18 - 24 March update Sydney Market that includes availability and price of seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers. Also includes recipe suggestions.
FRUITS:
The juiciest of stone fruits, smooth-skinned plums come in many different varieties, some sweet and some slightly tart. They're super versatile—add them to salads and lunch boxes or gently poach, bake, or stew them. Depending on variety, most plums retail at $3-$8 a kilo.
New-season Shepard avocados are rich in healthy fats, fibre, and essential vitamins and minerals, making them a great addition to a balanced diet. This pear-shaped avocado has smooth green skin and a butter flavour and does not brown once cut. Grab a few avocados this week for $1.50-$4 each.
Seize the final batches of this season's peaches and nectarines, available for $6 to $10 per kilogram, varying by type and size. Keep late-season fruit refrigerated. Before they're gone, create a mouthwatering hot dessert with stonefruit like these roasted peaches with pistachio crumble.
Enjoy the succulent sweetness of fresh table grapes, bursting with juicy goodness and offering a delightful crunch with every bite. Visit your neighbourhood greengrocer to explore their fantastic assortment of freshly picked grapes. Most varieties are priced between $4 and $14 per kilogram. However, for the newer and fancier selections, expect prices to reach up to $26 per kilogram
Fresh figs are a delicious treat! Did you know they contain 55% natural sugar, making them one of the sweetest fruits? They also have an enzyme, like pineapple and papaya leaves, that helps tenderize meats. Depending on their size and quality, you can find figs priced between 50c to $3 each.
Give autumn meals a citrus twist with zesty, juicy Australian lemons and limes. Lemon supplies have increased, and prices have eased. You can now fill your fruit bowl with lemons for $3-$10 a kilo (depending on size and quality), and limes are $3-$10 a kilo or 40¢-$1 each.
Australians love their apples. 89% of Australian households purchase apples, buying an average of 890 g each shopping trip. New-season apples include Royal Gala, Kanzi, Jazz, Fuji, Red Delicious, Mi, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious varieties. Apples are $4-$10 a kilo, depending on the size and variety.
Everyone loves fibre-packed pears! They're naturally tasty, budget-friendly, and adaptable, whether you're making a quick dessert or adding sweetness to salads. You can now choose from Williams, Packham, Beurre Bosc, and Corella pears, priced between $3 and $7 per kilogram. Don't miss out on trying our irresistible pear, date, and chocolate crumble!
Harvesting of new-season green olives is underway, so now is the time to start preserving. Small-sized olives will retail for around $25-30 for a 5-kilo box, while the extra-large Kalamata olives are $30-$50 for 5 kilos.
Custard apples are in season. Select firm, well-shaped custard apples with dull green skin. Ripen firm fruit at room temperature for 2-3 days until fruit yields to gentle pressure. Enjoy their creamy, sweet flavour with passionfruit, oranges, pineapples and kiwifruit. The smaller African Pride variety is selling for $10-$15 a kilo.
VEGETABLES
Add golden-fleshed pumpkin to your autumn meals for colour and flavour. Nutritious and richly flavoured pumpkin is ideal for adding to vegetable lasagnas, risotto and pasta dishes, and roasted pumpkin adds sweetness to a salad. Combine roasted pumpkin with chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and crumbled goat cheese. Dress with a lemon and tahini dressing. Jap Pumpkin is $1.50-$3 a kilo, depending if it is cut or whole.
Asian leafy greens, such as pak choy, bok choy, and choy sum, are easy to cook and good value at $2-$3 a bunch. Finely grate or mince new-season fresh ginger and sauté it in sesame oil until fragrant, then add the leafy greens and stir-fry until tender.
New-season ginger refers to fresh ginger that has just been harvested and is available during the early part of the growing season. It is lighter and more delicately flavoured than older ginger, which has been stored longer. To peel, use a spoon or vegetable peeler to remove the thin, papery skin. Then, slice, grate, or mince the ginger as needed for your recipe. New-season ginger costs $4-$10 a kilo, and mature older ginger costs $15-$20.
Savour the delightful taste of roasted, baked, or fried eggplant. This versatile vegetable imparts a rich, smoky flavour to salads, pizza toppings, and dips. It is a delicious alternative to pasta in dishes like lasagna. You can find eggplants priced between $4 and $8 per kilogram. Look for the super pretty purple and white variegated varieties at $6-$10 a kilo.
Celebrate the essence of fresh herbs, effortlessly enhancing the simplest of recipes. Discover the magic of rosemary with lamb, potatoes, or beef, while dill brings out the best in seafood. Oregano beautifully complements capsicums, eggplant, pork, chicken, and zucchini. With fresh herbs available for just $2.50 -$3 per bunch, ensure you always have some on hand. Try our delicious roasted mushrooms with feta and oregano.
If you are looking for an ingredient rich in flavour, super healthy and easy to prepare, then you can't go past mushrooms. They cook in minutes and add a distinct umami flavour to stir-fries, pasta bakes, and risottos. Mushrooms are the only ingredient in the fresh produce aisle to supply vitamin D. Mushrooms are $10-$15 a kilo. BBQ try this delicious dish for breakfast: mushrooms with goat’s cheese, basil & tomatoes.
Versatile zucchini can be stir-fried, blanched, hollowed out and stuffed, baked, fried, barbecued, or stewed. It tastes delicious with goat's cheese or fresh herbs. Serve zucchini in curries and vegetable bakes, use it as a spaghetti alternative, or grate and add it to mincemeat dishes to boost its nutritional value. Zucchini costs $4-$6 a kilo.
The harvesting of new-season chestnuts for Victoria has commenced. Large chestnuts sell for $12 a kilo, while the smaller chestnuts are around $5 a kilo.
A kilo bag of machine-harvested green beans costs $5-$8, while hand-harvested green beans cost $10-16.
FLOWERS
Autumn flowers are top quality. Visit your local florist and pick up a bunch of dahlias, gladioli, Veronica, Pink ice protea, gum nuts, Easter daisies, Billy button, pineapple lily, Siam tulips, sunflowers, tulips, chrysanthemums, hanging amaranth, lisianthus, flamingo celosia, oriental lilies, sedum, Leucadendron, beehive ginger, sunflowers, local roses, tulips, hydrangea, hanging amaranth, smoke bush, tiger lily, banksia, Easter daisies, carnations, gerberas, bouvardia or tuberoses.
Please note that the prices quoted in this report only apply for the current week and are subject to variation based on product variety, size, quality, and the trading area. For more information, please feel free to contact Sue Dodd, Marketing Consultant, at 0438725453
Published On 2024-03-18 16:56:53
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