Produce Report
Winter foods traditionally tend to be more concentrated and warming, to keep the body warm and to maintain energy levels. Foods that are naturally salty, such as celery and seaweeds are great for winter, as well as dishes that are seasoned with salt. Try to use an unprocessed salt that contain lots of naturally occurring minerals Root vegetables are also important in winter, as they provide essential minerals that fruits and lighter vegetables don't provide. pumpkins, sweet potatoes, carrots and beetroots are perfect for slow roasting or baking, or incorporating into soups and stews. Onions, leeks, turnips, cauliflowers, broccoli, fennel and cabbages are grown locally.
Local fruits of winter can be stewed or baked with spices such as cinnamon, vanilla and ginger, and are good for eating at breakfast with wholegrains. Citrus fruits are now from local growers - mandarins, limes and lemons. Lovely for snacks, or to use the skins and the juice in cooking.
Other Winter foods include legumes-black beans, pinto beans, adzuki beans, as well as lentils and split peas. Whole grains, such as brown rice and oats are excellent, also try buckwheat and quinoa for sustained energy. (and has a low G.I. rating.) Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna are excellent for winter, and Miso soups are also good to remember.
Produce Notes: June 10
Fruit
New Season Organic and Biodynamic Citrus is available now, with, Limes, Navelinas and Lemons all in store now. The first of the Navel Oranges are here, and will drop in price soon as the quantities increase. Navelina Oranges came from Spain, originally, and are now grown as an early season citrus crop in Australia. These yummy oranges are large and heavy, with a lot of juice. The skins are fairly thin, with a pinkish tinge, and the navel part that almost distorts the round shape of the orange.
Mandarins have arrived, which is great news for lunch boxes everywhere. The Imperial mandarins are the first variety to show up, and we'll have smaller varieties and the Honey Murcott soon too. Check out this delicious recipe for Mandarin chocolate brownies.
Passionfruits are a delightful treat at the moment, though it seems not many people know how to pick good ones. The sweet juicy part of the passionfruit, around the seeds continues to ripen off the vine, and as the outside of the fruit starts to wrinkle. With the current drought conditions, we occasionally see passionfruit with absolutely nothing inside! what a disappointment. To avoid this catastrophe, choose fruits that are heavy and wrinkly.
New Season Pears - this season we're seeing beautiful pears, with many varieties available. Red Sensation, Buerre Bosc, Bon Wiliams, Packhams are all available, and some delicious nashi pears also. (read more about pears...)
Quince are an old fashioned fruit, and are now available at Ripe. From the apple / pear family, the fruit of the quince tree is unique and special. Quince must be cooked before eating (they are extremely astringent when raw), but when cooked they are versatile and have a fantastic aroma and flavour. Read more...
Vegetables
Stemmed Beetroots, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Black, Red, Green Cabbage, Chestnuts, Turnips, Onions, Spring Onions, Ginger, Russian Garlic, Sweet Potato, Cauliflower, Pumpkin, Pak Choi, Rainbow Chard and Silverbeet, Broccoli, Carrots, Mushrooms.
Check out our guide to Potato Varieties, to help you choose which variety is best for your dinner.
Herbs such as parsley and corriander are worth remembering at this time of year, they are in good supply and are packed with vitamins. Parsley is a rich source of antioxidants, and can help to boost the immune system. Chop parsley finely, and add to your cooking right at the end, after you've taken it from the heat, to preserve the maximum nutrients. Excellent for making winter pesto, try with macadamia nuts or cashews, olive oil, garlic and a splash of lemon juice.
Beetroots are a great winter vegetable, and are in good supply now. Look for beets with the stems still attached and make use of the stalks and the leaves, which are just as edible as spinach or chard. Add small leaves to salad, and steam or stir fry the larger ones.
Black Cabbage (aka Cavolo Nero, Black Kale, Dinosaur Kale) is available through Winter, and is a very versatile vegetable, packed with essential nutrients. Try this yummy Italian Soup recipe.
Russian Garlic is a variety that has been harvested recently and is now available. The variety (grown in Australia of course), has huge bulbs, and is somewhat milder than regular garlic. Excellent for roasting whole, where it becomes sweet and caramelised, and looses much of the spicy heat it has when raw.
Red and Green cabbages are available now, as well as succulent asian greens, pak choi, tatsoi, bok choi. cauliflowers are often available, and broccoli and broccoli shoots. Broccoli shoots are the shoots that grow after the main head from the broccoli plant has been harvested, and are just as tasty! They are quick and easy to prepare for cooking, and are generally less expensive than the standard broccoli. Make use of the broccoli special this week with this yummy pasta recipe.
Parsnips are available, and are a tasty but often overlooked vegetable. Choose parsnips that are of average size, and with skin that looks fresh and fairly smooth. Parsnips are great for adding an earthy satisfying sweet flavour, to anything from risottos, soups, casseroles pastas and roasts. They are delicious when roasted, try this recipe for Roasted Parsnip with Ginger.
Swiss brown Mushrooms are great in Winter, they grow best in this cooler weather (and last longer) and are a traditional cool weather food. Look out for the flat open swiss browns, they are lovely grilled with walnuts and goats cheese.
Celeriac is sometimes available now, and is such a tasty vegetable. It can be boiled along with potatoes (cut a bit smaller, as it takes longer to cook) then mashed for very tasty mashed potato. Celeriac is also a great flavour boost for soups, stews, and pasta sauces, it pairs well with fish (it tastes much like celery, but with a distinctive smooth texture, ) also complements ginger, and works well added in with garlic and onions when making a risotto.
Silverbeet is great, and an excellent - value for money vegetable. Slice the white stems away from the leaves, and cook separately. The greens are best cooked for a very short time, so if you saute or steam the stems first, then just cook the greens for a moment, you'll avoid the nasty overcooked green slime effect.
Winter Staples such as onions, pumpkin varieties (JAP, butternut, etc) are plentiful this year, with good supplies of red and brown and spring onions.
Brussel Sprouts are around for a while longer, the secret to making them delicious is not to cook them too long. Try them cooked with garlic and parsley (click here for recipe). These little members of the brassica family grow on tall stalks, and pack a nutritonal punch. (Read more about them)
