Berries and Cherries and All Things Nice: Abundance and choice are assured in these hot summer months, but what about flavour and sweetness? Fresh fruit is notoriously fickle, even at the best of times, so it pays to be careful in trying to pick up the best, so read on. Key changes in August to excite your taste buds are mangoes from Israel, the new grape varieties from Spain and late mandarins from Peru and South Africa.
FOR OUR FRUITBOWL, WE HAVE BOUGHT:
• Cherries: Great British season;
• Peaches & Nectarines: Sumptuous Mediterranean fruit;
• Melons: Abundance from Spain & Italy;
• Mangoes: Israeli season underway, plus Pakistani Chaunsa;
• Berries: Every conceivable type, all from UK;
• Grapes: Spanish quality is consolidating;
• Mandarins: Late varieties from South Africa and Peru.
Cherries: Virtually all cherries on sale are from UK, with some cheaper options from Spain and Turkey. Retailers are offering good deals and big packs, as well as great quality: it’s time to indulge, particularly as the season will start to wind-down soon.
For the best value UK cherries, Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco are selling at between £5.72 (Asda) and £6.45 (Aldi)/kg equivalent.
For big packs, try Sainsbury’s 500g at £6.00/kg, M&S 700g at £7.14/kg and Waitrose 650g at £7.31/kg.
For the best value and enjoyment combination, try Picota cherries at £3.80-£4.00/kg in Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
Lidl are the only national retailer to sell loose cherries: Turkish Napoleon at £4.99/kg.
Who sells the best quality? One would assume it’s M&S and Waitrose, but all retailers are pretty much selling the same varieties: it’s all down to their own quality management!
Peaches and Nectarines: With Spanish and Italian peaches and nectarines in peak season, it should be possible to buy wonderful fruit from any retailer, whether in a punnet to ripen at home or as a ripe n’ ready pack.
With punnet’s, there is always going to be a bit more variability as the fruit is packed at the source, more or less straight from the tree. Ripe n’ ready fruit generally has to be packed in UK after time in a ripening room, so more care has been lavished in the selection process which should result in greater chance of enjoyment. Which retailer do you trust most?
A note on flat peaches: Flat peaches are sold by M&S and Waitrose at 50p+ per fruit, but pretty much the same types can be bought for 11-12p per fruit in Aldi, Lidl and Tesco. Why pay more for these delicious snacking fruit? Fill your boots!
Melons: Spanish and Italian melons continue to be abundant and, by and large, great quality. Prices are at their lowest in the year, with Galia often being the loss-leader: currently 49p in Tesco, 85p in Aldi and Sainsbury’s.
Most reliable for taste are Piel de Sapo, Charantais and the new speciality varieties (Tesco: Sweet Snowball; Sunkiss Honeydew; Sweet Tangy Twist; Finest Charantais. M&S: Orange Candy Honeydew. Waitrose: Matice; Orange Candy Honeydew).
Mangoes: For mango fans, the big news is that the Israeli season in now underway. Not all retailers appreciate the fine qualities of these varieties, but Sainsbury’s and Tesco are pretty consistent in their offer: currently with the delightful Maya. Expect wider availability as the main season varieties start, e.g Shelley.
Chaunsa mangoes from Pakistan continues to be available from good Asian grocers: these are incredibly sweet, have huge aroma and are succulent beyond belief.
Of standard mangoes, Keitt is good from Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, while Kent from Senegal seems the most widespread option: being well advanced in its season, it should be decent.
Strawberries: UK strawberries continue to be abundant with good eating quality. Big packs or ‘2 for £x’ promotions on standard packs, are common across all retailers. These generally contain Murano or Driscoll Amesti, two newish varieties. If you can consume 600g to 1kg (have a party, make jam!), then Tesco is cheapest (2 x 400g = £3.75/kg), while you will pay no more than £4.50/kg in all the other retailers (including M&S/Waitrose at £4/kg): bargain!
Premium varieties are Magnum, Sweet Eve and Driscoll Zara.
Favourite summer dessert: strawberries and slices of Chaunsa mango – colourful and contrasting.
Other Berries: More or less all raspberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries and blueberries are from UK farms, many in the West Country and Scotland, and quality is wonderful. Good blueberries are also coming from Poland and Romania.
Plums: The UK plum season has started with Opal, available in most stores. This is a ‘European’ variety, as opposed to the ‘Japanese’ types grown in the Mediterranean: it is soft and succulent with a mild, fragrant flavour.
Spanish, Portuguese and Israeli plums otherwise dominate the shelves, with at least 17 different varieties on sale. Cheap plums in punnets need ripening in the fruit bowl for 3-4 days. If they take longer to soften, there is a high chance that they were picked too soon and will never ripen properly. For more certainty, there are some lovely newer varieties being used in ripe n’ ready packs, many of which are red-fleshed pluots: look out for Metis Oxy, Iridis 2 and, from Israel, A11-29 (great name!).
Grapes: The Spanish season is now fully underway. Quality seems good, with the crisp n’ sweet varieties all delivering satisfaction.
As the season unfolds, the new ‘flavour’ varieties will become available and more widely sold. M&S currently has the best selection e.g. Sable, Strawberry, Sugra36, Cotton Candy, K2 Mango, but most of the other retailers are selling Sable, Strawberry or Cotton Candy: all worth trying for great flavour.
Mandarins: The season for South African Nova and Clemenules is running down, as will be evident in the fruit being sweet, but somewhat flat in flavour.
Incoming are the late mandarins such as Nadorcott, Tangold and Orri from both South Africa and Peru. These are great varieties, but expect early Nadorcott and Tangold to have quite a zing.
Soft, juicy Minneola Tangelo from Peru, one of the best sources, have been spotted in Aldi.
Apricots: It is peak apricot season from the Mediterranean, so there should be a good chance of success with quality, if you let them ripen properly.
Avocados: Morrisons are selling a novel avocado pack containing three varieties: Ryan, Pinkerton and Hass (Katopé brand). If you manage to find this (an uncertain possibility given the poor retail discipline in many Morrisons produce aisles), it is worth buying to experience the subtle differences between these varieties: excellent!
Hass from South Africa, Peru and Columbia is otherwise the standard option: quality should be good.
Oranges: With retailers selling Navels and Valencia Lates from South Africa, and Valencia Lates and Midknight oranges from Spain, there is ample room for customer confusion. In some retailers, all these varieties are on sale in packs that look very similar. This is unfortunate as each has its own attributes (fine eating quality of Navels, end-of-season low acids in Spanish oranges, some early tang to South African Valencias) and it is always best if you know what you are buying: check the labels for both variety and country of origin, or ask store staff to help, if it’s not clear!
Satsumas: Owari from Peru is still on sale in many stores, but will be losing its acids, though should still be sweet and juicy.
3rd August, 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. Ratings and 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.