Market Report in association with Wild Harvest 12 Jan 2013

In association with

Hello All,

I’ve ditched the traditional triptych in favour of five images this week. A combination of our ever increasing lust for produce, and a very mild winter (so far) has thrown up a spread worthy of the extra shots. Wild Mushrooms I expect Europe to continue to produce ‘shrooms into February. Then we will be forced to tap into the American wild mushroom season for a couple of months. Whilst I fight air miles wherever I can this will facilitate some nice strap on produce lines from the US such as Meyer lemons, bay laurel & fiddlehead ferns in March. All of the below are in good condition and coming from Portugal with the exception of trompette, which we will be coming from both Turkey and the Iberian peninsula. Grey legged chanterelle Yellow legged chanterelle (my personal favourite of the moment, superb to mount a full flavoured winter vegetable soup made from a squash or pungent root). Girolles Pied de mouton Trompette

Truffles As always a daily situation. On Monday we will ring our contacts across Europe and set prices accordingly. Winter truffles are due to drop in price again. Winter whites cling on. One supplier from Italy has offered the spring white truffle (pictured) this week. This is spectacularly early. Let’s hope bad weather doesn’t kill off the early flush as I’m keen to buy next week. The season normally lasts mid-March till mid-April. For those not acquainted with this subterranean fungi it’s as ugly as pictured, but offers a unique potent nose for a fraction of the cost of it’s Winter cousin. We historically have several culinary heavy weights amongst our customer base who enjoy a tango with this tuber. Fruits The delicious Winter harvested passe crassane pear hits our chillers from France next week. Squat, freckled and juicy just like…… well like a pear should be.

As updated last week we have a stunning spread of citrus on the boil. Finger limes have increased in price unfortunately as now coming from the US. You get a whole heap for a hundred grams however, and only really relevant as a stunning natural caviar style garnish.. Bergamot oranges are selling well. We are jumping into the blood orange game as they have as much blood as the ones pictured. These two are currently coming from Italy. Seville oranges started this week.

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Take advantage of this short season to make delicious conserves, ice creams and sorbets with a bitter marmalade hit. Season normally lasts up to six weeks.” Vegetables Yorkshire triangle forced Rhubarb now in place, and we will run with it until the excellent champagne rhubarb from the Wye Valley accepts the baton from it’s northern cousin in April.

A truly great British ingredient which chef’s use in far more ways than a crumble these days. Both sweet and savoury. As with gooseberries the natural astringency cleans up an oily fish such as mackerel a treat. January king cabbage! Check it out. January King Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. convar. capitata var. sabauda 'January King')^[1] is a variety of the savoy cabbage. January King Cabbage is a winter vegetable which was cultivated in England before 1885. It has blue green leaves blushed with purple, and its small heads weigh 3-5 pounds (1–2 kg).^[2] If you let us know by Monday 9am we can get skurvy grass from the Norfolk wilds. With it’s mustard/horseradish rasp the leaf represents an unusual and superior option to watercress. Rich in Vitamin C (hence the name) seafarers would have been able to grab this in a hurry as it’s survival is based on being able to survive in high levels of salinity. The first three cornered wild leeks are due to arrive next week (Wednesday) from Scotland.

As with the Spring white truffles let’s hope a cold snap doesn’t wipe them out. These normally start in March also. They won’t have pretty flowers on them (as pictured) yet but they will taste delicious. For those keen to put something truly spicy on their mandolin we have some peppery green radish from France in good condition. Last but by no means least I expect to see sea kale from either Scotland or France by the end of next week. A rare product plucked from the wild & cultivated, it’s stems are kept tender by covering with pots, soil or stones. A delicious celery like stem which tastes of asparagus and pairs with fish beautifully. The French call it crambe maritime echoing the Latin name, but our farmer contact in Scotland grows the best I have ever seen. Season normally lasts until the end of March but who knows this year with such an early start. Brought to you by Wild Harvest

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