Market Report in association with Wild Harvest 28 Jan 2013

Now that January is nearly over, here is the latest Market Report from Wild Harvest. Wild Mushrooms Portugal is doing us proud for all our wild mushrooms next week. Pricing is at a record low and quality an unheard of high for this time of year. We are normally firmly into USA imports by now.

Girolles
Yellow legged chanterelle (Pictured above. My mushroom of choice for next week. Bright, bouncy and fully formed)
Grey legged chanterelle
Pied de mouton
Trompette (limited availability)

Truffles We are stocking Italian & genuine Perigord winter truffles. Prices have stabilised. White winter & spring whites forge on from Italy. Next up the massively affordable Italian summer truffle expected in March. Foraged Goodies I got all excited about early wild crops a couple of weeks back. Our picker in Norfolk was snacking on baby wild garlic shoots to sustain his searches. Unfortunately the cold weather has arrested development (I’m not suggesting Jack Frost has a hip-hop cd).

It was -2 in East Anglia at noon today & Scotland is getting strange bands of extreme weather, with snow storms swamping one village but not the, neighboring one . Depending on the weather I expect sea purslane, alexanders, scurvy grass & wild three cornered leeks by Thursday. Fruits & Vegetables It has to be said that Jan & Feb sees more of our refrigerated friends leave, than join us. The markets have tinkered with unseasonal flashes of fresh peas and broad beans from Spain, & France has its early crop of white asparagus kicking off. I’ll leave the season stretching to the supermarkets. That said I spoke to our Kentish wild & mara des bois strawberry

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farmer this week and he foresees an early crop this year. For that I will break with my game plan. We have introduced a couple of prime crops for next week:- Doux Des Cevennes Onions AOP registered and much more affordable than Roscoff onions. Sweet and mild these alliums are fine enough to fill the star role in starter. Miss Blush Potatoes My colleague got all excited that he found some funky new potatoes from the fertile Loire

valley as pictured above. L’Oeil de Sologne he called them. They are also known as L’Oeil de Perdrix or Partridge Eye spuds. A relatively new variety which eats like a creamy salad potato, and looks great when steamed or boiled. I’m calling it Miss Blush to aggravate the French, & for once I think we have the sexier name. Other than that globe artichokes are now very affordable from Spain. Here’s a basic list off some of what’s good. • Baby Spanish Artichokes In Bunches • Bergamot Oranges • Blood Oranges • Castel Franco • Cima Di Rapa • Cranberries • Crapaudine Beet • English Cox Apples • Finger Limes

• Green Radishes • Italian unwaxed Leafy Lemons • January King Cabbage • Kaki • Leafy Clementines • Parsley Root • Passe Crassane Winter Pears • Potimarron Squash • Puntarella • Quince • Red Kale • Red Meat Radish • Rhubarb From Yorkshire • Salsify • Seville Oranges • Turnip Boule D'Or Game We are clinging like a frightened kitten to the season. The last birds will be shot on the 1^st of Feb, and we will trade them throughout the following week. We will then continue with venison until chef’s convert their menus to spring delights.

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