Week 41, 2015
8th October, 2015
Five Fruit with Fabulous Flavour:
- Persimmons – Spanish Sharonfruit, Triumph, and Rojo Brilliante
- Pears – Concorde, Abaté Fétel and Comice
- New season English apples – Rubens, Zari, Cox, Gala
- Mangoes – Spanish Osteen, Brazilian Palmer, Pakistani Ratewala
- Mandarins – Okitsu Satsumas and Clemenrubi Clementines from Spain; Nadorcott from South Africa and Peru
Mandarins: Spanish Okitsu Satsumas are now available, a main stream variety with better flavour than the early Iwasaki.
Spanish Clemenrubi (seen in Tesco and Waitrose, so far), sweet and light in flavour, are gradually appearing as a new season alternative to late South African and Peruvian mandarins (such as Nadorcott), which have great density of sweetness and flavour.
Apples: The plethora of varieties from the new English apple season continues at a pace. My pick of varieties are Rubens (in Tesco), the lovely nutty Egremont Russet (seen in Asda, Tesco), Zari (in Sainsburys) and Royal Gala, a good, sweet and plentiful apple. A number of other varieties may appeal if you prefer some tanginess, such as Early Windsor, Red Windsor, Red Pippin, Cox, and old varieties such as Laxton Superb (seen in Waitrose).
Pears: The delicious Concorde (a cross between Comice and Conference) is in M&S, while English Comice and the fragrant Abaté Fétel from Italy (in Lidl, Sainsbury and Waitrose) make-up a trio of wonderful pears.
Mangoes: The Spanish mango, Osteen, is deliciously fragrant (sold in Sainsburys and Tesco). Boxes of the Pakistani mango, Ratewala, are still in Tesco and ethnic stores. Best of the rest: Palmer from Brazil.
Persimmon: Spanish persimmons are now widely available. Deliciously sweet, this is an underrated fruit and well worth trying: eat soft or crisp. The flatter Sharonfruit (Triumph) or the more elongated Rojo Brilliante are on shelves now.
Other News:
- Most peaches, nectarines and plums are now very late season varieties, so, while they should be sweet, they will be dense. The southern hemisphere season has started with Zimbabwean peaches and nectarines in Asda.
- Tasty Black Bursa figs from Turkey are still abundant. Try to find the darker coloured Bursa with a delicate velvety softness, as these will be sweetest.
- Notable grapes are Sable from USA (M&S and Sainsburys), Autumn Royal (all stores), and Scarlotta (seen in M&S, Tesco and Waitrose). Cotton Candy is still available in Asda.
- European grown apples such as Braeburn, Ariane, and Granny Smith are replacing southern hemisphere stocks.
- Chinese Ya pears are available in Asda, Sainsburys and Tesco.
- The long season of Hass avocadoes from Peru and South Africa is being supplemented by fruit from Tanzania, Kenya and Chile.
- Spanish Cherimoya are on sale in larger Asda stores, as well as independent groceries.
©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.