Market Report Sponsored by Oakleaf European Newsletter # 38

The Staff Canteen

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Kindly supplied by Oakleaf European

An exciting new take on Live from Rungis

Fruit & Mushroom

A couple of Autumnal signs have appeared this week on the market. The increasing volume of wild mushroom and today the first Quince! We are now offering eight different kinds of wild mushroom, or nine if you count both colours of chanterelle. The late summer or early autumn fruit is changing too. Stone fruit is no longer about peach and nectarine, but about plums - the constantly changing varieties and colours of the standard varieties and the specialist ones such as Mirabelle. Figs are coming into their own too with dark ones from Southern France, Sollies will be good in a week or so, to the super soft but unbelievably sweet green varieties such as Banana and Longue d'Automne. Apples and pears from Spain and France are beginning to replace imports from the Southern Hemisphere so look out for an ever increasing offering of top quality, large calibre fruit. It is worth mentioning that the cob nuts are also getting a more "˜dried' colour to them but they still have the same sweet flavour.

Vegetables &  Salads

Artichokes are a little thin on the ground but the quality remains excellent; garlic in all its different guises  and calibres is also at its best at the moment, particularly the famous Rose Lautrec marque which has just started. Swiss chard are excellent as well as is the new season celeriac which is getting bigger by the day. Leafy celery from the Paris region is also in abundance, all baby leaves are continuing to be in good condition despite the hot conditions and large Brittany cauliflower and Romanesco are now coming back on the market and look in great condition. Fine beans are also in abundance with some nice examples of the yellow and violet varieties coming onto the market from the Loire valley. New season green curly cabbage is also starting to appear, Broccoli is everywhere and excellent, while courgettes seem to be getting better and better, some nice round yellow and green varieties now adding some variety to proceedings. Tomatoes are outstanding at the moment with some  great choice on the market. Now is an ideal opportunity to try out our local grower Serres de Chaiily who supplies us with some outstanding varieties.

Featured Products

It really is about grapes now! The Muscat de Hambourg that we promoted last time has been joined buy ( left), large berried Red Globe from Italy, the speckled Chasselas now coming from the Moissac region of France, large and sweet true Italia from Italy (right) and the sweet flavoured Centennial seedless from France. We try hard to offer fruit for its flavour and the Italia and Centennial are prime examples of this. Both are very sweet but note also that some golden brown colouring will appear in the fruit as this is the sugar content! Coming from The South West of France, these black skinned mooli have far more flavour than their white cousins. This baby San Marzano tomato has a sweet intense flavour. Exceptional fine green beans from the Loire Valley. AOC Red Label Lautrec garlic has finally arrived. It has a higher oil content and is strictly controlled to reach this level of certification. Barhi dates are arriving by plane from Israel - sea freight is expected this weekend. Place in the freezer for a couple of hours to start ripening Air freighted Kent mango is a little hard to find at the moment so we are offering Maya from Israel. Still a lovely taste with very little fibre. The Moroccan Prickly Pear has finished and is replaced with lovely examples from Italy. Royal Gala; Granny Smith - The apple and pear selection will grow each week from now on.

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The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 22nd August 2011

Market Report Sponsored by Oakleaf European Newsletter # 38

IN ASSOCIATION WITH