Soft citrus, or easy peelers, or whatever retailers decide to call them, are generally on the small side compared with oranges. But Sainsbury’s has broken the mould with the arrival of new season Queen satsumas at £2.49 and 88-93 mm in size.

Sourced from Spain, the description is not something dreamed up by the marketing department as it actually is the variety name.

Describing fruit in a variety of ways to imply size is not new, but there have been a fair share of giant avocados lately. One of the latest is M&S selling Extra Large Israeli Haas at £1.69 each.

Meanwhile, the store is continuing to bring New Discoveries to store. Among the latest are speciality potatoes called Fingerlings at £1.99/kg, popular in the US and now flourishing in Lincolnshire. In one sense shoppers get two for the price of one, as the pack contains both red and white varieties Annabelle and Abby.

Staying with vegetables, following my discovery of chocolate and mint-flavoured beetroot last week, it seems as if there is a resurgence similar to the increased interest in rhubarb. Morrisons is not only stocking yellow beet, which is relatively well known, but also has a French variety ticketed as “candy” at £3.99/kg.

For something more exotic and further afield, China has added to its export range with lotus roots at £3.49/kg, presented shrink -wrapped akin to spout stalks. For the uninitiated, the store also has a recipe to turn them into chips.

Fresh-cut fruit continues to make headway, and at long last melon is being presented in a far more attractive manner than languishing in a plastic punnet or polybag.

Tesco has come up with a new branded line, which includes slices of Honeydew at £1.25 a portion, Cantaloupe at £1, and watermelon for £1.45. -

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