Month: February 2016
Food For Thought 18th Feb 2016
RECOMMENDED VEGETABLE BUYS THIS WEEK
BEANS, CAULIFLOWER, SQUASH, SWEET POTATO
Asparagus | Good quality Mexican asparagus now. No white or purple asparagus is available.
ASPARAGUS – GOOD QUALITY MEXICAN ASPARAGUS NOW
Artichokes | Globe artichokes are now finished & anything available is very poor quality. New season Jerusalem artichokes have now started.
GLOBE ARTICHOKES – LIMITED & POOR QUALITY
Beans | Victorian quality Beans are improving now & this week represents great value. Baby, Snake, Butter, French flat, Flat Italian & Borlotti beans are all available.
BEANS – QUALITY IMPROVING THIS WEEK
FLAT ITALIAN – AVAILABLE
BUTTER BEANS – AVAILABLE
SNAKE BEANS AVAILABLE IN BUNCHES
FRENCH FLAT BEANS AVAILABLE
CONTINENTAL & BORLOTTI BEANS AVAILABLE
Broccoli | Supplies out of Victoria are moderate only. Broccolini supplies are steady
BROCCOLI – SUPPLIES ARE MODERATE
Broccolini supplies are steady
BROCCOLINI – AVAILABLE
BRUSSEL SPROUTS – Victorian supplies are limited.
BRUSSEL SPROUTS – LIMITED
CAULIFLOWER
Great supplies & excellent value this week for Cauliflowers out of Bathurst & Victoria.
CHERVIL
Chervil | Still no Victorian supplies, local supplies are extremely limited.
CAPSICUMS
Capsicums | Good supply of Red & Green capsicums. Yellow is Limited
BULL HORN CAPSICUMS
Red & Green Bull Horns are available
MINI VINE SWEET CAPSICUMS
AVAILABLE IN PUNNETS
Corn | Excellent supplies & great buying this week.
CORN – EXCELLENT SUPPLIES THIS WEEK
Celery | Limited supplies this week as crops out of Victoria have been affected by heat.
CELERY – LIMITED
Celeriac | Supply remains limited & bulbs are small; consistent supply is not expected until after Easter.
CELERIAC – LIMITED
Eggplant | Good supply of local & Victorian fruit.
EGGPLANT, GOOD SUPPLY
Thai Baby eggplant also available.
Thai Cherry eggplant also available.
Lettuce | Iceberg supply is good
ICEBERG LETTUCE – AVAILABLE
Cos lettuce is very limited this week.
COS LETTUCE – LIMITED
Peas | Improved supplies of Snow, Snap & regular peas & prices are easing.
SNOW PEAS – IMPROVED SUPPLIES
SNAP PEAS – IMPROVED SUPPLIES
REGULAR PEAS – IMPROVED SUPPLIES
Potatoes | Abundant supplies of Sweet potato & recommended buying this week.
SWEET POTATOES – RECOMMENDED BUYING THIS WEEK
Spring onions | Most supply is out of Victoria at this time of the year. Crops there have also been affected by the extreme heat at the beginning of summer. Tasmanian supplies have also suffered & very little local supply is available.
SPRING ONIONS – SUPPLY IS LIMITED
Spinach | Silverbeet has suffered with the heat & prices are quite high.
SILVERBEET – PRICES ARE HIGH
Spinach | English spinach bunches have suffered with heat & prices are quite high.
ENGLISH SPINACH BUNCHES- PRICES ARE HIGH
English leaf is greatly improved this week & probably a much better option.
Squash | Very good supplies of both small & medium squash are at the market; good buying this week.
SQUASH – GOOD BUYING THIS WEEK
Tomato | Limited supplies of Regular & Roma as heat has impacted on supply & quality;
REGULAR TOMATO – LIMITED
ROMA TOMATOES – LIMITED
Cherry Truss, Truss, tomato Medley, Red Grape, Teardrop, Heirloom trays & Kumato.
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CHERRY TRUSS- AVAILABLE
AVAILABLE TRUSS TOMATOES
TOMATO MEDLEY AVAILABLE
AVAILABLE GRAPE TOMATO
AVAILABLE TEARDROP TOMATO
AVAILABLE HEIRLOOM REGULAR SIZE
AVAILABLE – KUMATO
Moderate supplies only of Ox Heart tomatoes.
