuyu persimmon. From far north Queensland Fuyu fruit are well priced and excellent eating.
Pomegranates are back in price this week. Coming from South Australia and Victoria the quality is excellent and is the perfect accompaniment for any salad.
The peach and nectarine season is winding down; however, the plum season is in full swing. Still picking fresh plums, they are a great option over the next few weeks. Plums can be a convoluted space with so many different varieties. Unfortunately, many do not eat. The fresh buying team have done all the work for you ensuring all the plums in store are good eating. The imperfect plums included. Great eating at a fraction of the price of the premium fruit!
This week, we transition from the Western Australia Hass avocado season to the Queensland Shepard avocado season. The Shepard season is a relatively small window around 6-8 weeks. Even allowing for the abundance of rain the region has experienced in recent times the quality of the fruit is very good.
- Carlo Ceravolo
In Veg
The last few weeks have been difficult for vegetables in the markets. This week, that all changes with the markets well supplied across mainly of the mainstream vegetable lines.
Cauliflowers have been very expensive. This week, we have cauliflowers on promotion in all stores at a red-hot price. Coming primarily from Werribee in Victoria and Tasmania the quality is fantastic.
Broccoli is also very well priced. Broccoli is coming from Tasmania and Victoria is also on promotion in all stores at a super keen price – the quality is amazing.
Hand-pick beans have also been expensive for an extended period. This week, they are considerably back in price and excellent value.
Look out for a super promotion across the snacking tomato range in all stores this weekend. Other notable mentions this week in the vegetable space include snackable carrots, net red caps, coriander, basil, imperfect kumara, and imperfect zucchini.”
- Carlo Ceravolo
Dave's Pick of the Week - Shepard Avocados
"This week, we will transition from the black when ripe Hass avocados to Shepard avocados. These are a green skinned variety and won't change colour. A gentle squeeze that has some give in it will tell you when they are ready to eat. Like all tropical fruit, they are best out of the fridge, only refrigerate when ripe and then only for a day or two.
Unlike the Hass variety, Shepard's only grow in tropical North Queensland and are the main avocado on sale from now until mid-April. In total, they represent about ten per cent of Australia’s avocado crop. They are the first avocado of the year and have a nutty flavour and buttery texture. The old season Hass will still be in some shops this week, but this is the time when they start to cut black so look for the green skins.
Shepard's are easy to distinguish from unripe Hass as they are much longer and more elongated and will be a more reliable option than the Hass variety. One thing I really like about this avocado is that when you cut them, they don't go brown."
- David Harris
HOW TO PICK
Shepard’s don’t go black on the skin as they ripen, you must judge the ripeness by the feel of the fruit. Pick avocados which give gently when pressed on the top end.
HOW TO STORE
Store unripe fruit at room temperature. Once ripe, store in the fridge.
Recipe Inspo
