8 - 14 January 2018

FRUIT

Mid-season varieties of peaches and nectarines are aromatic and extremely scrumptious. Both white and yellow fleshed stonefruit are available. Serve peaches or nectarines char-grilled with rocket & leg ham on toast for breakfast or lunch. Nectarines and peaches are $4-$10 a kilo, depending on variety and size.

Bananas are top value at $1.50-$3 a kilo.

Premium quality mangoes from Mareeba are plentiful. A nice sized mango from your local greengrocer is $2-$3.50 each or pick up a whole tray for $25-$35. Stay cool with these three ingredients Creamy Mango & Passionfruit Pops are delicious treat.

Snap up sweet eating late season cherries both red and white cherries are in season. Cherries are coming from South Australia, Tasmanian and Victoria. Cherries are superb quality with a good shelf life and prices have eased to around $15-$30 a kilo, depending on variety and size.

There’s nothing like a bunch of crisp chilled, glistening grapes as a snack or to compliment a rich cheese platter, but how about heating things up? And what’s hot this season is grape salads with roasted grapes. Roasting grapes really accentuates their sweet flavour, adding syrupy vibrancy to leafy green salads, cheese boards and natural yoghurt. Select from Menindee, Crimson Flame seedless, and Midnight Beauty for $6-$12 a kilo, depending on variety and try roasting up a bunch.

Juicy and plump with a sweet-tangy flavour, early plums varieties are a good quality and a choice buy at $3-$15 a kilo. There are several varieties to select from including Blood plums available for short time. Pan-Stewed Plums with Vanilla are perfect for breakfast or dessert.

Berries are plentiful. Serve chilled wedges with blueberries at $1.50-$4 a punnet, raspberries are $4-$6 a punnet and blackberries are $3-$4 a punnet.

Luscious, juicy and refresh lychees are a summer favourite at $15-$30 a kilo.

Pick up extra sweet rockmelon for $2-$5 each or fridge size mini lee watermelons, these small melons weigh about 2-3 kilos each and a super sweet and flavoursome, expect to pay $5-$6 each.

VEGETABLES

Golden cobs of Hawkesbury grown sweetcorn are in season and now available for 50¢-80¢ a cob. Add sweetcorn to fritters, salads or burgers. These Corn, Coriander & Chicken Burgers are perfect Summer holiday fare but then again so is barbecued sweetcorn.

Summer is the peak time for richly flavoured tomatoes. With so many different varieties to now available, it’s the perfect time to enjoy a range of tomatoes with different shapes, colours, textures and flavours. This Myanmar inspired tomatoes with coriander, green chilli, peanut & lime pesto recipe is refreshing and delicious.

Sydney grown Cos lettuce is a top buy this week at $1-$2 a head. Add some crunch to your salads with Crisp Cos.

Snake beans are good value at $1.50-$2.50 a bunch. Snake beans have a taste and texture similar to a green bean and are sold fresh tied in loops. To prepare, cut beans crossways into lengths, microwave, boil, steam or stir-fry.

Zucchinis are a breeze to prepare. No need to peel, simply slice, dice or grate. Their mild flavour makes them a hit with the kids. Add them to pasta dishes like this Zucchini, tomato & basil spaghetti with ricotta, rissoles, risotto, cakes and salads. Large zucchinis are $2-$5 a kilo.

Machine harvested green beans are a thrifty buy at $3.50-$4 a kilo. Hand-picked beans $8-$10 a kilo. Mix it up and try the golden coloured butter beans at $8-$10 a kilo. Teamed with green beans they look and tasty superb. Fresh herb salsa with BBQ beef & bean salad.

Summertime is the best time to enjoy locally grown eggplants. There is so many ways to enjoy eggplant, roasted, grilled, barbecued or baked. Eggplants are $3-$6 a kilo.

FLOWERS

Bright up your home or office desk with flowering gum, sunflowers, hydrangea, lisianthius, zinnia, dahlias, pineapple lilies, bouvardia, tuberose, zinnia, oriental lilies or water lilies, amaranthus, lupins, lotus pods and a super range of greenery. To obtain the maximum vase life, remember to trim the stems and refresh the water every 2 days.

Prices quoted in this report are only relevant for the week of the report. All prices are estimates only as prices vary depending on variety, size and quality of produce and the trading area. For further information please contact Sue Dodd, Marketing Consultant on 02 9325 6200.

Published On 2018-01-08 15:35:00