First: The end of May is seeing many first appearances of very tasty new season fruit. We have had the start of the new Mediterranean soft fruit and stone fruit, as well UK strawberries and raspberries, South African persimmons and satsumas, Indian mangoes, and southern hemisphere top fruit. Now it is the turn of northern hemisphere grapes, just beginning from Egypt; clementines from South Africa, and sumptuous lychee from Mexico.
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FOR MY FRUITBOWL, I WOULD BUY:
- Lychee: just starting from Mexico;
- Mangoes: Indian Alphonse and Kesar;
- Berries: Excellent from UK, Portugal, Morocco & Spain;
- Pears: find top varieties from South Africa and New Zealand;
- Oranges: Late navel oranges from Spain;
- Satsumas: Plump, tangy Mihowase and Okitsu (South Africa/Peru);
- Persimmons: South African Triumph.
Lychee: Mexican lychees, variety Mauritius, have now arrived and are widely available in most stores. These are such a wonderful fruit, one of the best: juicy, exotic and full of flavour. Not to be missed. The Thai season is also underway, not that you will find any Thai lychee in a supermarket: try SE Asian grocers for these lovely fruit, if there is one near-by.
Mangoes: Happily, Asda has joined Tesco and Morrisons in selling boxes of Indian mangoes. Currently, the variety is Kesar, a fantastically flavoursome fruit which is far superior to any of the standard supermarket fare. If you live near a south Asian community with their own grocery stores, you should be able to find a wider range of varieties, such as Alphonse and Badami: both well worth a journey for a box.
Otherwise, Kent (generally from West Africa), Keitt (generally from the Caribbean or central America) or Palmer (from Brazil) are the choice: rarely exciting, though should be sweet
Blueberries: Looking at the varieties on sale from Spain and Morocco, many are quite recent, which bodes well for consumers. The newer varieties have been bred with taste and sweetness in mind as much as benefits for growers, so eating quality should be very satisfying. Varieties such as Kirra, Mayra, Corona, D. StellaBlue and BW Twilight are examples.
That said though, given the stage of the season, older varieties such as Star, are perfectly good. As ever, check for softness, particularly if the fruit has been in the fridge for more than a few days.
Raspberries: With UK raspberries getting into their stride alongside Morocco, Spain and Portugal, you can’t really go wrong with whatever you buy. Cheaper means older varieties with more tang, but still great flavour.
Blackberries: Virtually all stores are selling Driscoll Victoria (or Berryworld Midnight) from UK growers: a sweet, new variety. There is great quality all round, even with older, tangy varieties such as Lochness and Loch Tay.
Strawberries: British strawberries are by far the majority in stores, and unless you are really on a tight budget, there is no real point in buying Spanish fruit, which tends to be crunchy Rociera. Most home-grown strawberries are the improved, sweeter varieties with Malling Centenary leading the way: a good hint of sweetness and flavour (pass-by Elsanta and Sonata, if you have a choice).
Apples: Pretty much all varieties are coming from both hemispheres now, with a real mix of seasons. I really enjoy some of the newer varieties from New Zealand, such as Smitten (M&S, Morrisons, Waitrose) and Genesis (Asda), but also, oddly, South African Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, which are quite different from the European equivalent. That said, northern hemisphere Empire (Asda, Tesco), Kanzi (Tesco, Waitrose), Cripps Red (Morrisons) and Envy (Sainsburys, Waitrose) are all great varieties which continue on sale.
Pears: The best southern hemisphere pears are most consistently sold in M&S and Waitrose: think Abaté Fétèl (also Lidl, Sainsburys), Forelle, Taylor’s Gold and Green Williams. Other great varieties such as Comice, Sweet Sensation and Concorde are occasionally on sale: buy them when you have a chance (e.g Tesco ‘Seasonal Pears’).
Persimmons: For flavour and sweetness, you should add Triumph persimmons to you shopping basket (widely available). These are from South Africa and taste delicious, particularly when really soft and jelly-like.
Peaches & Nectarines: Southern Spain production is past its early, slightly tangy varieties and is showing some good promise in sweetness and flavour. Stores are full of choice, but better will come in the summer.
How about a pack of flat peaches for £0.39? This is the price in Tesco (contrast £2.50 in M&S) and, if last year is anything to go by, may be permanent for the summer. Reliably sweet flat peaches tick all the boxes, especially for children: just buy lots of them!
Satsumas: Quality of satsumas continues to be excellent, with more stores now selling Peruvian Okitsu: marginally sweeter than Mihowase from South Africa.
I’ve noticed that satsumas are appearing in some ‘value’ packs, which widens the choice: look at the label for the variety name to know what you are buying.
Mandarins: The South African season of clementines is now underway and provides a real contrast to the late Mediterranean varieties. They are often mixed on supermarket shelves, so Now is the time to check labels for variety names!
Very sweet, low acid, slightly one dimensional, late varieties from Spain, Portugal and Morocco, Orri and Nadorcott, contrast hugely with the new, light, sweet clementines such as Clemenules and Oronules. In addition, the delicious Nova (South Africa’s equivalent to Clemenvilla) has been spotted in Waitrose. The Mediterranean fruit will gradually give way to that from South Africa over the next few weeks.
Oranges: Another opportunity to check labels for variety names: you will find a mix of quite different oranges on offer, which are particularly unclear in Tesco and Morrisons due to small print font.
Lane Late, Chislett and Powell navels are still available and, although with diminished acids, wonderfully sumptuous. However, stocks are declining and Valencia Lates from Egypt and Spain are becoming the main orange on offer. These are tasty oranges but have some tanginess at this stage and are quite ‘raggy’ (chewy), though make wonderful fresh juice. You may also see Barbarina Valencia in M&S, and occasional Maroc Late, the Moroccan equivalent (seen in Lidl).
Apricots: With early samples being quite promising, apricots are now easily available in supermarkets and independent stores. As so much depends on harvest maturity, it is difficult to be categorical about varieties: just make sure they are kept at room temperature to soften before eating.
Grapes: This week has probably to lowest choice of grapes in the whole year, but the first Egyptian Early Sweet (a green grape) is starting in M&S and Waitrose. This is a decent grape with some sweetness, but not particularly flavoursome, though these two retailers will only take the best.
Otherwise, retailers are scrambling for volumes of acceptable quality fruit and rely on late Indian and Chilean supplies of Thompson Seedless, Crimson, Scarlotta and Autumn Royal: not exciting. For a small price, Tesco (Finest), Sainsbury’s (Taste The Difference), M&S and Waitrose still have supplies of pretty good Muscat Beauty, Sable, Vitoria and a delicious green grape, Blanc Seedless (M&S only).
Plums: The majority of supermarkets are still selling crunchy late southern hemisphere Angelino and Flavorfall. The new early season varieties from Spain is also on sale (again, check the label), mostly a version of Suplum (28, 41, etc): some good, but better is to come later.
Avocados: Hass avocados are now primarily from Peru with the southern African season also underway. The green-skin Fuerte from South Africa has been spotted in Waitrose, but not well labelled: look for the tell-tale smooth skin.
Figs: South African Evita and Parisian figs are the main choice, with alternative from Peru (Toro Sentado) in Waitrose. The right maturity (colour should be as dark as possible) is crucial to flavour.
©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.