#Adelaide Central Market Watch #42

Fruit and Veg

Be prepared for a very busy market until Christmas. Consider shopping earlier in the week to ensure your choice of quality and varieties. Banana prices have continued to go down and are $1.50kg week at Michael's, S53. Also in stock are seedless grapes for $8kg, Australian garlic for $2.50 each, mangoes are three for $5 and strawberry punnets are two for $4. Fantastic cos lettuce ($2.99) from an uncertified organic garden in Ashton Hills are now available at House of Organics, S34/35. Also, new season Riverland 'Black Genoa' figs are $25kg and local 'Sunburst' cherries are $19.99kg. Greensides, S56, has apricots, nectarines, local tomatoes and eggplants all at $3.99kg, while peaches are $2.99kg and cherries are $6.99 kg. Coco's, S20/21 has punnets of organic 'Silvanberries' from Cudlee Creek for $7 each, seedless watermelon is $1.95kg and punnets of fresh gooseberries for $6.95kg.

Meat and Poultry

All the vendors are geared up for Christmas and hams and turkeys are a priority. Feast Fine Foods, S15, has five types of hams to choose from. Consider the Saskia Beer, Black Pig Ham, on the bone for $38.50 kg or the Heritage Berkshire ham for $18.99 kg. O'Connell's Butcher on Gouger St has the gammon hams ($8kg) to cook at home in the webber with hickory.

Christmas Gourmet

Sevenhill, S75, is bulging at the seams with traditional season specialities from across Europe. A must-buy are the Dutch Detteer chocolate alphabet letters($4.50). Follow the tradition by attaching them to gifts under the Christmas tree to identify the recipient. Dough, S45, is now making a large rye, sour-dough baguette, loaded up with caramelized red onions and caraway seeds for $6.

Special

Lucia's Fine Foods Deluxe Hamper is a true foodie gift. Aged balsamic vinegar, white truffle oil, lemon infused linguini, brined yellowfin tuna belly, Italian lozenges and nougat, all wrapped up with ribbons and bows. $290 each.

#Adelaide Central Market Watch #20

Onions are the essential ingredient for full flavoured cooking. South Australia produces approximately 70,000 tonnes of onions per annum, 35% of Australian production. Farmgate value of SA grown onions to our state is over $65.5 million. Latest figures show SA will harvest 110,741 tonnes of onions comprising of 12% red and 88% brown showing an increase on previous years.

FRUIT & VEG



All the market F&V stalls have onions year round, but they are at their freshness peak now. Look for clean shiny skin, firm flesh and no sprouting. Prices start at $2.99kg and go down. Red onions are $3.99kg. For a great winter salad, combine onions, fennel and navel oranges with olive oil and seasoning. McMahons S47/48 has Riverland navel oranges $1.99kg and crunchy fennel bulbs from Aubergines S57 for $1.50 each

Seville oranges say marmalade me for $3.99kg and blood oranges say sorbet or salad, from House of Organics S34/35. Cocos S20/21 always has new season produce and this week the speckled borlotti beans are $12.95kg and tamarillos for $1.80 each. Mandarins are perfect, juicy , sweet and cheap throughout the market.

The best winter tomato flavour this week is the hydroponic, vine-ripened punnets of cherry tomatoes called the "sweet pearl" from McMahons and Greensides S56 for $3.50

SEAFOOD AND POULTRY

The King of SA seafood, King George Whiting, famed for texture, flavour, flesh ratio and a struggle on the hook, is at an all time low price at Samtass on the Gouger St end. Whole fish $26.99kg and double fillets $35.99 kg. Check Vegas Poultry, S62, for limited numbers of whole certified organic chooks $14.99kg.



SPECIAL



'Bling' is a sparkling non- alcoholic grape juice made from the locally grown Muscat Bordeaux Blanco grapes. The intense fruity characters are peach and nectarine. Look for the 750 ml champagne bottle with the diamote encrusted pendant on the bottle neck $11 at Gourmet to Go S42

# Adelaide Central Market Watch #19

There is big value is in citrus this week with fantastic quality, abundant varietal choices and good prices.


FRUIT & VEG
Bumper mandarin crops means smaller fruit on the tree but great value and selling at many stalls for $2.50 kg. Navel oranges are $3.99 and lemons are four for $2 at Aubergines S57. Misty gem passion fruit are loaded with pulp, three for $2 , Albanese silver beet $3.60 bunch, fresh Jerusalem artichoke $1.79 kg and 250gm pun nets of sweet yellow cherry tomatoes from Murray Bridge and try their free range eggs from Clare Valley $5.99 dozen, all from House of Organics S34/35. Tasmanian truffles are in season until August and their quality rivals the famed Perigords. Visit Marco at S68 or follow CookThisTV on Facebook.

