\u201cSweet, low seed, and great for snacking\u201d, imperial mandarins have just started their season, says Josh Flamminio, owner and buyer at Sydney\u2019s Galluzzo Fruiterers. The tangy-sweet citrus is selling for between $2.99 and $3.99 a kilo in major supermarkets. At Galluzzo, Queensland-grown imperial mandarins are $3.99 to $5.99 a kilo, \u201cdepending on quality\u201d.<\/p>\n
Larger varieties, like afourer and daisy, are more expensive but offer slightly different flavour. \u201cDaisies are really fleshy and even tastier than imperials, in my opinion,\u201d Flamminio says.<\/p>\n
Along with mandarins, Australian navel oranges are also back on shelves. \u201cIt\u2019s a sea of orange in store,\u201d says Graham Gee, senior buyer at the Happy Apple in Melbourne. Both grocers are selling them for less than $5 a kilo, depending on size. In supermarkets, navel oranges are between $3.30 and $5.50 per kilo, or roughly $1.50 a piece.<\/p>\n
Benjamina Ebuehi\u2019s orange, grapefruit and bay jelly. Photograph: The Guardian. Food styling Nicole Herft. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food styling assistant: Simone Shagam<\/p>\n
Make use of the citrus bounty with Benjamina Ebuehi\u2019s recipe for orange, grapefruit and bay jelly<\/a>, or Ravneet Gill\u2019s portokalopita (Greek orange cake<\/a>), or Claire Ptak\u2019s orange upside-down cake<\/a> (pictured above).<\/p>\n Persimmons are another highlight. Fuyu, mostly grown in Queensland and New South Wales, is the firmer variety, explains Flamminio. \u201cThe other is soft, more custardy.\u201d He\u2019s selling three persimmons (of either variety) for $10. They\u2019re about $2 each at Coles and Woolworths. Try the firmer fruit in Alanna Sapwell\u2019s persimmon tarte tatin<\/a>.<\/p>\n An apple a day<\/p>\n It\u2019s prime time for apples, says Flamminio. \u201cPink ladies, granny smith, kanzis, jazz \u2013 all brand-new season, straight off the trees,\u201d he says. \u201cSuper sweet and crunchy\u201d missile apples are his pick, which are more expensive at $10.99 per kilo, and up to $15 a kilo at the Happy Apple. But as they\u2019re smaller, \u201cthe cost per piece isn\u2019t so high\u201d, says Gee.<\/p>\n Spudshed in Western Australia has all varieties of apple for $4.99 a kilo. In general, gala and granny smith are the cheapest apples, Gee says, going for between $4.90 and $7.90 a kilo at the supermarkets. But you can\u2019t go wrong. \u201cAll apples are good at the moment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Green and gold kiwifruit is now in season, but still expensive, the grocers say. You\u2019ll find green kiwifruit for $1 a piece, and gold for between $1.50 and $1.80 a piece at major supermarkets. They\u2019re about $15 a kilo at smaller grocers.<\/p>\n But prices of kiwis, blood oranges, pink navel oranges and red-fleshed cara cara oranges will all come down in the coming weeks, says Gee.<\/p>\n Sweeter sprouts<\/p>\n \u201cBrussels sprouts are beautiful, and you don\u2019t need to cook the hell out of them,\u201d says Gee. Though prices were high at the start of the season, they\u2019re now selling for $5 to $7 a kilo at the Happy Apple. Galluzzo has them for $9 a kilo, and they\u2019re $12.90 per kilo at the supermarkets.<\/p>\n Far out: Alice Zaslavsky\u2019s buttery brussels sprouts with apple and smoked pork belly. Photograph: Eugene Hyland\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Alice Zaslavsky uses green and purple sprouts in her recipe for brussels with apple and smoked pork belly<\/a>, Georgina Hayden pairs them with anchovies and parmesan in her roast sprout salad<\/a>, and Thomasina Miers double-cooks the sprouts with soy and miso before adding them to silken tofu and soba<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cNew season hass avocados have just started. You\u2019re looking at $3 for a large one or $2 for a smaller grade,\u201d says Flamminio. Pricing is steady, says Gee, as the north Queensland supply has just come to market. Shepards are still good value too, at $1.30 to $1.50 each in supermarkets.