OXHEART TOMATO – MODERATE SUPPLIES
Witlof | There is currently an extreme shortage of Red Witlof with no supply expected for this week & very little expected in the coming weeks. Witlof is grown in an open field & then moved to an indoor hydroponic room for the final growing stage. 40 deg temperatures in Victoria in the early summer destroyed 40 acres & with only one grower of Witlof in Australia, this situation will not improve. Expect inconsistent supply & average quality for any red witlof available.
RED WITLOF – EXTREME SHORTAGE
White Witlof is moderately better in supply.
WHITE WITLOF – MODERATELY BETTER SUPPLY THAN RED WITLOF
Zucchini | Regular & grey zucchini well supplied..
AVAILABLE REGULAR ZUCCHINI
AVAILABLE GREY ZUCCHINI
Yellow zucchini is not coping with the heat; limited & average quality.
YELLOW ZUCCHINI – MODERATE SUPPLIES
Zucchini Flower | Improvement in supply – female, male & punnets all reasonable this week
FEMALE ZUCCHINI FLOWERS – IMPROVEMENT IN SUPPLY
MALE ZUCCHINI FLOWERS – IMPROVEMENT IN SUPPLY
RECOMMENDED FRUIT BUYS THIS WEEK –
ROCKMELON, WATERMELON, TOPLESS PINEAPPLES, PEACHES
Avocado | Better supplies now & prices are easing.
AVOCADO – BETTER SUPPLIES
Achacha | Fruit continues to be available – sold in a 5kg case only.
ACHACHA – AVAILABLE
Apricots | NZ fruit only & quality remains good.
APRICOTS – QUALITY GOOD
Apples | New season Royal Galas & Delicious have now started.
ROYAL GALAS – SEASON HAS STARTED
RED DELICIOUS – SEASON HAS STARTED
Pink Lady & Granny Smith remain old season.
PINK LADY – REMAIN OLD SEASON
GRANNY SMITH APPLES – REMAIN OLD SEASON
Bananas | Supply & quality is good.
BANANAS – GOOD QUALITY
Berries Strawberries | VIP & XXL fruit is difficult to source as most of the fruit currently is medium or large as a result of heat in the growing areas.
STRAWBERRIES – FRUIT IS CURRENTLY MEDIUM OR LARGE SIZE
Blueberries & Raspberry | Supply is good.
BLUEBERRIES – SUPPLY IS GOOD
RASPBERRIES – SUPPLY IS GOOD
Blackberry | Fruit has suffered from the heat in Victoria & good quality fruit is difficult to source; might be best to use an alternative berry.
BLACKBERRY – AVAILABLE BUT QUALITY IS POOR – USE RASPBERRIES OR BLUEBERRIES
Blood Oranges | Limited USA fruit.
BLOOD ORANGES – LIMITED USA FRUIT
Cherries | Season is finished now. USA fruit is not expected for a few months.
CHERRIES – NOW FINISHED
Figs | Both green & black figs are available out of local areas & Victoria. Quality is good.
FIGS – QUALITY IS GOOD
Kiwi Fruit | Gold Kiwi fruit is coming from NZ; regular Green fruit is Italian.
GOLD KIWI FRUIT AVAILABLE
GREEN ITALIAN KIWI FRUIT AVAILABLE
Grapes | Red, White & Black Seedless, Muscatel & Current grapes are all available.
GRAPES – RED/WHITE/BLACK SEEDLESS – AVAILABLE
CURRANT GRAPES – AVAILABLE
Lychees | Good supplies continue; quality is good.
LYCHEES – GOOD QUALITY & SUPPLIES
Mango | Late season fruit is still reasonable.
MANGO – STILL GOOD
Lemons | Improving supplies of QLD fruit; prices are more reasonable now.
LEMONS – IMPROVING SUPPLIES
Limes | Limes continue to be well supplied.
LIMES AVAILABLE
Mandarins | USA fruit is available; quality is reasonable.
MANDARINS – AVAILABLE
Melons | All varieties of melons represent great value this week; super sweet.
