There is plenty of evidence on the retail shelves this week that winter has arrived and that Christmas is not far away.
Cranberries are now regular arrivals from North America, to ensure that the Delia Smith syndrome does not strike twice, with plenty of product available.
Traditional soft citrus, complete with leaves, is on the shelves in Sainsbury’s in a smart, lidded 700g pack, featuring orange and purple banding, at £2.99. These are Spanish Clemenules, although a similar-style pack at Waitrose bears less variety information - and for the same price, customers get an extra 100g of fruit.
Another newcomer in the citrus aisle has arrived at Tesco. The miniscule trademarked Clementiny, also described on the pack as a Cherry Orange, comes all the way from China. The cost of a taste is £1.49 for 350g.
At the same time, I was intrigued to see speciality grapes from Brazil on sale at Marks & Spencer - not so much because the variety Kioho, on offer at £2.49 for 500g, is relatively new, but because the multiple is flagging up on pack that the fruit has pips; something that I thought had almost died out with the consumer passion for seedless grapes.
As the temperature drops, the volume of brassicas and roots on display is rising. There is no mistaking Sainsbury’s carrot packs, which reflect the media opinion that everything is the same shape and size.
British Extra Sweet Spear carrots under the Taste the Difference brand, grown in Scotland, are certainly an eyecatcher at £1.09 for 500g. The carrots come with the recommendation that they are perfect for dipping.
I may also, by chance, have come across a new trend. While mixed vegetable presentations are not new, ranging from long-established stew packs or small, trimmed individual presentations often used for stir fries, there seems to have been an outbreak of mixed-portion, larger-sized trays recently.
Tesco has launched a new range under the title of British seasonal selection, comprising 220g of carrots and Tenderstem broccoli. Waitrose is on the same course, with a pack of Chantenay carrots, Brussels sprouts and parsnips priced at £1.99 for 750g.
And while sweet potatoes have received a boost from the campaign run by Carolina, nearer home I also - more unusually - came across some British-grown arrivals being sold loose, at £2.29/kg.
It is often possible to dig out newcomers in the potato section. M&S in its Limited Edition range has come up with a variety proudly bearing the label “our latest discovery”. Called Upmarket and priced at £1.99/2kg, the pack - apart from claiming that the product scores more highly than King Edward when roasted - waxes lyrical about the spud. It was “discovered on the wild and windy coast of Caithness and first grown in a greenhouse by the sea by breeder Jack Dunnet”. It is now being grown in Essex by David Kerr.
And finally, just to prove that even at this time of the year the British do not have it all their own way, Morrisons is stocking salad potatoes. The small waxy variety, Exquisa, at £1.19/750g, comes from France.
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