Brisbane Market Report - 71

Some fruit and vegetables flourish in the colder conditions of winter resulting in quality produce arriving on Your Local Fruit Shop shelves.
In particular, most vegetables thrive meaning you can pick up Asian vegetables, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, fennel, silverbeet, zucchini, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes and pumpkin at value-for-money prices.
Imported asparagus is also reasonably priced as are field grown eggplants and smaller sized capsicum. However, the glamour larger-sized capsicum and glasshouse grown eggplant that are glossy and thriving in the cool will cost you more.
Beans, brussels sprouts, carrots, leeks, parsnips, snow peas, squash and sweet corn are firmly priced but eating well.
Mushrooms, that have slowed their growth in the colder conditions, will cost more than usual. Store them in a brown paper bag in your fridge's bottom shelf, and you can expect them to last up to a week.
In the salad aisle, all varieties of tomatoes are expensive but you can pick up some top quality lettuce and mixed leaf salad at reasonable prices.
Avocados, cucumber and eshallots will cost you more.
All herbs are reasonably priced with the exception of coriander and basil which are struggling with the cooler conditions and are firmly priced.
It's citrus season with lemons, limes, mandarins, navel oranges and even tangelos arriving at the Brisbane Produce Market in abundance and eating well at value-for-money prices. Tangelos are a sweet fruit that look like an odd shaped orange. They originated from a mandarin and grapefruit cross.
Winter is also a great time for tropical and exotic fruits with pomegranate, quinces, custard apples, feijoa, rambutans, dragon fruit, persimmons, chestnuts, carambola (star fruit), nashi fruit and guava on the shelves.
The budget conscious can pick up kiwifruit, watermelon, honey dew, pineapples and passionfruit at reasonable prices.
You will pay more for red and black grapes, figs, rockmelon, pawpaw and the last of the Australian plums.
In the berry section, the first of the Sunshine Coast strawberries have arrived, and along with raspberries are firmly priced but you can expect to pay top dollar for blueberries.
The cool of winter has slowed the growth of bananas so expect to pay more this week but they are still affordable.
Imported Mexican mangoes and USA cherries, peaches and nectarines are filling the gap when Australian produce is out of season but they are expensive.