"ideas on the freshest produce this season coupled with gourmet recipes for the freshest produce in town
What's fresh?
Cherries
Glossy red cherries are in season and sweet eating. Early season varieties are softer fleshed and flavoursome. Enjoy fresh cherries or cooking with them to preserve their delicious flavour
Golden, velvety skinned apricots are in season and available at your local greengrocer. Add apricots to savoury or sweet dishes turn them into homemade jam, spicy apricot chutney or poach apricots in a vanilla syrup to serves as a dessert or for breakfast.
Flavoursome, aromatic and ultra-juicy peaches and nectarines well supplied. Select from white and yellow-flesh fruit numerous varieties are now available, select slipstone varieties for making summertime desserts
Originating in Spain, Piel de sapo melons also known as the Christmas melon is about the size & shape of a football with an attractive green mottled rind and crisp, super sweet white-flesh. There are similar to a honeydew but super tasty
New-season Aussie grown grapes are in season. Look for green-skinned Menindee seedless variety for sweet eating and value, the pink-skinned Flame Seedless variety and the blacked-skinned Midnight Beauty. Wash grapes and store in the fridge to ensure they are crisp and firm eating.
Bananas are an all-time favourite.When bananas start to develop a brown freckled appearance on the dulling yellow skin, this indicates that they are at prime ripeness and all the starch content has changed to sugar, so they are at their sweetest.
Shiny, delicate blackberries range in colour from deep purple to black. Choose berries that are deep and evenly coloured; blackberries should be sweet and tart but never sour tasting. Serve blackberries with pancakes, puree into a coulis to serve with ice-cream
Sweet and juicy mangoes bring a lush tropical taste to your summer table. Mangoes are ideal on their own or in tempting chilled summer desserts. Ripen mangoes at room temperature until the fruit yields to gentle pressure around the stem.
Treat yourself to the first of the new season lychees. Did you know that Australia has the most extended longest lychee season in the world and produces more than 16 different varieties?
It’s time to take the heat out of the kitchen and enjoy alfresco feasts cooked on the barbecue. Load up your plate with healthy barbecued veggies. For value, taste and ease of cooking fresh asparagus is a winner.
Popular sweetcorn is a thrifty buy this week. Have you tried cooking cobs of corn on the barbecue? Carefully pull back the green husks and remove the silk-like threads from the corn cob. Pullover the husk to enclose the cob, and tie with cooking string. Soak in cold water for 10 minutes, then barbecue over medium heat, turning often, for 15–20 minutes until kernels are tender. Corn rapidly loses its sweetness, so use within 1–2 days
Adding barbecued gloss black-skinned eggplant to the grill and enjoy that extra smoky flavour. Eggplants absorb flavours particularly well and team deliciously with flavours like tomato, garlic and basil. P
Team fragrant finely sliced basil leaves with diced mango and tomato, grated ginger and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve as an appetiser spooned onto crunchy bruschetta or with fish as a salsa.
Zucchinis are a bargain buy this week. Choose plump zucchini with glossy, unblemished skin. They’re best used within a few days and are super tasty cooked on the barbecue.
Slightly softer and sweeter than ordinary cabbage - Wombok also known as Chinese cabbage is a thrifty buy. Add to salads, stir-fries, noodle dishes or a traditional hot pot.
More than just a side vegetable, popular broccoli is delicious blanched and tossed through a salad or perfect for adding to a stir-fry. Broccoli is good quality and prices are back down.
Serve healthy salads full of crisp salad greens and colourful summery vegetables. Cos lettuce and crunchy iceberg lettuce are coming in from from Victoria.
