Week 40, 2015
30th September
Five Fruit with Fabulous Flavour:
- Turkish Figs
- New season English apples – Rubens joins Estivale, Zari, Cox, Worcester
- Mangoes – Spanish Osteen
- Mandarins – Iwasaki Satsumas and Clemenrubi Clementines from Spain; Nadorcott from South Africa and Peru
- Pears – Abaté Fétel and Comice
Mandarins: Joining the first Spanish Iwasaki Satsumas are the first Spanish Clementines of the new season. The variety is Clemenrubi (seen in Tesco so far), which is sweet and light in flavour. It is in marked contrast to late South African and Peruvian mandarins, such as Nadorcott (all stores), African Sunset (M&S), Orri (Sainsbury), Clemenor/Or (Asda, Waitrose) and Honey Gold (Tesco) which have great density of sweetness and flavour.
Apples: The deliciously crunchy Rubens (in Tesco) and the lovely nutty Egremont Russet (seen in Asda, Tesco) have joined the plethora of varieties from the new English apple season. My pick of the other varieties are Zari (in Sainsburys), Scrumptious (in Tesco, Waitrose) and Estivale (in Waitrose, M&S).
English Royal Gala is also becoming widely available: a good, sweet and plentiful apple (also from France, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Germany).
Pears: The ‘Queen’ of pears, English Comice, have been spotted in Tesco, and the fragrant Abaté Fétel from Italy is in Sainsbury and Lidl.
Figs: Tasty Black Bursa figs from Turkey are still abundant, and other varieties will be available in independent stores and markets. Try to find the darker coloured Bursa with a delicate velvety softness, as these will be sweetest.
Mangoes: The Spanish mango Osteen, is deliciously fragrant (sold in Sainsburys and Tesco). Boxes of Pakistani mangoes are still in Tesco, a variety they are calling Ratewala, which is possibly a Chausna-type from a more northerly, therefore later, location.
Other News:
- Availability of the Spanish persimmon Triumph should be improving.
- Notable grapes are Sable from Israel (M&S) and USA (Sainsburys), Autumn Royal (all stores), and Scarlotta (seen in M&S, Tesco and Waitrose).
- European grown apples such as Braeburn, Ariane, and Granny Smith are replacing southern hemisphere stocks.
- Chinese Ya pears are available in Asda, Sainsburys and Tesco.
- The long season of Hass avocadoes from Peru and South Africa is starting to be supplemented by fruit from Kenya and Chile.
- Most peaches, nectarines and plums are now late season varieties, so, while they should be sweet, they will be much more dense, almost crunchy in texture than we are accustomed.
©Good Fruit Guide. Recommendations on fruit varieties and types with the very best taste are personal to the editor of Good Fruit Guide, and do not attempt to be exhaustive or supported by verifiable consumer research. The highlighting of fruit with the very best taste in the opinion of the editor is not intended as a judgement on the taste of varieties and types of fruit not mentioned.