Just before my regular trek along the high street - figuratively speaking as most stores are now miles away from civilisation - I was intrigued by an advertisement put out by Tesco in the weekend papers that simply said:

“Jersey Royals.

What’s the difference between ours and our competitors’?

Not much really.

They are the same quality as M&S’s.

And the same price as Asda’s.”

There is however another message apart from price: M&S it seems is still regarded by its competitors as the yardstick.

Meanwhile, apart from the volumes of Jersey Royals, strawberries and other good English things that are beginning to build up, there is no doubt looking along the shelves that customers have a seemingly endless choice.

Back in the media, The Independent also had a go about the cost of water used for growing produce in the developing world even though the crops represent sizeable exports for many nations.

Without wishing to get drawn into the argument, I was under the impression that UK growers were proud of the fact that for some crops, particularly root vegetables, we are virtually self-sufficient.

Tesco was stocking 300g of excellent-looking, bright, fresh, young carrots from Egypt at £1.19, and M&S has come up with organic onions from Austria at 99p for 700g, surely one of the least known sources.

And as there always seems room for another exotic, for me one turned out to be a bit of a mystery. In this case it was the Mushroom Selection from Tesco at £1.19. Most shoppers have now heard of Yellow Oyster, but I have a feeling that Nameko and Eryngii, to quote the label, are mostly unknown. What was intriguing was that they came from different sources, namely the UK, (so far so good) Fra (which should translate as France) and a place called SQ. A call to the Tesco shoppers helpline drew a blank, and the press office needed time to find out. Unless the editor thinks I am being pedantic and can work it out, all will be revealed next week….

Following the roar-away success of prepared salads, now incorporating dressings and what packers refer to as “protein”, it seems that vegetables are going down the same route with the forthcoming barbecue season in mind. After all we already have sweetcorn kebabs and ready-stuffed mushrooms (the UK and Irish sorts), being joined by prepared red peppers.

Waitrose for example has just introduced a new washed and ready to eat range covering nine different lines with more to come. Its 200g courgette and tomato medley came with a Sunblush tomato dressing and also included Tenderstem broccoli and green beans priced at a tempting £2.29.

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