Lucias Fine Foods (Photo courtesy Lara Cameron-Smith)

SevenHill Fine Foods (Photo courtesy Lara Cameron-Smith)

Taste of Marakech (Photo courtesy Lara Cameron-Smith)

Fresh truffles (Photo courtesy Lara Cameron-Smith)

more truffles (Photo courtesy Lara Cameron-Smith)

GOURMET
Kate's Patisserie S50 has the Afghan tandoori naans two bags for $5 and the Lebanese pita bread for $1.50 per bag of six.
Kolophon caper berries are the rage. The berries come pickled with Murray River salt $12.95 for 150gm jars, as caper seasoning where the used pickling salts are mixed with dried capers $9.95 for 40gm jars , also as a powder and as nibbles. Gourmet to Go S42 and Jagger S38

MEAT AND POULTRY
Go to Feast@the Market for certified organic milk-fed lamb and Coorong angus beef cheeks. The 6-8 week old Suffolk meat is lean, pale and tender $20.99kg and all cuts are available. The trimmed beef cheeks are perfect for slow cooking and cost $19.99kg.
Vegas Poultry ,S62 has Inglewood certified chickens, whole only for $14.99kg. Economy short-back bacon $8.95kg from Con's S18/19.

SPECIAL
Peru Cafe Femenino coffee from The Grind S14, is organic and Fair Trade certified, the latter meaning it was purchased from small-holding farmers at a "fair" or economically sustainable price. Cafe Femenino is an organization that supports women farmers and their families in coffee growing communities $11 for 250gms. Rich, deep aroma with a hint of chocolate.
 

#Adelaide Central Market Watch #17

As we head into winter, food prices in the ACM are bucking the trend by going down not up.

Fruit And Veg

Local orange prices are coming down as Australian exports face tougher international competition. Mandarins from Paringa, SA, have also come down in price and are 2kg for $5 at McMahons. Limes at Stall 69 are an all time low at $2.50 kg, Adelaide Hills rhubarb is $11.99kg, bunches of leeks and baby beets are both $3.99. Look for the new Kestrel potato for $2kg. Stall 69 owner, Lee, has a snappy recipe card using new purple potato. "BBQ potato with roast garlic aioli and rocket-asparagus salad." Thompsons at S26/27 best buys are pears, broccoli and brown onions all under $3kg. Seven Sisters S54 prices are always low and this week apples are $1.99kg and spinach bunches $2.50kg.

Olives and Oil

The humble olive needs its own section at this time of year. Olives are being picked right across SA. Now is the time to pounce on the local fruit and cure them. Jagger S38, has 21 varieties already cured and swimming in oils, spices and brines. Con's range at S18/19 is in 12 styles and Good Cuisine (S10) has a range of 24 that includes the pale-coloured 'blond Gummeracha'.

The new season oils are arriving and the 2011 Rio Vista Olive Oil is available as an $11 cleanskin 750ml from Providore S66. The extra virgin oil is cloudy to look at, has peppery and bitter tastes and clear granny smith apple characters.

Meat and Seafood

Samtass whole flathead is such a good fish to BBQ. SA species is $11.99kg and the dark skinned Victorian Tiger flathead is $12.99kg. Rub with Asian curry pastes, lay on a bed of lemongrass stalks, seal in alfoil and BBQ for 20 minutes. Serve whole with baked rice.Pork continues to hold the best price at the moment. Rolled pork roast $5.98 kg from Tony O'Connell. Perfect for Schweinebraten, the traditional German caraway seed-roasted pork with dumplings, red cabbage and apple sauce.

Special

Charlesworth Licorice Allsorts are selling a 'Grab-a-Bag' 485gm bag for $5. I could not resist. The allsorts are made of liquorice, sugar, coconut, aniseed jelly, fruit flavourings, and gelatine. Uber-sweet yellow, pink, green and white fondant sandwiched between firm black licorice – a sweet way to finish the Market shopping.

Seven Sisters, Adelaide Central Market

Thompsons , Adelaide Central Market



Stall 69, Adelaide Central Market



Stall 69 owner, Lea Bugeya

Stephan , Owner McMahons, Adelaide Central Market

Samtass, Kings of the Sea, Gus, Sam and Kosta