Fresh food club - What's in season?

First introduced to Australia over 12 years ago, right red Kanzi apples are a cross between a juicy Royal Gala and crunchy Braeburn. After the hardships of the 2020 season, which saw growers battle through bushfires and drought, apple growers forecast a record crop of Kanzi apples this season that will extend the season until spring

Soft and sweet eating persimmons are a seasonal fruit available from April to July. Persimmons are ready to eat when the flesh is soft, gooey, and resembling apricot jam. Persimmons team well with yoghurt, custard, sponge, honey, cinnamon.

Pick up a 1 kilo or three of super sweet Valencia oranges. They are filled with juice and are a delicious source of vitamin C.

Vibrate ruby red rhubarb teams deliciously with other fruit such as apples, strawberries, pears, oranges and raspberries. Microwave, sliced rhubarb stems in a little sugar or honey to sweeten

Pears continue to ripen are harvesting, so select firm, mature pears and ripen at room temperature. New-season Packham and Beurru Bosc pears are a top buy

New-season, easy to peel Imperial mandarins from Gayndah and Childers in Queensland are now available at your local greengrocer

Add colour and sweetness to your autumn salads with a generous sprinkle of pomegranates arils; they team delicious with oranges, rocket, feta, rice, lentils, beetroot, quinoa, rhubarb, pears and lamb. Serve pomegranates with panna cotta, yoghurt, porridge, or spatter arils over a pudding

Nourishing avocados are a tasty addition to autumn meals. Add diced avocado to salads, pasta dishes or try mashing avocado with a little sweet chilli sauce and serve in a burrito with barbecued chicken

Pumpkins golden-fleshed has a nutty and sweet flavour. Add Butternut, Jap and Jarrahdale pumpkins to your autumn cooking, it is delicious mashed, roasted or steamed and ideal for adding to a frittata or pasta. Jap and Jarrahdale pumpkins are cheaper per kg when purchased whole

Bean sprouts are delicious added to a stir dishes, pop a generous handful to your stir-fry this week or serve them with a Thai curry or Vietnamese pancake.

Make a meal memorable with mushrooms. Add sliced Swiss brown mushrooms to pizza toppings, risotto and pasta sauce. Shiitake mushrooms add flavour to stir-fries or team them with sliced flats mushrooms and sauté with garlic until tender.

Machine harvested green beans are a thrifty buy. For maximum quality use within 2-3 days of purchasing.

Unlike other nuts, fresh chestnuts have a high starch and water content, with a low protein and fat levels. The first and most important step before cooking chestnuts is to cut a large cross into the side of the shell. This ensures that the shell is easy to remove once the nuts are cooked. Chestnuts are delicious baked, microwaved, roasted, grilled, barbecued or boiled

The subtle, sweet onion-flavoured leeks are ideal for combining with potatoes, eggs, mushrooms. Leeks are a tasty addition to risotto, pasta and frittatas.

Victoria grown fennel is white, crisp, flavoursome and super value. Delicious served shredded in an autumn salad like this fennel, feta and pomegranate salad or whip up this tasty and wholesome fennel, tomato & Italian sausage spaghetti.

Cauliflowers are exquisite at this time of year, and ideal for making a cauliflower pizza crust. This low fat and carb option slashes the kilojoules compared to a than a standard pizza base.

The best way to keep celery is to remove the bulb and leaves and store the stems in an air-tight plastic container in the refrigerator. Celery teams well with blue cheese, mayonnaise, salt, eggs, potatoes, apples and oranges.

The peppery flavour of watercress combines deliciously with smoked fish, tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes, mushrooms or blue cheese. Whip a salad with watercress