ROCKMELON – AVAILABLE
WATERMELON – AVAILABLE
HONEYDEW MELON – AVAILABLE
Peaches in particular are great value this week.
PEACHES – GREAT VALUE
Nectarines| Both yellow & white flesh continue; quality is very good.
NECTARINES – GREAT VALUE
Paw Paw & Papaya | Paw Paw is limited this week; Papaya is by far the better value & quality is good.
PAW PAW – LIMITED SUPPLY
PAPAYA – GOOD QUALITY
Plums | Yellow, Blood & Sugar plums continue.
YELLOW PLUMS – AVAILABLE
BLOOD PLUMS – AVAILABLE
SUGAR PLUMS – AVAILABLE
Pears | Our stock pears are Williams. Beurre Bosc Pears are just starting. Nashi pears are available. Paradise pears continue. Corella pears are expected to start next week.
AVAILABLE – WILLIAM PEARS
BEURRE BOSC PEARS JUST STARTING
NASHI PEARS – AVAILABLE
PARADISE PEARS AVAILABLE
Prickly Pear | Fruit is now available. Sold by the case only.
PRICKLY PEAR AVAILABLE
Pineapples | Topless pines are excellent eating, great quality & good value this week.
TOPLESS PINEAPPLES AVAILABLE
EXOTIC FRUIT BUYS USA pomegranate, Lychees, Figs, Rambuttan, Dragon Fruit, Longans, Starfruit,
LOGANS EXOTIC BUY
POMEGRANATE – EXOTIC BUY
LYCHEES – EXOTIC BUY
FIGS – EXOTIC BUY
RAMBUTAN – EXOTIC BUY
DRAGONFRUIT – EXOTIC BUY
STARFRUIT – EXOTIC BUY
FOCUS ON SEASONAL PRODUCE – PRICKLY PEAR
Prickly pears are the magenta coloured fruit of the prickly pear cactus. They are a favourite fruit of Central America and right through the Mediterranean. To prepare carefully peel the spiky fruit to reveal the vibrant coloured flesh of the pears ripe interior. The flesh is flecked with dark seeds.
Food For Thought 4th Feb 2016
RECOMMENDED VEGETABLE BUYS THIS WEEK
BROCCOLI, CORN, SWEET POTATO, ZUCCHINI
Asparagus | No white or purple asparagus is available. Green asparagus imported from Mexico; limited supplies & expensive.
ASPARAGUS – LIMITED & EXPENSIVE
Artichokes | Globe artichokes are limited & quality is poor. Jerusalem artichokes are still not available, we hope to see the first of them by the end of February/early March.
GLOBE ARTICHOKES – LIMITED & POOR QUALITY
Beans | Quality is average this week due to the harsh weather conditions in Victoria. Baby, Butter, Snake (bunches), French, Continental & Borlotti beans are all available.
BEANS – AVERAGE QUALITY THIS WEEK
BUTTER BEANS – AVAILABLE
SNAKE BEANS AVAILABLE IN BUNCHES
FRENCH FLAT BEANS AVAILABLE
CONTINENTAL & BORLOTTI BEANS AVAILABLE
Broccoli | Victorian supplies are now back to normal & represent good value this week.
BROCCOLI – GOOD VALUE
Broccolini supplies are good.
BROCCOLINI – AVAILABLE
Cabbage | Regular, savoy & red cabbage are well supplied. Chinese cabbage is limited & quality is average. Still no Purple Chinese Cabbage season starts again in April/May.
REGULAR CABBAGE – WELL SUPPLIED
SAVOY CABBAGE – WELL SUPPLIED
NOT AVAILABLE CHINESE CABBAGE – SEASON STARTS APRIL/MAY
NOT AVAILALBE – PURPLE CABBAGE
Cauliflower | Supply of Victorian & Bathurst cauliflowers is very limited forcing prices up.
CAULIFLOWER – LIMITED & EXPENSIVE
Chervil | Still no Victorian supplies, the only product available is local grown hydroponic chervil.
CHERVIL – HYDROPONIC AVAILABLE
Corn | Abundant supplies of local & Victorian corn. Definitely the recommended buy of the week.
