Navel gazing: oranges, mandarins and persimmons top Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for May

You could make use of the ‘sea of orange’ in stores by baking Claire Ptak’s orange, ginger and rye upside-down cake. Photograph: Kristin Perers/The Guardian

“Sweet, low seed and great for snacking” imperial mandarins have just started their season, says Josh Flamminio, owner and buyer at Sydney’s Galluzzo Fruiterers. The tangy-sweet citrus is selling for between $2.99 and $3.99 a kilo in major supermarkets. At Galluzzo, Queensland-grown imperial mandarins are $3.99 to $5.99 a kilo, “depending on quality”.

Larger varieties, such as afourer and daisy, are more expensive but offer slightly different flavour. “Daisies are really fleshy and even tastier than imperials, in my opinion,” Flamminio says.