There was a time when the South African stonefruit season was heralded with the first white-fleshed Mayflower peaches arriving as a Christmas treat. But how things have changed.
It is still October and there is already a steady supply of stonefruit from this source on shelves. With everyone eager to make a point of difference, the growth of sub-brands continues to expand.
Sainsbury’s has tangy yellow-fleshed Honey Blush at £3.99 for six 56-61mm fruit. What is intriguing, however, is that the Ripe and Ready label incorporates the registered trademark Zingburst.
It is also the time of year when citrus comes into its own. There are many ways to tempt the customer in terms of size, specially selected packs and BOGOFs. Asda, however, has been offering Spanish Oronules complete with leaves in an 800g lidded punnet at £2.25. Currently it is a trial price, which will rise to £3 from 30 October.
In the same section, while easy peelers are generally regarded as small in comparison with oranges, there are extra large mandarins, which are actually 75-85mm Tambors at £2.47 for 1.2kg.
Following on from the arrival of larger packs in the vegetable aisle, Tesco has gone even further with a Farm Selection kraft potato bag of Maris Pipers, weighing 7.2kg and with a price of £3.79.
At the other end of the scale, in the baby leaf selection the retailer has broken away from the general habit of describing mixes with names as varied as the products they hold.
Using the seasons to sell is another approach, with its Limited Edition mild autumn red salad comprising Salanova, Batavia and Lollo Rosso at £1.50 for 120g.
Salad sales must still be booming, for a summer salad with Red Coslets is a new addition to the range. I assume the name is related to Cos, although both times I called in the product had sold out.
Finally, traditional green sprouts may be fighting back with the imminent arrival of coloured variants. It’s not the easiest vegetable to present attractively, but M&S has a 200g pack where millimetrically graded baby buttons are presented in a flat-lidded tray for £1.49.
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