North Queensland is producing many of our stand-out fruit and vegies this week, including Mareeba-grown limes and passionfruit, Daintree-grown watermelon, and pineapple.
One of our favourites from up north, bananas, might have a duller skin at the moment but don’t let this put you off. In fact, bananas are sweeter during winter because they hang on the tree for up to 20 weeks (in summer, they only hang for about eight weeks).
Kensington Pride mangoes are starting to arrive from the Northern Territory; also keep an eye out for green mango varieties like Fa Lan, Keo Savoy, Nam Dok Mai for Asian dishes like Thai salads.
Take a walk on the exotic side with dragonfruit, which are arriving from Darwin and Cooktown, or guava from Newrybar in northern NSW — it makes a fantastic jam. Local paw paw and papaya are also in good supply.
We’re seeing abundant quantities of Hass avocados, local strawberries, lemons, and Griffith-grown oranges and grapefruit. Expect higher prices for blueberries, which have been affected by cold weather.
In vegetables, highlights this week include top-quality Queensland-grown coriander and parsley, cauliflower from the Lockyer Valley, sweet potatoes, local eggplant, cherry tomatoes, and pumpkin varieties from North Queensland including Kent, Jarrahdale, and Butternut.
In good supply are sugar snaps, snow peas, field mushrooms from Stapylton, yellow squash, beans, beetroot, broccoli and truss tomatoes. Lebanese cucumbers are more expensive at the moment, but Continentals are still good buying. Capsicum prices have also increased, but the quality of all colours is superb. Also higher priced but good quality are zucchini from Bundaberg.
This week’s top pick is the kipfler potato, a small- to medium-sized variety with a long, finger-like shape. Originally from Austria, kipflers are have a nutty, buttery flavour and waxy flesh that lends them to baking, roasting, and boiling. Use kipflers in a classic potato salad, or for a simple side dish, toss kipflers with olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary then roast at 220 degrees celsius for 20 minutes.
You can buy the best of what the season has to offer at your nearest Your Local Fruit Shop. Go to www.yourlocalfruitshop.com.au to locate your closest store. Check out the Your Local Fruit Shop Facebook page for the latest news from your local fresh produce experts at https://www.facebook.com/yourlocalfruitshop
Brisbane Produce Market
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