Week 15, 2016
THIS WEEK:
There is still no widespread sale of new season Satsumas, but they can’t be far away! The new Forelle pear season is underway though, and will appear in more stores over the next week or so. Strawberries are plentiful, including those home-grown, and there are some lovely blueberries on sale from Morocco, and raspberries from Spain.
FOR MY FRUITBOWL, I WOULD BUY:
- Concorde or Forelle pears
- Jazz, Rubens or Empire apples
- Nam Dok Mae or Palmer mangoes
- Murcott or Golden Nugget mandarins
- Lane Late oranges
- Florida pink grapefruit
- Kimba or Kirra blueberries
- Sable, Muscat or Black seedless (Jumbo) grapes
Pears: In Sainsburys, I spotted new season Forelle from South Africa, along with my favourite fruit of last week, Concorde pears. These Forelle have been picked to eat when crisp, and are a delight: they will soon be more widely sold.
Apples: US Empire (in Morrisons and Tesco) and Jazz are great apples and are my personal choice, but I notice that Tesco is still selling English Rubens, which has a wonderful texture.
Mango: Thai mango, Nam Dok Mae is consistently in larger Asda and M&S stores, but for a flavoursome mango at regular prices, try Palmer from Brazil (spotted in Asda and Tesco).
Mandarins: All the late season mandarins continue to deliver good sweetness, but have limited definition of flavour given the lateness of the season. However, I would pick up Golden Nugget (Asda) or Murcott (occasionally in most stores – check the label) as their density compliments the sweetness nicely.
Oranges: Navel oranges, such as Lane Late and Navelate, are still delicious, but as with mandarins, the acids are dropping to give a less definite flavour. Italian Tarocco blood oranges are still in some stores (e.g. M&S, Tesco) and still good.
Grapefruit: The sublime Florida Pink Ruby Red grapefruit are still widely available.
Blueberries: There are some delicious blueberries available, particularly varieties such as Kimba and Kirra from Morocco (seen in Waitrose, Tesco and M&S). These are usually a tad more expensive than the standard varieties, but are sweet and flavoursome.
Grapes: For flavour and sweetness, I would select Chilean Sable and Muscat, Melody from South Africa and Indian Jumbo (or ‘Black Seedless’). If you like a bit of a tang to your grapes, try Chilean Crimson or Thompson (also from India), though some will also have excellent sweetness.
©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.