My searches along the aisles sometimes turn into a bit of an adventure. Marks & Spencer is selling an attractive over-wrapped tray of six unstickered, pigmented oranges.
Mixing citrus varieties is relatively unusual, and I use the term “pigmented” in reference to the label, which described four Sicilian Taroccos - described as Italy’s most popular orange - grown on Mount Etna, which is a protected geographical location. What caught my eye first was the description of “a sweet, soft flesh with a delicate blush”. I always thought Tarocco was a blood orange, following a trip to the island with Outspan years ago when it used to market this fruit in the UK under the term “ruby”, because research showed the original wording of “blood” put the public off.
So far so good, but another M&S sticker added the information that for £2.29, I had also bought two free Spanish Sanguinelli. But how to tell the difference? A helpful member of staff explained that all would be revealed when I cut open the fruit. I leave it to you to guess the result.
While convenience is the buzzword, with the recent leap in sales of fresh-cut produce, I must admit to a sense of surprise sometimes. Despite most fruit providing an excellent example of Mother Nature’s very own packaging, Tesco has a snack pack for 44p that consists of an Egyptian orange simply sliced up.
With Easter just a week away, fruit will be under pressure to compete with the mass of chocolate bunnies, eggs and other confectionery dominating the displays. But Sainsbury’s remains undeterred, as I noted that in its fresh produce section it is extolling customers to try coating cherries in chocolate.
As an alternative, Waitrose is selling a new Italian apple variety called Ambrosia at £2.29 for four. For the less classically minded, ambrosia was the food that immortalised the gods in Greek and Roman mythology - as well as being the name of a popular brand of rice pudding!
Signs that spring is at last on the way are evident by the rush to be the first retailer to get British asparagus and Jersey Royal potatoes in store, and doubtless other crops will follow. In the meantime, the world is still the UK’s oyster, although baby topped carrots in Waitrose, at £1.59 for 150g and sourced from far-flung Guatemala, came as something of a surprise.
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