The bad news: inflation is at its highest since 1990, driven in part by rising food prices. The good news: you can keep costs down by filling your shopping bag with produce in its prime this February.
Pumpkin prices squashed, corn stays sweet
“At the moment, pumpkin is worth nothing,” says John Samios, owner of Bellas Fruit Market in Brisbane.
At $2.50 a kilo, Kent or butternut pumpkins are a sweet, versatile addition to summer salads, or make them the star of the show in Felicity Cloake’s pumpkin gnocchi. For bite-size spice, grate your pumpkin of choice into Ravinder Bhogal’s fritters with lemongrass, lime leaf and a yoghurt dipping sauce.
At Bolton Street Fruit Market in Melbourne’s north-east, owner Kuldip Singh puts eggplant and corn on his to-buy list, as well as green beans and tomatoes. Zucchini too – which means it’s the month to try Thomas Keller’s TikTok-famous roasted zucchini.
Corn prices are staying sweet, with cobs going for $1 to $1.50 apiece in supermarkets.
Meanwhile, eggplant is “the cheapest it has been in months”, says Singh, ranging from $5 to $7 a kilo depending on whether they’re glasshouse or field grown. Whatever their birthplace, consider your eggplants right at home in this smokey recipe for eggplant with chilli jam.
And while tomatoes are still one of the cheapest ingredients you can buy (truss tomatoes are about $3 a kilo), the threat of sunburn means supply is not as stable as last month.
Lettuce is back and bigger than ever
“Queensland lettuce are fantastic at the moment,” says Samios. “They’re $2 each and heavier than a cauliflower.”
While supply can be easily affected by wet weather, there is plenty of cos and iceberg lettuce right now and they can be found in supermarkets from $1.90 to $2.50 a head.
But avoid cauliflower, the price of which has gone “ballistic”, says Samios. Expect to pay about $7 a kilo or upwards of $5.50 a head.
At Mickey’s Fruit and Veg in Sydney, Asian greens are lush and leafy, with owner Mickey Cuomo selling them for $1.50 to $2 a bunch.
Herbs are also back in business, he says. But if there any more heatwaves, things could take a turn for the worse.
“If we get this heat for too many days, especially with the delicate stuff, the Chinese veg gardens will suffer [and] the iceberg lettuce will burn,” says Cuomo.
In the meantime, take inspiration from Yotam Ottolenghi’s three herb-heavy dishes. In addition to chives, parsley, coriander and mint, they also make use of good February buys like cucumber and broccolini. Or use up wombok, currently $4.90 a head in supermarkets, in this crisp and crunchy salad from RecipeTin Eats.
Stone fruits are on a roll (watermelon too)
“Peaches and nectarines are in their prime,” says Cuomo. Yellow and white varieties are $3.50 to $3.90 a kilo in supermarkets, ripe and ready to be enjoyed as they are.
And watermelon is one to watch in the final month of summer.
“Watermelon is really good and extremely sweet at the moment,” says Cuomo, adding that for someone who doesn’t eat much fruit, he recently ate half a watermelon, all by himself.
The fruit is going for about $2.50 a kilo, or cheaper if you buy it whole. Slice, pack into an icebox and take along to your next picnic, dip wedges in chocolate and freeze for a fruity icy pole, or let it shine in Ravinder Bhogal’s maftoul salad and poke.
Mangoes continue their golden run. But as Kensington Pride season winds up, fans will need to switch their allegiance to R2E2s or Calypsos, and later in the month, Keitts. They can be found for $2.50 each in supermarkets.
Say hola to Valencias and adios to avocados
You can bet on berries again, with prices across all varieties stabilising at about $2 to $4 a punnet. Warmer weather has also cemented the late supply of cherries, which are good in quality and flavour, and range from $10 to $20 a kilo depending on their size.
Navel oranges are out of season, but Valencias are in, selling for $2.50 to $3 a kilo. With less pulp, they are ideal for juicing and excellent for this portokalopita (Greek orange cake).
In sad news for toast, the avocado glut is reaching its end, with prices almost doubling this month.
“When avocados were really expensive a few years ago, growers put more crops in and they’ve come in on season … so they had a huge supply,” says Cuomo.
“For the past year or so, we’ve had them consistently at $1.50 to $2 each, but now they’re finally running out. They’re about $3 to $4.50 each.”
Buy
Pumpkin
Corn
Eggplant
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Chinese greens
Beans
Wombok
Cabbage (red and green)
Broccolini
Lettuce
Cucumber
Cherries
Peaches
Nectarines
Plums
Grapes
Mangoes
Raspberries
Blueberries
Strawberries
Blackberries
Lychees: down from last month but still about $20 a kilo
Watch
Apples:between seasons, avoid Royal Galas
Avoid
Cauliflower
Asparagus: Australian season is over
Potatoes: still flood-affected
Avocados
Navel oranges
Lemons
