Buy, cook and eat the very freshest in season fruit, vege and seafood with helpful produce tips from our friends at New World.
NEW IN: The long commercial scallop season is about to begin and with it the feeling that spring is inching closer. It finishes a few days before Christmas. Recreational scallopers need to wait until September 1 to grab some of that deliciousness for themselves but they get to harvest until March 31. "Scallop season is a bit later this year but expected to kick off in just a couple of weeks" New World Seafood Expert David Jose says. "Nothing beats fresh New Zealand scallops – we harvest them for New World from the Coromandel fishery which is actually a vast area from north of little barrier back down towards Waihi Beach". Scallops are high in protein, contain virtually no saturated fat and are a good source of minerals including magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Store in the fridge for a couple of days at most.
Snapper, mushroom and scallop skewers
Kiwis spend more on bananas than any other fruit and they are especially good buying now – helping to bring a bit of variety to the late winter diet. Look for bobby bananas in New World. They are perfectly sized for lunchboxes. They grow at the lower end of the stem and are smaller and sweeter than their larger counterparts. We're still smiling over the affordability of Hass avocados. Brussels sprouts are in the trolley too.
LOOK FOR: Pick up a pack of precooked Leaderbrand baby beets, always handy to have in the fridge for salads, good ol' Kiwi burgers and to add to baking and smoothies. Slice into chunks and drop them into leftover pickle juice to make a fresh, spicy side for meals. Afourer mandarins, easy to peel and sweet, are in stores now, along with Richard Special mandarins. The perfectly named Encore mandarins arrive in October to take us through to early autumn when Satsumas appear again.
MOVING ON: Rocket and spring onions remain in short supply. We said a few weeks back to watch out for them but this season has sadly proved a total washout for multihued Earth Gem yams – and their growers. Such a shame! bite.co.nz