Supermarket shoppers (nearly all of us) will barely have noticed the beginning of the Indian mango season which brings the best, most flavoursome varieties of the year. However, their arrival also heralds many other exciting changes in fruit availability from around the world, including from our very own shores. Look forward to a fresh fruit adventure!
FOR OUR FRUITBOWL, WE HAVE BOUGHT:
- Mangoes: Indian Alphonse and Kesar, Thai Nam Dok Mae;
- Strawberries: Malling Centenary and Fleurette from UK;
- Blueberries: Moroccan and Spanish;
- Raspberries: Moroccan;
- Pears: South African Comice, Packhams and Buerre Bosc;
- Satsumas: Okitsu from Peru; Mihowase from South Africa;
- Oranges: Spanish navels and Sicilian Tarocco;
- Avocados: Fuerte from South Africa;
- Grapes: Sable and Muscat Beauty;
- Peaches: Egyptian.
Mangoes: The flavour of Asian mangoes is difficult to beat, and although the sublime Nam Dok Mae from Thailand has been available for a while, the only supermarket offering (M&S) is expensive at £3.50 each. Now, however, the Indian season has started and the full flavour varieties, Alphonse, Badami and Kesar are on sale by the box. These are very well worth the effort to find, generally at Asian grocery stores, but also at Morrisons (Kesar at £6/box). Otherwise, Kent from Peru and Keitt from various sources are the main supermarket choice. Of these, you may find the first West African mangoes of the season, including Keitt from Côte d`Ivoire.
Strawberries: Strawberry prices are starting to reduce as all supermarkets sell large packs, 600g or so, mostly from Spain. UK strawberries are mainly the varieties Malling Centenary and Fleurette, which have had good flavour and sweetness. Of the varieties from Spain, Viva Isabella is one of the more interesting.
Blueberries: Moroccan fruit is now predominant and is generally excellent, particularly varieties such Kirra, Mayra, Blue Aroma and Eureka.
Raspberries: Excellent quality raspberries are now plentiful, mainly from Morocco at this stage. Mostly, the varieties seem to be the newer types with less acidity and greater firmness.
Pears: Buerre Bosc has been added to the impressive list of southern hemisphere pears on sale, others being Green Williams, Packham’s Triumph, Abaté Fétèl, Comice, and Cheeky. This is cheap and not everyone’s idea of a good pear, but once past the unappetising peel, you will find sweet white flesh that is delicious when crisp and can also be allowed to soften (seen in Aldi and Morrisons).
Satsumas: South African satsumas (cv. Mihowase) seem to be the main choice of supermarkets at the moment, with their delicious sweet, tangy, juicy, softness. However, the Peruvian Okitsu is on sale in in Tesco, which tends to be slightly sweeter.
Oranges: Spanish late navels, such as Rohde, Powell and Lane Late are still very satisfying oranges. The excellent Sicilian Tarocco blood orange is also still worth buying (seen lately in M&S, Morrisons and Tesco).
Most stores are also selling Valencia Lates, which can often be picked up among navels without noticing (check the labels!). These are from Spain and Egypt and, while flavoursome, will be slightly more tangy and raggy than navels, which are the better eating orange.
Avocados: While it is available, the green-skin South African Fuerte (seen in Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose) is a great alternative to the standard Hass avocado. Of Hass, most stores are selling them from Peru, with later season fruit from Spain and Israel also easy to find.
Grapes: Green grapes are almost exclusively Thompson Seedless from Chile and India, which should be sweet and reasonably crisp. Red grapes are the later season Crimson, Allison and Scarlotta from South Africa and Chile, also sweet and crisp, though you may also see the very sweet South African Joybells in some stores. Black grapes are predominantly from Chile, with the stand-out variety being, as usual, the flavoursome Sable. Muscat Beauty, also from Chile, is the other available grape of great flavour: not easy to find except in M&S, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, but worth a detour.
Peaches and Nectarines: Egyptian peaches are quite widely available and, being first of the Mediterranean season, have a pleasantly light sweetness. Some South African late-season nectarines are still on sale, which will be sweet, but not necessarily very succulent.
Blackberries: Over the winter, most blackberries are a fairly tart variety called Tupi, grown in Mexico and Guatemala. These are still on the shelves, but the first European fruit have been spotted in M&S and Tesco: both new, sweet varieties such as Driscoll Victoria.
Mandarins: Nadorcott is the main mandarin on sale everywhere and is still good to eat, but will not have the normal sweet-acid balance as the season enters its late stages. Similarly, Orri and Mor (often labelled as tangerines) will increasingly lose their rich flavour as acids diminish.
Figs: Soft, sticky Evita figs from South Africa are delicious, though a tad pricey at about 50p each – a lovely treat!
Apples: So far, the only change of season for apples has been Cox from New Zealand and Royal Gala from South Africa and Chile. Otherwise, all the mainstream varieties on sale stay much the same.
Plums: End of season plum varieties are never quite as succulent as we expect, but there are an interesting number of newer varieties to try, such as Flavorfall, Crimson Fall and September Yummy, which should be superior to the standard Angelino.
Papaya: Small papaya from Jamaica (variety Solo) and Brazil (variety Golden) rarely fail to be really flavoursome and are available all year round.
27th April, 2018
©Good Fruit Guide 2018. Information and data published on www.goodfruitguide.co.uk must not be reproduced or copied without permission of the editor. 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.