Market Watch #4 Published Advertiser Taste 9.3.11

March delivers a diverse range of fresh local produce in SA. All the seasons cross paths in these next few weeks offering some of the best produce of the year. Lemons, chillies, limes, peaches and plums are bountiful and now is the time to bottle this great fruit for the coming winter months. Preserving is rewarding so dust off Nana’s Green and Gold Cookery Book.


Fruit and Veg

Word from the wholesalers and the growers is positive. Interstate market demand from SA remains high with apples, potatoes and carrot exports peaking. The not so good news is that small business food retailers across Adelaide are experiencing declining customer numbers. It is timely to remember that the supply of such beautiful local produce rests on continued support for local businesses.

Best buys are avocados, lemons, sweet potatoes, grapes, rockmelons, blueberries, apples, plums and peaches. Grape varieties to look for are red globe, midnight bounty and the seedless Thompsons from Mildura at $2 -$6 kg. Adelaide Hills apples are terrific now and Royal Galas are crunchy, juicy and sweet. The stone-fruit season has about three weeks to run and the Sunburst peaches from Adelaide Hills are still beautiful. The sensational Royal Blue potato is back and best roasted up with sea salt and rosemary.

The banana price-hike is still ahead but this week market prices begin at 99c kg.

After 500 years carrots have been grown to return to their original colour – purple! These are available at Cocos Stall 20/21, $3.50 a bunch.

Brian Swanson’s McLaren Vale Kalamata olives are processed the old-fashioned way, containing no artificial preservatives, colourings or caustic soda and are available from Leo’s at Stall 28/29.

Best Asian vegies now are variegated watercress at $2 bunch and Perilla, known as Japanese basil or shiso. This is used to add sharpness to fish and tofu. Add garlic chive stalks and flowers to your stir-fries at $3.

Next week: New season persimmons and nashi pears are on the way in.



Meat and Seafood

End of season Tassie lobsters are a great price now $77kg and whole flathead $11.99 are the go from Samtass.

Pork belly is all the rage at $7.99 kg - using rock-salt will give you great crackling. Tweet me for Billy Law’s recipe for Crispy Roast Pork Belly – Siew Yuk (烧肉).

Eat Now Food!

Gourmet To Go, Stall 42 - Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free savoury range is unbeatable. Famous for lentil pies and sweet corn and fetta fritters.



SPECIAL

C2 is a hand-made, raw-milk cheese made by Adelaide boy Nick Haddow, now in Tasmania.

Nick operates the Bruny Island Cheese Co., settling at Bruny Island after almost ten years of working with specialist cheese in many different countries around the world. C2 is matured for six months, resulting in a hard crust, cheddar style consistency centre with a nutty yet robust flavour - Smelly Cheese, Stall 44.