All change: By early June, pretty much all fruit has changed into ‘summer mode’ with only the plum, grape and orange offers to consolidate significantly. All the new seasons have either been underway for some while and are giving good, consistent quality, or are still in early phases with fresh, sometimes slightly tangy tasting varieties. There is something for everyone, if you know where to look!
FOR OUR FRUITBOWL, WE HAVE BOUGHT:
- Mangoes: Indian Alphonse and Kesar, Thai Mahachanok;
- Lychee: Mexican;
- Strawberries: Most varieties from UK;
- Blueberries: Great quality and variety choice;
- Raspberries: Quality from Spain, Morocco and Portgual;
- Pears: Taylor’s Gold, Comice, Concorde, Packhams and Forelle;
- Mandarins: Clemenule and Nova from South Africa;
- Apples: Smitten from New Zealand;
- Peaches & Nectarines: Spanish, including flat peaches.
Mangoes: Asda has joined Morrisons and Tesco in selling boxes of Kesar from India (at £5/6/6.50): try to buy boxes with some aroma. Alternatively, look for them at Asian groceries where they understand the fruit better. At M&S, Mahachanok from Thailand is sublime and refined.
Kent is the main standard variety, mostly from West Africa (Côte d`Ivoire, Mali). It should be sweet, if not packed with flavour. Keitt from Central America is also in various supermarkets.
Lychee: The Mexican lychee season has started: excellent for flavour (seen in Asda, M&S, Sainsbury’s, but likely to be widespread).
Strawberries: UK strawberries are in great shape at the moment. All varieties are delivering some sweetness, with Murano being the latest variety in many stores. Pay a bit extra for premium brands (or Tesco Super Sweet / Waitrose standard) and greater flavour should be obvious: it’s really time to buy!
Blueberries: With plentiful supplies from Spain, Portugal and Morocco, the quality of blueberries continues to be good, with plenty of promotions. The main problem will be lack of care by producers resulting in soft berries and occasional mould. Remember that blueberries need to be kept in a fridge and, even then, don’t last more than a few days.
Raspberries: Excellent quality raspberries are now plentiful from Morocco, Spain and Portugal, with the UK season just getting underway.
Blackberries: The UK season has now started, though tail-end fruit from Central America still linger in some stores. The new, sweet variety, Driscoll Victoria is in M&S and Waitrose, while the more traditional, tangy varieties such as Lochness and Karaka Black are also available (check the label!).
Pears: A good choice of varieties of southern hemisphere pears continues. Look out for soft eating types such as Green Williams, Packham’s Triumph, Taylor’s Gold, D’Anjou and Comice, and crispy Forelle and Abaté Fétèl. One of the best varieties, Concorde, has been spotted in Tesco from South Africa.
Apples: More or less all varieties of apples are now a mix of northern and southern hemisphere supply. Much of the time, due to modern storage techniques, there isn’t much between the two in terms of flavour and texture, though growing conditions do have an impact. For example, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith from South Africa are often sweeter than from France, and there is something about Gala and Braeburn from New Zealand, where they were originally bred, that has a slight edge on other producers.
The Good Fruit Guide favourite: New Zealand Smitten, now in Asda as well as M&S and Waitrose.
Peaches and Nectarines: Spanish peaches and nectarines are now available in all stores and should be getting better and better as the season advances. The popular flat peaches, such as Carioca, are also readily available: perfect for lunch boxes!
Apricots: Once there are more than a couple of apricot varieties on sale, you know the season is properly underway. Across retailers there are now at least 7 different varieties, with Colorado being the most common. Make sure they soften in the fruit bowl before eating, and hope that your retailer has done a good job in selecting the best!
Cherries: All retailers are selling new season Spanish cherries. Lidl is selling them loose at £6.99/kg.
Melons: The Spanish season now dominates supplies of melons, with the last stocks of fruit from Honduras still on sale here and there. Quality should be very acceptable for all types.
Mandarins: While Nadorcott, Mor and Orri from Spain and Morocco are still on sale in some stores, better to switch to new season Clemenules from South Africa. This has a much better sweet/acid balance which brings out the flavour. Also look out for Nova, often sold as a ‘tangerine’, which will be fresh, firm and tasty, though sometimes a little tougher to peel.
Satsumas: Satsumas continue to be good from South Africa (cv. Mihowase) and Peru (cv. Okitsu), though the latter are less easy to find (and often slightly sweeter).
Oranges: Spanish late navels such as Powell and Lane Late, are still available here and there, but most stores are selling Valencia Lates, Maroc Lates and Midknights, all from the Mediterranean. These are good oranges, juicy and flavoursome, but never quite as fine as a good navel. M&S are selling a late version called Barberina which has a slightly superior eating quality. Next up will be the first navels from South Africa.
Grapes: Grapes are a real mixture at the moment as retailers wait for the Egyptian season to get properly underway, so quality is mixed: this is not the best time for table grapes.
From Egypt, red Flame and white Early Sweet and Prime are now in some stores and give a real ‘new season’ taste sensation, sometimes a little tangy: this will pass with time.
Otherwise red grapes are mostly from Chile (Scarlotta and Crimson); black grapes from Chile and Brazil (Vitoria); and white grapes from India (Thompson), Chile, Peru and Mexico.
Plums: While Sainsbury’s has started selling new season Spanish Suplum, other retailers seem to prefer old season Angelino and Flavorfall from South Africa and Chile. This will change shortly, and with it will be a real difference in experience with the fresh early season varieties.
Avocados: The green-skin Fuerte from South African and Kenya (as Organic) are the alternative to Hass, now mainly from South Africa or South America.
Kiwis: Yellow Sungold from New Zealand, with its lovely tropical flavour, is now more widely available. Green Hayward kiwis from New Zealand and Chile are also starting to appear (M&S, Waitrose).
Figs: South African, Peruvian and Indian figs are on sale and should still be tasty and good to eat, if not a bit pricey.
Papaya: Small papaya from Jamaica (variety Solo) and Brazil (variety Golden) are really flavoursome and great quality.
1st June, 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.