{"id":844621,"date":"2026-08-05T17:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/844621\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:00:09","slug":"celery-and-blood-oranges-top-australias-best-fruit-and-veg-for-august-everybody-should-be-eating-crunchy-water-australian-lifestyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/844621\/","title":{"rendered":"Celery and blood oranges top Australia\u2019s best fruit and veg for August: \u2018Everybody should be eating crunchy water\u2019 | Australian lifestyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a family affair this month \u2013 vegetable siblings celery and celeriac<\/a> are \u201cvery good\u201d quality and in \u201cplenty of supply\u201d, according to Graham Gee, a senior buyer at the Happy Apple in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Gee says to enjoy celeriac now, as they\u2019re at their peak. As the weather starts to warm up, they begin to shrink in size, with less availability, he says. The Happy Apple and Panetta Mercato are selling them for $5 a piece.<\/p>\n

Alice Zaslavsky\u2019s celeriac tacos. Photograph: Eugene Hyland\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

For a left-of-field taco filling, Alice Zaslavsky roasts celeriac wedges<\/a> until caramelised on the outside and fluffy on the inside, resulting in a \u201csurprisingly meaty\u201d flavour. If you don\u2019t have the patience to peel celeriac\u2019s gnarly skin, you can pop it into the oven whole or wrap it in \u201csea bread\u201d as per Tom Hunt\u2019s recipe<\/a>. And of course, celeriac\u2019s creamy interior is a sure-fire win in a hearty soup \u2013 Anna Jones\u2019s recipe combines the root vegetable with leeks, apples and butter beans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michael Hsu, the operational manager at Sydney\u2019s Panetta Mercato, says there is an abundance of celery coming from Victoria and local growers. Gee agrees: \u201cEverybody should be eating crunchy water.\u201d Celery is selling for $2.50 a bunch at the Happy Apple, Panetta Mercato and Perth\u2019s Spudshed. At supermarkets they\u2019re $4 a bunch.<\/p>\n

Yotam Ottolenghi\u2019s chicken herb and celery stew with almonds. Photograph: Louise Hagger\/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food styling assistant: Christina Cullen.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll need 600g of celery \u2013 about half to three-quarters of a bunch \u2013 for Yotam Ottolenghi\u2019s herby chicken stew<\/a>. About half a bunch will do for Meera Sodha\u2019s congee<\/a> recipe, where a portion of the celery is pickled and the remainder goes into an aromatic mirepoix.<\/p>\n

There will be blood oranges<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still a good time for citrus, says Dean Lamb, owner of Watts Fresh in Kyneton, Victoria, with blood oranges joining the juicy lineup of imperial mandarins and dekopons.<\/p>\n

Blood oranges are between $4.50 to $5.90 a kilo at the supermarkets and $4 a kilo at Watts Fresh and Panetta Mercato. Depending on your mood, Anna Jones has sweet and savoury uses<\/a>: in a warm salad of kale and sticky blood orange, or in rooibos-infused mini cakes.<\/p>\n

Anna Jones\u2019s sticky blood orange and kale warm salad. Photograph: Matt Russell\/The Guardian. Food styling: Rosie Ramsden. Prop styling: Rachel Vere<\/p>\n

Gee is excited about the \u201cheaps\u201d of strawberries available at the moment. \u201cIt\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve had a really good supply,\u201d he says, adding that you can expect to pay $3.50 to $4.50 for a premium punnet. At Spudshed, strawberry punnets are $3.99, and at the supermarkets they\u2019re $4.<\/p>\n

Marie Frank\u2019s strawberry shortcakes. Photograph: The Guardian: Food stylist: El Kemp Prop stylist: Florence Blair\/( extra props Louie Waller)<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll need 300g for Benjamin Ebuehi\u2019s lemon cake<\/a> with mint syrup and roasted-strawberry buttercream; but if you\u2019re not a \u201ccake person\u201d, use them in Marie Frank\u2019s biscuit-y strawberry shortcakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Green and gold<\/p>\n

Hsu says zucchini and corn are also doing very well. There\u2019s produce coming out of Queensland and New South Wales, which means there\u2019s a lot of supply. At Panetta Mercato, zucchini is $4 a kilo. It\u2019s about $6 a kilo at Watts Fresh and $4.90 at the supermarket.<\/p>\n

Hsu adds that corn is particularly sweet. They\u2019re going for $2.50 a piece at Panetta Mercato, $1.50 at the Happy Apple and between $1.70 and $1.90 at the supermarkets.<\/p>\n

Chetna Makan\u2019s corn on the cob curry. Photograph: Emma Guscott\/The Guardian. Food styling: El Kemp. Prop styling: Faye Wears. Food stylist assistant: Aine Pretty-McGrath.<\/p>\n

Chetna Makan throws whole corn<\/a>, cobs and all, into a tangy yet creamy curry that takes its cues from west India. Ben Tish slow cooks zucchini<\/a> to create a jammy, fancy toast topping with preserved lemon and ricotta. And combine both ingredients in Jackie Middleton\u2019s fast corn and zucchini fritters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Spinach, kale and silverbeet are also going \u201creally well\u201d, says Gee. At the Happy Apple, bunches of the various leafy greens are $4 to $5, and at Spudshed prices are between $2 and $3.<\/p>\n

Not a lot of shallots<\/p>\n

Spring onions have been a \u201cbit small\u201d and quite affected by the colder weather, says Gee. As a result, they\u2019re more expensive than normal. Hsu says they\u2019re about $3 a bunch when they\u2019re typically about $1.50.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also limited supply of asparagus, with the season starting a little late, says to Lamb. He says it should kick in at the end of month, and will peak in September and October.<\/p>\n

In brighter news, the first crop of mangoes have just landed from the Northern Territory. All three produce experts say the season has started earlier than usual. Lamb and Gee say they\u2019re currently quite expensive at about $7 to $8 a piece, but will drop as more crops become ready to harvest. \u201cWe should expect a long Darwin season for mangoes this year,\u201d says Gee.<\/p>\n

Buy:
Apples
Blood oranges
Celeriac
Celery
Corn
English spinach
Fennel
Kale
Leeks
Mandarins
Pears
Radicchio
Silverbeet
Strawberries
Zucchini<\/p>\n

Watch:
Asparagus (season just starting)
Mango (season just starting)<\/p>\n

Avoid:
Grapes (end of season)
Spring onions (weather-affected)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a family affair this month \u2013 vegetable siblings celery and celeriac are \u201cvery good\u201d quality and in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":844622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-844621","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\/844621","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=844621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}