If you shop for fruit and vegetables somewhere other than the major supermarkets this August, it is likely you will find cheaper prices. But there is also a bonus: grocers might have more interesting fresh produce.
Elliott Cafarella, who co-owns his family’s Melbourne fruit shop, Pompello, still remembers last year’s waterlogged produce. But he says this season the winter sun is keeping farmers happy.
Cauliflower remains one of the best buys at about $3.50 a head; and broccoli, which surged in price last year, is close behind at about $3 a kilo in supermarkets. Romanesco, a brassica with a hypnotic fractal pattern and nuttier flavour than broccoli, is also worth seeking out this August.
But if you are feeding a crowd, Cafarella says cabbage is “the most economical vegetable”.
“You can get a whole for $4.50 to $5, and a whole cabbage can be up to three kilos!”
In supermarkets, round cabbage (also sold as drumhead cabbage) can be found for about $6 a head. The supply can seem neverending; use up the leaves in Alice Zaslavksy’s one-pot cabbage “rolls”, finely shred them into okonomiyaki or gently cook them with onion, garlic and cream in something called “suspiciously delicious” cabbage.
Also abundant: cavolo nero. Consider it the darker, broodier cousin of kale; it cooks down to a verdant velvety texture in this vegan spelt “risotto”.
Jordan Zammit, the owner of Oakville Harvest in the NSW Hawkesbury region, says salad leaves will continue to flourish in the coming weeks thanks to the warmer weather and longer days, joining already plentiful supplies of silverbeet.
But Cafarella says it is avocados that are back in full force.
“Avocados are coming from Queensland at the moment and there is definitely a big supply – maybe you could call it a glut – which means price is low and quality is good,” he says.
Cafarella sells hass avocados for about $1 each; in supermarkets they can be found for about $1.50 each. And affordable avocados mean one thing: guacamole for all.
Underrated radishes
At about $2 a kilo, jap or kent pumpkins retain their winter soup credentials, while potatoes, carrots and celery continue to be cheap and plentiful.
But when it comes to winter vegetables, radishes fly under the radar. “Radishes are strangely not a big seller,” says Cafarella. “They’re $3 a bunch, beautiful and fresh, and add a bit of zing to your salad.”
Nigel Slater’s radish, fennel and mint salad or Anna Jones’s combination with radish, pomegranates and sumac are crunchy counterpoints to your winter menu, or pan-roast them, leaves and all, and serve with labneh and freekeh.
Want something low effort and very French? Simply swipe small, whole radishes through butter and sprinkle with salt.
Spring onions – sometimes sold as shallots – are also looking good at about $2.80 a bunch in supermarkets. Struggling to use up that whole bunch? Meera Sodha’s spring onion pancakes are your delicious solution.
John Samios, owner of Bellas Fruit Market in Brisbane, says tomatoes are growing well in the unseasonably warm conditions in the eastern states – you can find them from $3.99 a kilo.
Samios also recommends zucchinis (about $4 a kilo), as well as capsicums. Whether red, yellow or green, they are now very affordable at about $4.90 a kilo.
The mandarin with a ‘cult following’
In mandarin land, the imperial maintains its reign over shoppers. But Cafarella says there are other varieties with better flavour. “We always encourage people to think further afield,” he says.
Look around and you might find juicy dandy mandarins and delicate satsumas, plump afourers and super-sized sumos. But Cafarella sings the praises of the golden nugget, a mandarin variety with “a cult following”.
“They’re just delicious. They’re triple the size of imperials and have a nice, firm texture and they’re seedless.”
Blood oranges, a later season that which ripens longer on the tree, are now in good supply and about $5 a kilo, and navel oranges remain very affordable at $2 to $3 a kilo.
At about $5.99 a kilo, the pink lady variety should be the apple of your eye, while jazz will cost you a few dollars more a kilo. Just don’t be fooled by their size.
“We always tell people when you’re choosing apples, you’re generally better off to go for a smaller apple,” says Cafarella. “They’re much more likely to be crunchy, not floury.”
Keep a look out for missile apples. They are prized for their sweetness and crunch and the mini-size means they fit happily in the school lunchbox.
Queensland strawberries are now in season and can be found for $4 or $5 a punnet in supermarkets. But avoid other berries – prices remain high until more widespread warmer weather brings more supply.
And spike your pineapple plans. Thanks to a drop in supply, “pineapples are a little bit pricey at the moment”, says Zammit. In supermarkets, they are about $6 each – double what grocers are used to seeing at this time of the year.
But if you are after some tropical flavour, opt for passionfruit or kiwifruit, on special in supermarkets for between $1 and $1.50 each. Grab four passionfruit, combine with citrus zest and dollop on top of this ginger-spiked rice pudding. Enjoy kiwis pure and unadulterated; or preserve their goodness in this kiwi jam.
Buy:
Apples
Asian greens
Avocados
Beetroot
Blood oranges
Broccoli
Cabbage
Capsicums
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cavolo nero
Celery
Kiwifruit
Mandarins
Oranges
Parsnips
Passionfruit
Pawpaw
Pears
Potato
Pumpkins
Radishes
Silverbeet
Strawberries
Spinach
Avoid:
Blueberries
Grapes
Mushrooms
Pineapples
Coming in spring:
Broad beans
Berries
Snow peas
