Week 34, 2015
20th August
Fruit News This Week
Blueberries: Blueberries are more abundant now than at any time of the year. Bluecrop from Poland is the main variety at very good values.
Greengages: Probably the sweetest stone fruit at the moment are greengages from Portugal, France and England: catch them while they last!
Wild Blackberries: Free and flavoursome, in all good hedgerows now!
Mangoes: The Israeli mangoes, Maya, Shelley and Nor varieties are smooth and sweet. They are in most larger supermarkets, with Sainsbury and Asda being the best value for Maya.
Pakistani mangoes, with their intense flavour, are still available from ethnic grocers and Tesco: mostly variety Chausna, no beauty, but wonderfully tasty.
Grapes: Grapes are in peak season from France and Italy with some very interesting new varieties around. If you care to look at punnet labels, look out for Sable, Sweet Mayabelle, Cotton Candy, Princess, Timpson, Magenta, among others.
Morrisons are selling Californian grapes as well, which tend to have larger berries.
Pears: The best of the southern hemisphere pears are finished, but we now have an interesting mix of varieties from three seasons:
- Conference from Holland, harvested last September;
- Forelle, Packhams and Green Williams from the southern hemisphere, harvested in February and March;
- Conference, Green Williams, Carmen, Morettini and Santa Maria from Europe, harvested in August.
The new season pears will have a freshness to them, while Forelle is the pick of the rest for flavour.
Apples: Stores are full of good quality varieties from the southern hemisphere, but the new English season is just underway with Discovery. With lovely crispness and a delicate flavour, it is very different from the sweet crunchiness of the main varieties.
New season Gala from Italy are also on sale, which is a forerunner of what’s to come once southern hemisphere stocks are depleted.
Mandarins: There are some wonderful late mandarins from South Africa and Peru to be tried, full of flavour: Nova, Nadacott (ClemenGold), Clem Late and Mor are the best.
©Good Fruit Guide. 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.