PRODUCE REPORT

Royal galas mangoes,

herald the start of apple season and they are in stores now, awaiting the family lunchboxes. A cross between a golden delicious and Kidd’s orange, these sweet and crunchy babies, like all apples, should be stored in the fridge. At home it’s time to get out the jam pots and preserving jars. Make use of golden queen and other and look out for

— the late-season hybrid between a peach and nectarine. Classic golden queens make the best bottled fruit. An old variety, they do bruise very easily, but the flavour more than makes up for the careful handling required. Eat them, bake with them and bottle them while you can. Kathy Paterson shows how to do it on bite.co.nz in her bottled peach recipe which comes with tips on sterilising jars and the overflow bottling method. Cherries have all but departed and soon apricots will be on the way out too. It’s also sayonara to strawberries. Meanwhile, there are still local to be enjoyed and imported here for late summer desserts and salsas (I am always on about salsa but it is the making of so many, otherwise ordinary, midweek meals). There’s still a whole range of available: black doris if you have a tree in your garden, and omegas, a dark-fleshed great eating plum. It joins black amber (with yellow flesh) and the mild fortune and greengages. The plum season finishes in March. while still expensive in the shops, may be ready for harvesting in your garden. Capsaicin, produced in hot peppers, is the plant’s natural defence to stress and, when lacking water, the plant produces more capsaicin and the chillies get hotter. are good buying and great for stir-fries. Try this from Warren Elwin: Top and tail some fresh green beans and slice in half on the bias. Combine beans with 1 clove crushed garlic, 2cm knob grated ginger, finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 tsp sesame seeds. Heat 1 Tbsp sesame oil in a wok until smoking, then flash-fry beans for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and a little lemon juice. More good vege buys include and other and Whoa! Looks like grey- are affordable again.

Chillies,