CORN – EXCELLENT SUPPLIES THIS WEEK
English Spinach | Bunches of English spinach have been badly effected by weather; supply is very limited & expensive.
ENGLISH SPINACH – LIMITED & EXPENSIVE
Edible Flowers | Johnny Jump Ups & Viola flowers are extremely limited; they do not like the heat.
JOHNNY JUMP UPS – LIMITED
VIOLAS -LIMITED
Fennel | Baby fennel is by far the best value currently; quality of large fennel during the warmer months is poor.
BABY FENNEL BEST VALUE CURRENTLY
Golden Nugget | Supply is now available.
GOLDEN NUGGET PUMPKINS – AVAILABLE
Leaf Lines | Rain & hail in the growing districts of Victoria is affecting supply of Wild rocket & Baby English Spinach. Spinach is the worst affected with three major farms loosing substantial crops due to hail damage. Supplies are down on most lines, including Snow Pea Leaf, Tatsoi, Cavalo Nero & Chard.
WILD ROCKET & BABY ENGLISH SPINACH- SUPPLY AFFECTED
SNOW PEA LEAF – SUPPLY AFFECTED
TATSOI – SUPPLY AFFECTED
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CAVALO NERO – SUPPLY AFFECTED
CHARD – SUPPLY AFFECTED
Mushrooms | There is no Namenko mushroom currently available. Good supplies of Chestnut mushrooms now if you are looking for something different. Weather conditions lately have played havoc with vegetables but perfect conditions for Pine Mushrooms. These wild mushrooms love the rain followed by the sun. Supply is moderate & the best day to buy is Monday after the weekend picking. If you require stock, please speak to your sales manager & we will endeavour to secure supply for you.
NOT AVAILABLE – NAMENKO MUSHROOMS
CHESTNUT MUSHROOMS – GOOD SUPPLY
PINE MUSHROOMS – PERFECT
Peas | All lines including regular, snow & snap are limited & expensive this week.
REGULAR PEAS – LIMITED & EXPENSIVE
SNOW PEAS – LIMITED & EXPENSIVE
SNAP PEAS – LIMITED & EXPENSIVE
Potatoes |Cocktail supply has been affected by heat in South Australia; very limited.
COCKTAIL POTATOES – LIMITED
Radicchio | Supply of Victoria Radicchio is very limited, limited local crops are available.
RADICCHIO – LIMITED
Treviso is not available until Winter.
NOT AVAILABLE – TREVISO
Squash | Limited supplies of both medium & small squash.
SQUASH – LIMITED
Sweet Potato | Good supplies & great value this week of all sizes.
SWEET POTATO – GREAT VALUE
Tomato | Great Victorian supplies now & well-priced. All lines are well supplied – regular, Roma, Cherry Truss, Truss, tomato Medley, Red Grape, Teardrop, Heirloom trays & Kumato. Moderate supply only of Ox Heart tomatoes.
AVAILABLE REGULAR TOMATO
ROMA TOMATOES AVAILABLE
CHERRY TOMATOES AVAILABLE
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CHERRY TRUSS- reasonably well supplied -Good Supplies
AVAILABLE TRUSS TOMATOES
TOMATO MEDLEY AVAILABLE
AVAILABLE HEIRLOOM REGULAR SIZE
OXHEART TOMATO – MODERATE SUPPLIES
AVAILABLE TEARDROP TOMATO
AVAILABLE GRAPE TOMATO
AVAILABLE TRUSS TOMATOES
Zucchini | Good value for regular zucchini this week. Moderate supplies of yellow zucchini.
AVAILABLE REGULAR ZUCCHINI
YELLOW ZUCCHINI – MODERATE SUPPLIES
RECOMMENDED FRUIT BUYS THIS WEEK
WHITE GRAPES, WILLIAM PEARS, MELONS
Avocado | Prices remain high – some relief is expected within the next two weeks as new season QLD Shepherds are due to start.
AVOCADO – PRICES REMAIN HIGH
Apricots | All fruit is coming from N.Z. now & is good quality.
APRICOTS – QUALITY IS GOOD
Apples | New season Royal Galas are now the pick of the apples. Pink Lady’s are now old season & quality is average.
