Brisbane Market Report 227

Brisbane Produce Report – 28 August

  August 28, 2020  strump

A chilly end to August means soups, stews, casseroles, and warm puddings. We are happy to report stable supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables at the Brisbane Produce Market this week so you can fulfil your appetite of comfort food at home.

Both red and green apples are fantastic eating at the moment along with Aussie favourite fruit – creamy bananas. If you end up with overripe bananas then use them to bake muffins or banana bread as they are sweeter, easier to mash and more aromatic when overripe.

Luscious local strawberries and blueberries are in-season and excellent value right now, so make the most of berry season by incorporating them in desserts, breakfast and lunchboxes. Raspberry supplies are improving.

Medium to large in size packham and corella variety of pears from Victoria are eating beautifully along with yellow pawpaw from Mareeba. Also having a strong season are rockmelons, avocadoes from North Queensland and passionfruit from New South Wales. When choosing melons make sure that the fruit smells fragrant and fresh with a hint of sweetness and is heavy for its size.

Start your day with freshly squeezed juice from navel oranges as the late-season variety is great in quality. Blood oranges and sweet and succulent mandarins from South Australia shows no sign of slowing down too so grab them while you can. Available all year round are lemons and limes at your local fruit shop however lemons are at their peak in winter.

In vegies, Gatton and the Lockyer Valley continue to fill the shelves with abundant supplies of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, iceberg lettuce, and salad leaves. Leeks – priced at a premium are at the peak of their season — look for a crisp white base and fresh-looking green tops. Enliven your soups and stews by adding coriander, basil, Aussie ginger and fennel as they are plentiful.

A sure sign that spring is approaching is the appearance of asparagus from Victoria, expect supplies to increase in coming weeks. Celery, capsicum, spring onions, rhubarb, mushrooms, corn and white onions from Gatton are all available this week. Supplies of green beans from Gympie, cucumbers, silverbeet and snow peas are light while top-quality cherry tomatoes and zucchinis are plentiful.

Craving for savoury snacks? We have three healthy options for you to munch on – kale chips, beetroot crisps and roasted peas as all three veggies are in good supply. Winter roots such as carrots, turnips, radish, parsnips, potatoes and celeriac are all well supplied this week. Roast them or sneak them into casseroles for highly nutritious meals.

This week’s top pick is sweet potatoes from Bundaberg. The most common sweet potato variety found in Queensland is the gold variety that has orange skin and bright orange flesh. Not only sweet potatoes supercharge your meals but are incredibly delicious and versatile. Roasted, mashed, steamed, barbequed, baked or fried, sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A and are much lower in starch than a regular potato. Store them in a cool, dark place and not in the fridge.

Brisbane Market Report