Andy's Market Report - 20th January 2012
Oranges are not the only fruit, but they’re certainly the stars of the show at the moment. Most notably, the sublime organic blood oranges we have coming in from Italy at the moment. We have the Tarocco variety, not as red as other varieties such as Moro or Sanguinello, but the flavour is exceptional. Reputedly one of the sweetest oranges in the world. Great for juicing, baking or just slice one open and dive in.
Also available are some organic Seville oranges for those of you who like making your own marmalade. They’re only here for a couple of weeks though so get them while you can.
Also in fine fettle are ‘normal’ Navellina oranges from Spain. Some nice sizes coming through, and cracking value.
Other citrus doing well are the excellent leafy clementines, mainly from Spain at the moment. Italian lemons are a bit awkward at the moment as one of the main importers into London sadly decided to shut and go back to his native Naples just before Christmas.
January also sees the arrival of forced rhubarb from the famous Yorkshire triangle. Lovely pink stems with a great flavour, it was awarded an EU PDO status in 2010 and rightly so. A bit of a slow start to the season because of the mild weather but the recent frosts should put that right. Perfect for warming winter puds, and anyone who doesn’t like rhubarb crumble or cricket does not deserve to call himself an Englishman in my humble opinion!
For those of you who want to pep up your morning muesli or porridge then blueberries are great value at the moment. Pomegranates are also here, but not for much longer.
Also with us in plentiful supply are lychees from Madagascar. A bit fiddly but great if you fancy something a little exotic.
On the veg side of things some of the brassicas are struggling a bit and are expensive for the time of year, cauliflowers are pricey and . Purple Sprouting is non-existent and cauliflowers are going through the roof price wise.
To get your fill of greens then I’d stick to the beautiful organic broccoli coming in from Spain and the lovely home grown Savoy cabbages. Cavalo Nero and Curly Kale from Sussex is also holding up both in terms of quality and price. There are also some beautiful romanesco cauliflowers coming in from France if a little dear.
Roots however are thriving, with carrots and beetroot both doing well. Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac and parsnips plentiful and decent value at the moment too.