Brisbane Market Report 88

Queensland’s recent heat, backed up by storm conditions in the Wide Bay region, has seen some product lines struggle with quality, but the majority of top shelf fruit and vegetables are value-for-money and tasting great.

The best vegetable bargains include Australian asparagus and beetroot.

For those seeking value-for-money vegetables, you can pick up quality Asian vegetables, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, celery, eggplant, fennel, leeks, parnips, sweet corn, mushrooms, onions, potatoes and pumpkin at low prices.

Zucchinis have also fallen in price and are eating well.

Broccoli is value-for-money but the Gatton-grown supplies have experienced hot conditions and are of average quality. Broccoli is a winter vegetable and loves the cooler weather, so look for flowerets that are fresh, bright-green and compact to ensure the best eating.

Expect to pay firm prices for Bundaberg grown snow peas and sweet potatoes, along with silverbeet and squash.

Gympie-grown brussels sprouts are expensive.

Beans are of mixed quality, not storing for long and also expensive.  Place unwashed beans in a plastic bag and store them in your refrigerator crisper to keep them fresh for up to four days.

In the salad aisle, tomatoes are still great value but look for quality, with some varieties having been heat affected. If you refrigerate your tomatoes before they are fully ripened, they will lose their flavour, so keep them on the bench until you are ready to eat them.

You will also pick up reasonably priced lettuce, mixed leaf salad, cucumber, eshallots and herbs, with the exception of basil that has struggled with the heat and is firmly priced.

Avocados are mostly imported and expensive.

If you are looking for great fruit bargains, then pick up punnets of blueberries, which are bountiful and tasting great.

You will find the end-of-season tangelos are eating well, along with navel oranges, New Zealand kiwifruit, pears, pineapples and pawpaw, all at reasonable prices.

There are fewer apples available and their firm prices are expected to rise, so be sure to keep them in the refrigerator so they remain crunchy and fresh.

You will also pay more for bananas, strawberries, average quality raspberries, lemons, blood oranges and some great tasting mangoes, which are arriving from the Northern Territory.

Limes, honey dew and passionfruit are expensive.

For stonefruit lovers, the Australian low chill variety is on the shelves with the peaches and nectarines found at Christmas time grown in a high chill environment and offering a different flavour.

Brisbane Produce Market