Cool: Memories of a perfect Easter weekend are rapidly receding, so what brightness can our fruit bowls bring as we await summer sunshine? There is quite a lot happening in the fruit world: Spain, Morocco and Portugal are well into their berry seasons with some wonderful fruit, particularly raspberries and blueberries, and, with Egypt, are also providing us with fresh, early season peaches and nectarines. The stone fruit is not yet for the sweet-toothed among us, but plenty of sweetness can be found in late mandarins and oranges, new southern hemisphere pears and satsumas, and, best of all, Alphonse, the king of Indian mangoes.
FOR MY FRUITBOWL, I WOULD BUY:
- Mangoes: Indian Alphonse;
- Blueberries & Raspberries: Excellent from Portugal, Morocco & Spain;
- Satsumas: Plump, tangy Mihowase and Okitsu (South Africa/Peru);
- Pears: Sweet pears from South Africa.
- Apples: New Zealand Smitten.
- Mandarins: Late mandarins from Morocco & Spain – very sweet;
- Oranges: Late navel oranges from Spain;
- Grapes: Sable, still good from Chile.
Mangoes: After months of Peruvian Kent, it is all change for mangoes! Find an Asian grocery store for the best available: Alphonse from India, by the box. These are at their peak and should be chosen before Badami or Kesar, which are not yet at their best.
Otherwise, supermarkets have switched to Keitt as new seasons get underway in the Caribbean, Central America and West Africa: take your pick! Keitt is a decent sea-freight-friendly variety but will never hit the flavour highs of King Alphonse.
Blueberries: The northern hemisphere season has been underway for a while and stores have plentiful stocks of blueberries at good prices. Quality should be excellent, though don’t keep them too long in the fridge (3-4 days is ideal) and always be aware of softness as you serve them.
Cheaper options will be older varieties, usually perfectly good when fresh. Newer varieties are sweeter, often from Morocco and usually, though not always, in more premium packs.
Top varieties from Morocco may find their way into standard packs: First Blush, Mayra, Kirra, Arana and Driscoll Cielo.
Raspberries: Lovely, flavoursome raspberries are now coming from UK as well as Morocco, Spain and Portugal. You can’t really go wrong, as even the cheaper, older varieties are full of flavour, perhaps with more of a tang.
Satsumas: Most stores have new season Mihowase satsumas from South Africa, or, as in Tesco, Okitsu from Peru. These are wonderfully plump, sweet, tangy, metallic and juicy in a way that only a good satsuma can be: an acquired taste, but excellent.
Apples: Signs of the southern hemisphere season are becoming more obvious with Gala, Cox and Smitten from one or other of the main producing countries. Most interesting is the New Zealand Smitten, now in M&S and Waitrose: a great example of an interesting new variety – very crisp, but not too hard!
Pears: Conference and Rocha from the September European harvest are probably the most widely sold pears, but look out for sweet, fresh southern hemisphere varieties such as Abaté Fétèl, Concorde, Comice, Sweet Sensation and Forelle: all worth trying. Dutch Migo in Sainsbury’s is also worth a go.
Mandarins: Late varieties Orri, Nadorcott, Murcott, Mor (Spring Sunshine) and Tangold (Tango) continue to be great quality from Israel, Spain and Morocco, but acids are dropping so sweetness dominates.
Oranges: The best eating orange in most stores continues to be Lane Late, but it is nearing the end and will gradually be replaced by ultra-late season navels such as Chislett, Powell and Cambria. These are also wonderful but may not be so widespread in stores. Blood oranges, Tarocco (M&S, Waitrose) and Sanguinelli (Tesco, Sainsbury’s), are also coming to the end of their season, but should still be good, though with lower acidity.
As navels become more scarce, watch out for Valencia Lates, currently from Egypt (seen in Aldi, Tesco and Waitrose), but soon to be from Spain as well: these are tasty oranges, but never as fine as a navel, and tending to be tangy in the early part of the season.
Grapes: May is a difficult month for grapes as we are between seasons, waiting for new supply from Egypt or Mexico. The consequence is limited choice, though you will do better in the largest mainstream stores, or at M&S and Waitrose.
Mostly, green grapes are Thompson Seedless from Chile and India, while Crimson from South Africa and Chile is the red option, with some Scarlotta and Allison also on sale. These are decent, sweet varieties: not terribly interesting, but still good quality.
Black grapes are particularly problematic in supply, but Chilean Sable is still widely available and the best for flavour, with Brazilian Vitoria continuing as a somewhat intense, but interesting alternative. Otherwise, look out for Maylen (or Iniagrape-One) from Chile: a new soft grape, but very sweet and juicy (seen in M&S, Morrisons and Waitrose).
Avocados: Supply of Hass avocados is switching to Peru as the Spanish and Israeli season winds down. Quality should be excellent: expect more supplies from southern Africa soon as well. If you like the green-skin Fuerte, they have been spotted in Aldi, Morrisons and Waitrose (from South Africa).
Figs: South African Evita and Parisian figs are very tasty at the right maturity (colour should be as dark as possible) and are the main option in retailers. Morrisons are also selling Brown Turkey from India, a slightly lighter alternative.
Strawberries: British and Spanish strawberries are in all stores, with the most common varieties being Malling Centenary and Rociera respectively. It’s a struggle to find real flavour and sweetness in this fruit, even in new varieties, but they are generally pleasant to eat whole and fresh.
Peaches & Nectarines: Spotted on a shelf in Tesco were white nectarines from Chile (variety Arctic Snow) and Spain (variety Viowhite), both in Suntrial (value) branding: the very last on one and the first of the next season. Neither will be particularly pleasant, hence the value branding: one will be dense and flat in flavour, the other succulent but sharp and limited in sweetness.
The Chilean fruit was a bit of an aberration and will probably not be seen again until next year, but all stores are now selling fresh peaches and nectarines from Egypt and Spain, possibly Morocco. These will ripen to be succulent, juicy and flavoursome, but the early varieties have relatively low sweetness levels and elevated acids, so will be tangy. Time will bring change, but just be aware.
Plums: There are plenty of better fruit to be had than plums at the moment. However, if you love plums, remember that they will be dense and crunchy late season varieties such as Angelino from South Africa and Chile. The best alternative is September Yummy or FlavorFall, also firm, but with greater sweetness.
©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.