Despite the cold, wet and still, in some places, snowy weather, I am encouraged that the early signs of spring may be on the way with reports of the first cuttings of English asparagus appearing in selected Tesco stores. And there may even be a hint of summer, with Marks & Spencer stocking baby watermelons from Honduras at £2.99 each. One of the next signs of the encroaching spring will be when salads start to move in greater volume, although they are obviously available year round.

Meanwhile, the trouble as far as customer choice is concerned is that product descriptions, in my view, have reached a point where they may sound attractive, but offer no indication of the contents unless shoppers read the small print. A recent example at Sainsbury’s is a Cosmopolitan salad at £1.50 for 135g. For the enquiring mind, it contains green oakleaf, frisée, lollo rosso and red chard.

Tesco has come up with the idea that some bagged salads can be multi-purpose. “Salad or Stir Fry” is the message on a Spanish line priced at £1 for 165g. Described as a “vibrant mix of unwashed baby leaves”, it contains a minimum of three of the following - spinach, red-veined spinach, red chard, red pak choi and tatsoi - products that even 10 years ago it would have been hard to find in the same bag.

And in yet another marker that indicates the range of even the most humble vegetable is being expanded, M&S has come up with Boston beans grown in Kenya. The dark green variety is exclusive, and also has a dual purpose, both “au naturel” or added to salads.

It must have been a good time for onions recently, as despite the excellent European storage techniques in use, I noted that there are bulbs coming in at Tesco from a lesser-known source - namely Peru, at three for £1.

While there are times when the Dutch dominate the pear market with their Conference crop, they too are adding to their offer. Asda has been carrying a heavily russetted variety called Sweet Sensation, priced at £2 for four fruits. To make the variety better known, the pack is also stickered with an eye-catching roundel.

Sweet Sensation was followed by another new arrival from the same source and at the same price, called Gold Sensation, which must make the variety a near cousin.

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