the taste for new flavours and shapes remains unabated on the high street. At the same time I get the impression that there is increasing attention being paid to “rediscovering” some of the varieties that have faded into obscurity.

A good example of both this week is the humble potato, as it is predominantly known in consumer circles. Hardly had the ink dried on my last examination of the shelves, in which I referred to Waitrose and its Shetland Black and Arran Victory, when I found that Sainsbury’s had come up with British Queen, at £1.99 for 1.5kg, under its Heritage/Taste the Difference brand.

And Tesco is trumpeting the arrival of a new white variety, under the Real Potato Company brand, called Bellini, at £1.99 for 2kg, which it claims is so versatile that “it is brilliant” however it is prepared.

Lidl seems to have struck the middle ground and is selling King Edwards (£1.29 for 2.5kg) as a speciality variety and, incidentally, had something which you do not often see displayed - untrimmed celeriac, at £1.19 each.

Not to be outshone, the same dual approach seems to happening with pears. Marks & Spencer has launched Sweet Sensation grown in the Netherlands, which looks like Comice and is priced at that end of the scale, at £3.99 for four.

On Tesco’s shelves, Seckel pears, which could not be more different, have arrived from across the Atlantic via Empire World Trade. Eight fruits in the 45-50mm size band are offered at just £1.99. The variety is known in the US where it is grown on the West Coast, and has popped up here only briefly in the past. Its unique selling point is that it is probably the smallest green-skinned pear that most customers have ever seen.

But this has not daunted the marketeers after successful trials in store, as Tesco sees it as a delicious bite-sized treat, as well as a dessert.

The recent burst of autumn sunshine has also given the last of our soft fruit a lift, bringing with it signs that UK blueberry production is expanding. With the recent imported crop shorter than hens’ teeth, the arrival of Scottish supplies from Kincardineshire, at £3.49 for 150g, must have been doubly welcome.

Meanwhile, I am always intrigued with the way the prepared salad market is moving. Now worth millions and fully mature, there are still more and more ideas coming forward, although the customer must be getting confused by all the descriptions.

No such danger with one of Sainsbury’s new lines, labelled the Castelfranco salad (£1.19 for 144g), which, as part of the Limited Edition range, makes the Italian origin clear. It is sourced “exclusively from the fields of northern Italy”, and it turns out that it is also a winter salad, a member of the radicchio family - part of the mix with lollo rosso - and available from October until April.

And for something a little bit different, I wonder how many customers have heard of brocco shoots, on sale at Tesco, at £1.50 for 25g, as part of their whole foods range, now on the salad counter. Our ancestors would be amazed - or would they?