Fuelled by the arrival of the National Fruit Show this week, it’s a reasonable bet that once again the national media will be carrying stories over the next few weeks about the desirability of growing more of our traditional and lesser-known English apple varieties, and bemoaning the fact that they are not as plentiful as they might wish.

With this in mind, I was delighted to see the emergence in Waitrose, under its Growers’ Selection category, of Meridian, which was hailed at the turn of the century - and launched at the National Fruit Show - as something special. Volumes may not have turned out to be as envisaged, and at one point I thought the fruit had disappeared off the horizon altogether, but this week a four-tray pack was on display selling at £1.99 and heralded as a “rare chance” to try something different.

At the same time, in its Finest range, Tesco has come up with a so far little-seen apple called Pirouette, grown in Belgium.

The trend to provide more variety information goes from strength to strength. New Zealand Jazz, which is now well established, is being labelled by Marks & Spencer as “a variety with attitude” - whatever that may mean. With an eight-pack of fruit priced at two for £4, the apple is described as having the sweetness of Gala and the texture of Braeburn.

In the same store, Australian Pink Lady, priced at £2.99 for four, is not only identified as “sparkling and crisp”, but the strict quality control ensures that this retailer only gets “the cream of the crop”.

This autumnal time of mellow fruitfulness, underlined by the number of pumpkins on display as Halloween draws near, usually also brings some media advice and warnings about gathering wild mushrooms. While China and eastern Europe have been the prominent suppliers of everything other than cultivated white and brown cups, buttons and flats, it was something of a surprise to find an arrival from the US in Tesco. An introductory offer of £2.49 for 100g under the Found! label includes Golden Chanterelle, Wood Hedgehog, and Black Trumpet.

Another introduction, this time at Sainsbury’s - although they hardly qualify as new - are tightly shrink-wrapped Brussels sprouts on the stalk, described as sprout trees, for £1.

And with the probability that we will all be eating more potatoes as the temperature drops, Tesco appears to have gone for a makeover on packaging, which heralds something unheard of when retailers simply used to sell spuds as reds and whites. Today, the public is informed that King Edwards are ideal for roasting, Desiree for mashing and Estima for baking, although the best jacket potatoes apparently are now Vales Sovereign.

And finally, the march of progress is evident from M&S, which has come up with a new Fresh and Prepared Super Vegetable pack at £1.79 for 160g. Versatility is the name of the game. It can be steamed, microwaved and stir-fried. The contents are 47 per cent spinach, 31 per cent red chard and 22 per cent butternut squash.

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