a sure sign that Christmas is drawing nearer is the arrival of clementine packs complete with green leaves. This time around Sainsbury’s appears to be among the first with 750g bags on offer for £1.49.

The idea, of course, is not new although it created a stir in the Old Covent Garden, and was rumoured to be a retailing trick copied from the French.

The other seasonal crop which usually hits the headlines is cranberries; with plenty on offer already, the multiples are making sure they won’t get caught out again by the Delia effect.

Up to now I always thought this transatlantic fruit was the domain of the US, but lo and behold, in Tesco there were 225g packs from Canada priced at £2.99, and, even more surprising, 300g packs from Belarus at £1.49.

When it comes to traditional sourcing, the UK must rate pretty highly these days in terms of self-sufficiency with regards to beetroot, although there was a time when the Cypriots occupied a profitable niche market.

The days when the raw crop was boiled up in an old bath by a local retailer are long past, and have been overtaken by a range of pre-packs in mouth-watering vinegar fusions. Now it seems Germany has got in on the act with supplies on sale at Tesco for 99p. And watch this space for more hype. As we usually follow food habits from the US, one of my spies tells me the vegetable which is becoming all the rage is golden beetroot.

Convenience at Christmas is obviously a key ingredient which is probably why a new 99p-pack of peeled garlic cloves has put in an appearance.

We also tend to see even more convenience meals bursting onto the shelves at this time. Marks & Spencer has come up with a new ready-to-cook range which includes 320g of potatoes, broccoli, fine beans, asparagus and sugar snap peas for £2.49.

And, obviously not wanting to be left behind in the race to introduce yet more potato varieties, Asda is testing out traditional British Queen grown in Suffolk, at an introductory price of 98p.

In the same store I was struck by how fast new apple varieties now become mainstream. On display was Pink Lady in the traditional four tray alongside 1kg polybags of Cripps Pink, both at £1.68. Meanwhile Great Stuff Pink apples, designed to appeal to Garden Gang kids was just round the corner for £1.78. I also discovered the lesser-known Dutch Rubens being sold loose at Sainsbury’s. For those with an enquiring mind, it is a Reinette Rouge and Cox hybrid discovered in the mid-1950s.

Inspired to do some research, I noted there are also Rubin and Rubinette from the Czech Republic around, so if these make the UK counters one day it will be interesting to see what the marketing men do to avoid confusion.

Perhaps they have been here already. I make the point as, following my last retail column, it has been gently pointed out that while I “discovered” Breton onions in Tesco, they were introduced to Sainsbury’s by Produce World a year ago!

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