I wonder how long it will be before we follow the US trend and see bog-standard green salad tomatoes on sale? Well, at least a start has been made with the arrival of various dark varieties at this end of the spectrum.

Marks & Spencer is announcing that the new season has arrived for its exclusive Lancashire-grown Green Tigers, priced at £2.29 for 300g, and has also included the variety, which is grown by Andy Rowe, in a new specially selected Discovery pack at the same price.

Surprisingly, the Discovery mix includes small yellow and red tomatoes of various shapes and sizes, but does not indicate what these other varieties are. Both packs proclaim they have been produced by winners at the Grower of the Year awards earlier this year.

Not be to outdone, Tesco has introduced a triangular pack of three Belgian Kumato tomatoes in its select variety range at £1 for 270g - although this fruit tends to lean far more towards a brownish tinge.

A product that also comes in an array of surprising shapes, colours and strengths, chillies are now sourced from throughout the world. Sainsbury’s has locked into Ethiopia, with a bigger and better pack of mild-tasting chillies at £1.35 for 150g. Many years ago, the country showed the potential to become a real fruit basket, with the capability of producing not just salads but also stonefruit and grapes. Perhaps it is on the way up again.

Not too far from this source, there has been a steady build-up of horticulture in Jordan and although arrivals are still few and far between, Tesco is sourcing Tenderstem broccoli at £1.57 for 200g.

It is at this time of the year that we see the switch to summer apples. Historically the time when New Zealand Cox apples take over from their English counterparts, these were regarded for many years as the jewel in the crown to start the New Zealand season.

The variety is already on shelf at M&S, priced at £1.99 for four fruits, with the notation on the pack stating that they are sourced from a selected group of growers who have more than 500 years’ experience between them - which gives some idea of how long our best-known apple, grown on the other side of the world especially for the UK consumer, has been available.

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