ROYAL GALA APPLES – BEST PICK
PINK LADY APPLES – AVERAGE QUALITY
Bananas | Supplies have improved & prices are more reasonable now.
Berries –
Strawberries | Quality is only average with fruit suffering from the high heat & rain.
STRAWBERRIES – AVERAGE QUALITY
Blueberries, Raspberry & Blackberry | All lines are available.
BLUEBERRIES – AVAILABLE
RASPBERRIES – AVAILABLE
BLACKBERRIES – AVAILABLE
Blood Oranges | Fruit out of USA has now started; quality is excellent & flesh is a deep red colour with good flavour.
BLOOD ORANGES – EXCELLENT
Cherries | Tasmanian supplies only & fruit is expensive.
CHERRIES – EXPENSIVE
Figs | Good supplies of local fruit; great value.
FIGS, GREAT VALUE
Grapes | Red, White & Black seedless grapes are our stock lines & quality is good. Currant grapes continue. Black muscatel grapes have now started.
GRAPES – RED, WHITE, SEEDLESS – GOOD QUALITY
CURRANT GRAPES CONTINUE
BLACK MUSCATEL HAVE STARTED
Lychees | Good supplies & great quality fruit still continues.
LYCHEES – GOOD SUPPLIES
Lemons | QLD fruit now; quality is improving; prices are still a little high.
LEMONS – QUALITY IMPROVING – STILL EXPENSIVE
Mandarins | The first of the USA fruit has arrived but quality is poor. We hope the new shipment due at the end of the week is better quality.
MANDARINS – POOR QUALITY
Melons | All melons & watermelon are excellent quality & great flavour; local supplies out of Griffith.
ROCKMELON – EXCELLENT THIS WEEK
WATERMELON – EXCELLENT THIS WEEK
HONEYDEWMELON – EXCELLENT THIS WEEK
Nectarines | Good yellow & white flesh fruit available. Both regular & VIP fruit are good value.
NECTARINES – GOOD VALUE
Paw Paw & Papaya | Papaya is by far the best of the two; much better quality, better eating & more reasonably priced.
PAPAYA – BETTER PRICED & EATING THAN PAW PAW
Pears | New season William pears are available & excellent quality. Nashi & Paradise pears are available. No Corella or Beurre Bosc available yet.
WILLIAM PEARS – EXCELLENT QUALITY
NASHI PEARS – AVAILABLE
PARADISE PEARS – AVAILABLE NOW
NOT AVAILABLE – CORELLA PEARS
NOT AVAILABLE – BEURRE BOSC PEARS
Prickly Pear | Fruit is now available.
PRICKLY PEAR – AVAILABLE
Pomelo | USA fruit has now started; quality is excellent.
POMELO – QUALITY IS EXCELLENT
Plums | Good supply of all varieties including yellow flesh, blood plums & sugar plums.
YELLOW FLESH PLUMS – GOOD SUPPLY
BLOOD PLUMS – GOOD SUPPLY
SUGAR PLUMS – GOOD SUPPLY
Peaches | Excellent yellow & white flesh fruit continues.
PEACHES – EXCELLENT
Pineapples | Topless pines are recommended over regular pines; quality is excellent, super sweet & much better value.
TOPLESS PINEAPPLES GREAT QUALITY
EXOTIC FRUIT BUYS Blood Oranges, Pomelo, USA pomegranate, Lychees, Figs, Rambuttan, Dragon Fruit
BLOOD ORANGES EXOTIC BUY
POMELO EXOTIC BUY
POMEGRANATE – EXOTIC BUY
LYCHEES – EXOTIC BUY
FIGS – EXOTIC BUY
RAMBUTAN – EXOTIC BUY
DRAGONFRUIT – EXOTIC BUY
FOCUS ON SEASONAL PRODUCE – CURRANT GRAPES
Available, but for a short time only, are Current Grapes. These delicate black/purple grapes are a tight cluster of very small grapes, sometimes referred to as champagne grapes. They only have a limited season so if you want to use them, then don’t wait too long. Black and Red Seedless grapes are good quality however the best value this week is White Grapes – a must buy.
T&F All States 