So Very Wet: The most noticeable change in the last week or two has been the virtual demise of the southern hemisphere grape season and the arrival of fresh Egyptian and Mexican varieties: a big change in eating quality. We are also seeing the consolidation of the European stone fruit offer with more and more apricots, peaches, nectarines and cherries, with new plums also coming-up. Though, with the wet and cool weather, you would be forgiven for reaching for the mandarins and satsumas, now mostly from South Africa and Peru!
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FOR MY FRUITBOWL, I WOULD BUY:
- Berries: Excellent from UK, Portugal, Morocco & Spain;
- Lychee: Delicious Mauritius from Mexico;
- Mangoes: Sindhri from Pakistan;
- Satsumas: Owari and Mihowase, plump and tangy (Peru/South Africa);
- Persimmons: South African Triumph;
- Yellow Kiwi: Jintao and Sungold;
- Melons: Reliably sweet Piel de Sapo and Matice;
- Avocados: Fuerte from South Africa.
Strawberries: Strawberries are coming into their own as the weather warms and the natural peak season gets nearer. They are virtually all from UK farms and the most common variety, Malling Centenary, has been consistently good, with a decent level of sweetness. Premium varieties are even better and, for a bit more money, there should be a chance of flavour as well as sweetness: look out for Magnum, Driscoll Amesti and Driscoll Elizebeth.
Blueberries: The UK blueberry season has just started with a variety called Duke: firm, sweet and tangy. Otherwise, excellent varieties are still arriving from Morocco and Spain. Spanish Star is being used as the standard offer.
Raspberries: All the best raspberries are now from UK farms: look out for Berry Jewel, Berryworld Gem, Diamond Jubilee and Driscoll Maravilla. Most Spanish raspberries are the older, but still decent, varieties, though the key difference is that UK-grown fruit is nearer to market, can be harvested later, and should therefore taste better.
Blackberries: Virtually all stores are selling Driscoll Victoria (or Berryworld Midnight) from UK growers: a sweet, large-berried variety. There is great quality all round, even with older, tangy varieties such as Lochness and Loch Tay.
Gooseberries: There is nothing like the flavour of gently stewed gooseberries, but if you have none in the garden, find variety Invicta in larger mainstream stores.
Lychee: Mexican lychees, variety Mauritius, are reasonably available in supermarkets, but rarely anywhere else. Unfortunately, these wonderful fruit are expensive from Mexico: although Sainsbury’s has a promotion at the moment, Aldi is cheapest at £7.25/kg equivalent – not bad for a treat.
Mangoes: Sadly, the Indian mango season is practically finished, but that means the Pakistani season is starting! Actually, Pakistani Sindhri have been available since the beginning of June but were too early for good eating quality. By now, however, the fruit should be very sweet, with a luscious depth of yellow-orange to the flesh. Find them in South Asian grocery stores, by the box (£4-5).
Otherwise Haden and Kent (generally from West Africa), Keitt (generally from the Caribbean or central America) or Palmer (from Brazil, and best of the bunch) are the standard choice: rarely exciting, but should be ripening well and tasting sweet.
Satsumas: Peruvian Okitsu has given way to Owari, which is another wonderful variety and is being sold more widely across the supermarket chains. Mihowase from South Africa also continues.
Persimmons: Triumph persimmons are widely available and good value. These are from South Africa and taste delicious, particularly when really soft and jelly-like.
Kiwis: Alongside green Hayward kiwis (from Italy, New Zealand and Chile), virtually all supermarkets are selling yellow kiwis, either Jintao from Chile or Sungold from New Zealand. Yellow kiwis are sweeter, less tangy and have a more ‘tropical’ flavour than Hayward, but it is a matter of preference which of the two options is best. Sungold is widely available, while Jintao is more ad hoc in sales, but regularly in Asda and Waitrose.
Melons: There should be no excuse for poor melons at this time of the summer (all come from sunny Spain), but I find that Piel de Sapo and Matice (aka Sweet Snowball) are reliably sweet. Find the latter in Tesco and Waitrose.
Avocados: Hass avocados are now primarily from Peru with good supply from South Africa as well. Quality should be very good with the peak of the season, but for something a little different, I always buy the green-skin Fuerte when it’s available. It is currently from South Africa in Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, sold loose, but not well labelled: look for the tell-tale smooth green skin.
Cherries: Spanish cherries are great quality and decent value in all stores. For the cheapest, go to a Lidl store before the crowds at find them loose at £4.99/kg. Find delicious Spanish Rainier in Asda and Waitrose, among others.
Grapes: Fresh Mexican and Egyptian grapes have finally started flooding the shelves of stores and now dominate supply. All the choices are early season varieties, so flavour isn’t strong, but they should have decent texture and sweetness, perhaps with a tanginess in the cheaper fruit.
Green grapes are Early Sweet and Prime, all from Egypt. By now, any Thompson Seedless from India will be past its best.
Red grapes are mainly Flame Seedless which is a very crisp variety, while Starlight, a mild pink variety is becoming more widespread and Arra 29 from Mexico has been seen in Asda. Any Chilean Crimson on sale will also be very last-orders.
New season black grapes are more challenging for suppliers, but M&S has reasonable Mexican Summer Royal, while Sainsbury’s has an interesting Egyptian Arra 18: a little astringent, but with a lovely bursting juicy flesh. Otherwise, many stores are selling Brazilian Vitoria, normally a firm favourite for flavour, but unconvincing at this time of year. New season Sable from Mexico has been spotted in M&S, but not tasted yet.
Pears: M&S and Waitrose continue to have the best choice of southern hemisphere pears with Abaté Fétèl (Waitrose only), Forelle, Taylor’s Gold and Green Williams. Abaté Fétèl is also consistently available in Asda and Lidl: a good, crisp, sweet pear.
Otherwise, all stores have last season’s European Conference, and many have South African Packham’s Triumph, the latter being a good, classic pear which needs to soften.
Peaches & Nectarines: Spain, and to a lesser extent, Italy are providing plentiful volumes of peaches and nectarines. Flavour is good, often with some tanginess, but the best is yet to come.
Flat peaches: All stores are selling flat peaches at good values, mostly at £1 for 5-6 fruit (Asda – 4 fruit): great for snacks and sweetness. M&S and Waitrose are well out of line on price, more than double in fact, though they sell a different variety at the moment, Samantha. Does this justify the price difference?
Apricots: Good prices all round should encourage us to eat apricots, and, by-and-large, they seem to be tasty when allowed to soften. There are a number of blushed varieties on sale with good flavour, and several red varieties are making an appearance: look out for Rubilis in M&S and Sainsbury’s.
Plums: All plums on sale are now early season varieties from Spain, mostly a version of Suplum (28, 41, etc) or Red Beauty. Some supermarkets are using Rose Sweet for ripe & ready packs, which may tell you something about which is the better variety.
Mandarins: South African mandarins are in all stores and should be the go-to choice: mostly Clemenules, Marisol and Esbal, all good varieties. Avoid any tail-end Nadorcott or Orri from the Mediterranean season.
South African Nova (often sold as a tangerine) is a lovely fruit: difficult to peel but wonder to eat.
Oranges: Valencia Lates from Egypt and Spain are now the main orange on offer. These are tasty oranges but have some tanginess and are quite ‘raggy’ (chewy), though make wonderful fresh juice.
Lane Late, Barnfield and Powell navels are still available here and there, but are running out fast and have diminished acids.
©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.