FRUIT OF THE WEEK:
- Florida Pink Grapefruit – Ruby Red
FOUR FRUIT with FABULOUS FLAVOUR:
- Oranges – Tarocco and Moro blood oranges from Italy
- Mandarins – Orri, Tangold and Nadorcott from Spain and Morocco
- Black Grapes – South African Sable and Melody
- Plums – FlavorKing from South Africa
Grapefruit: It may seem strange to place a grapefruit as fruit of the week, but the Florida Pink, often variety Ruby Red, is sweet, juicy and flavoursome, and a great introduction to the fruit for those who are not keen.
Oranges: It’s the best time of year for oranges, with Italian blood oranges leading the way with Tarocco and Moro, now widely available: fine and sweet.
Spanish Lane Lates and Navelates are also wonderfully sweet, and a worthy alternative. Other oranges available include Salustianas, ideal for juicing, Seville oranges for homemade marmalade, and succulent Minneolas from Israel (seen in Tesco).
Grapes: Sable continues to be the best grape available, but also look out for sumptuous Melody, another black grape (aka Blagratwo) from South Africa.
Sweet Celebration and Krissy are delicious red grape varieties, though you can’t go wrong with South African Crimson; while Thompson is the main green grape, recently beginning from Chile (very sweet on first evidence).
Mandarins: Orri, Tangold and Nadorcott are a treat for those looking for depth of flavour in their Clementines.
Plums: There are some delicious South African FlavorKing plums available, bubble-gum flavoured at their best. As it is peak season from the southern hemisphere, there are plenty of other varieties to try, but remember to let them soften properly in your fruit bowl to get the best sweetness and succulence.
OTHER NEWS:
Apples: The fabulous choice of 29 varieties of apples available from UK supermarkets continues, with the most seen in a single store (Tesco) being 16. You can be adventurous!
I had a look at Modi (aka CIVG198) recently, a roundish, red-skinned fruit from Italy, which was surprising for its texture. It is described as having very firm flesh, but I found it to be very crisp, but light in texture, quite a change from many hard, crunchy new varieties. Perhaps it was the batch, so I will try again as I did like it!
Otherwise, for flavour, I will always reach for a Rubens (seen in Tesco), an Empire (Morrisons, Tesco), Braeburn, Jazz or Egremont Russett, as I pass the fruit bowl. However, there is so much choice that there is something available for all tastes.
Pears: The first new season green Williams pears from South Africa are appearing on shelves, but Comice (or Sweet Sensation, a red-blushed version), Concorde, Abaté Fétèl and Portuguese Rocha continue to offer wonderful European choice.
Figs: The baby fig, Ronde de Bordeaux from South Africa makes a lovely, tasty snack and is available in a number of supermarkets.
Cherimoya: Try Cherimoya from Spain (in independent ethnic grocers or Asda) for flavour with a difference.
Avocado: All stores are selling Hass from Spain, with additional supply from Israel and Columbia, but choice is doubled where Pinkerton is on sale (consistently seen in Waitrose).
©Good Fruit Guide 2016. 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.