Spring Fruit: On the one hand, early Moroccan blueberries and the first homegrown strawberries, and the other, fabulous late season citrus, mangoes, plums and grapes: flavour abounds, if you know where to look.
FOR MY FRUITBOWL, I WOULD BUY:
- Blueberries: New season from Morocco;
- Mandarins: Late season mandarins from Spain and Morocco;
- Grapes: Late season grapes from South Africa
- Plums: Late season plums from South Africa.
- Oranges: Late season oranges from Spain;
- Mangoes: Late season Kent from Peru.
Mandarins: Late varieties are still in their peak of quality from Spain and Morocco. The acid levels have moderated, so most mandarins have a lovely balance of flavour.
The delicious Orri from Spain, often sold as a tangerine, tops to bill: sweet, firm and flavoursome. Otherwise, most stores have Nadorcott (or its seedless cousin, Tangold) which is also delicious: softer and with a slight tang, but with lovely depth of flavour.
Grapes: The South African grape season is in its latter stages, which means that varieties on sale are either stored from earlier harvest, or of late season types. This is particularly noticeable with green grapes which, although are predominantly Thompson Seedless, also from Chile and India (good when a nice straw colour), are intermingled in stores with some attractive crispy late varieties such as Autumn Crisp and Sweet Globe.
The intensely sweet Sweet Celebration is the best red grape on sale. Most stores are also selling the crisp and sweet Crimson and, increasingly, the late season Allison and Scarlotta. As always, real flavour can be found in the black grape, Sable; the Candy Floss grape, Cotton Candy, and the soft, delightful Muscat Beauty.
Plums: Plums may not be centre stage for most people, but the late varieties from South Africa are actually rather tasty. Look out for FlavorKing, African Delight, Laetitia, Dapple Dandy and Green Red, all of which are quite reliable in ripening and have good sweetness and flavour.
The last variety of the South African and Chilean seasons, Angelino, is appearing on shelves: a dense, almost crisp plum, which is not particularly succulent.
Oranges: Spanish Navels are wonderful right now and have a lovely acid balance that brings out their best flavour: Lane Late is the main variety.
For fantastic fresh juice, buy Spanish Salustiana, which is great value for high juice content and a mild eating quality.
Mangoes: Peruvian Kent continues to be the main choice of mango at the moment, although some Brazilian Palmer is also on sale. At this time, Kent can be excellent, but look for the bolder, more plump fruit and avoid the very hard-green samples to give yourself the best chance of a tasty, mature eating experience.
Blueberries: Chilean blueberries are diminishing, and, if they are being offered cheaply, should be avoided due to soft berries. There is now plenty of new season Moroccan and Mexican fruit available, with the Spanish season also just starting. Top varieties from Morocco are: Mayra, Blue Aroma, Kirra, and Royal Sweet: cracking!
Strawberries: It’s been cold, but that hasn’t stopped the first British strawberries getting on to M&S and Waitrose shelves: yet to be tasted by the Good Fruit Guide, they will certainly be fresh! Otherwise, most strawberries are now from Spain and Morocco with prices already tumbling for 600g packs of standard varieties: yours for £2.50-3.00, widely available (may need help with flavour).
Pears: Conference and Rocha are the only pears available in all retailers, the latter being the more reliably sweet and the former being a perennial favourite of the British. For something a little different, try the following:
- Abaté Fétèl – Lidl, Morrisons, Waitrose
- Migo – Sainsbury’s
- Xenia – Morrisons, Tesco
- QTee – M&S, Waitrose
- Green Williams – M&S, Waitrose, Morrisons (soon to be in most stores).
Figs: Most retailers are selling South African Evita figs which are seriously indulgent when at the right maturity (colour should be as dark as possible). Other options are the very similar Parisian (South Africa) and Black Mission (Peru).
Apples: The apple offer in retailers has not changed over the past few weeks, so it is worth noting the first Gala from the new South African season in some stores (seen in Asda): a variety that can be noticeably more fragrant soon after harvest.
Avocados: Hass avocados are coming from Spain, Israel, Columbia and Chile at the moment: quite a disparate procurement exercise! It is a reflection of how long an avocado season can actually be, though at any one time there is a dominant source, currently Spain and Israel, with stocks supplemented by other countries. Minor variations in eating quality of Hass will be detectable by real enthusiasts, but for something a little different, the Morrisons 1kg Wonky Avocado pack is worth considering: recently with Pinkerton from Israel, currently with Fuerte from South Africa.
Peaches & Nectarines: All varieties are now from the late season in South Africa and are noticeably more dense and less succulent than previously.
©Good Fruit Guide 2019. 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.