<\/p>\n Silverbeet is \u201cgorgeous at the moment\u201d and \u201cgood value for money\u201d, says Flamminio. He\u2019s selling bunches for $3, which are \u201chumongous\u201d. Green beans and snow peas are also in good supply. \u201cMachine-picked beans are $3.99 per kilo, and hand-picked beans are about $13.99. That\u2019s the best of the best,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Pump up the flavour: Jose Pizarro\u2019s pumpkin pisto. Photograph: Ola O Smit\/The Guardian. Food styling: Iona Blackshaw. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food styling assistant: Valeria Russo.<\/p>\n Pumpkin is also plentiful, whether it\u2019s butternut, kent or the Queensland blue variety. \u201cExpect to pay less than $3 a pumpkin now or very soon,\u201d says Gee. Try Jos\u00e9 Pizarro\u2019s recipe for pumpkin pisto<\/a>, a squash-y spin on the Spanish vegetable stew, or Alice Zaslavsky\u2019s winter comfort dish, pumpkin, sweet potato and coconut dal<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to crystal ball where everything\u2019s going, but there\u2019s a good supply of most key lines,\u201d says Gee. That includes broccoli ($3 a kilo), kale ($3 a bunch), cauliflower ($5 a head) and cabbage ($5 a head). At Spudshed in Western Australia, cabbage is even cheaper \u2013 $2.99 per head.<\/p>\n Thomasina Miers\u2019 charred cabbage with artichokes and chestnuts makes use of several seasonal delicacies. Photograph: Yuki Sugiura\/The Guardian. Food styling: Aya Nishimura. Plate: Kaori Tatebayashi Ceramics<\/p>\n Cabbage is super versatile. Try it in Thomasina Miers\u2019 recipe for cabbage, artichokes and chestnuts<\/a>, Alex Elliott-Howery\u2019s quick pickled cabbage<\/a>, or Meera Sodha\u2019s white cabbage, peanut butter and gochujang noodles<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ready to roast<\/p>\n Chestnuts are a real focal point for the next three months, says Flamminio. \u201cI cooked them the other night, they\u2019re gorgeous.\u201d They\u2019re between $5 and $8 per kilo, or up to $12.99 a kilo for jumbo size. \u201cI like to spend extra on the bigger ones, as you get more of that nutty flesh in them,\u201d says Flamminio.<\/p>\n Hill Street Grocer in Tasmania has a step by step guide for roasting chestnuts<\/a>. Make sure you score a cross in the shells so steam can escape, and minimise the chance of exploding chestnuts. Yotam Ottolenghi uses cooked chestnuts as stuffing for roast poussins with pancetta and pear<\/a>, and you can also use them in risotto, hummus, soup and carbonara<\/a>.<\/p>\n Coles and Woolworths are selling large chestnuts for between $11.90 and $12.90 per kilo. Gee\u2019s top tip: \u201cStore them in a paper bag in the refrigerator. Don\u2019t keep them in the pantry as they\u2019ll lose their moisture and won\u2019t be as pleasant to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n Blueberries on ice<\/p>\n Blueberries are expensive and not the best quality, says Gee. They\u2019re between $8 and $10 for a 125g punnet at supermarkets and grocers, \u201cwhich is a lot\u201d.<\/p>\n It\u2019s best to buy frozen or hold out until supply picks up, he says, but the Coffs Harbour region season will see supply pick up soon.<\/p>\n Asparagus is best avoided, Flamminio says, as most is imported at this time of year. \u201cGet snow peas or sugar snaps instead,\u201d he says, as they\u2019re more reasonably priced.<\/p>\n Red capsicum prices are fluctuating. \u201cIt can be a rude shock if you pick up a capsicum and it\u2019s $5 or $6 dollars a piece,\u201d says Gee. But with the Queensland season coming, \u201cwe should see some relief soon\u201d.<\/p>\n Buy: Watch: Avoid:
Apples
Avocado
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Carrots
Cavolo nero
Celery
Chestnuts
Fennel
Grapes
Green beans
Kale
Lemons
Mandarins
Oranges
Persimmons
Pumpkin
Silverbeet
Snow peas<\/p>\n
Kiwis \u2013 prices high
Red capsicums \u2013 low supply<\/p>\n
Asparagus \u2013 imported
Blueberries \u2013 expensive
Zucchinis \u2013 end of season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSweet, low seed, and great for snacking\u201d, imperial mandarins have just started their season, says Josh Flamminio, owner…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-653708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}