Produce report

Fresh this week:

Lettuces are making salads look very good right now but as the warm weather continues “the real vege star continues to be sweetcorn,” says New World Fresh Expert Brigit Corson. “We’re still enjoying summer fruit with peaches, plentiful plums, New Zealand watermelon and local blueberries. Easy-peel mandarins are in now too and a great addition to lunchboxes”.

What to look for:

“Sweetcorn is here until April.” says Brigit. “When buying look for bright-coloured husks. Sweeter corn will have darker-coloured tassels. Corn is an excellent source of fibre, B vitamins and potassium — a great way to boost any meal.

Try it in:

We’re at that point in summer where we’d rather not see another lettuce salad, but being such good buying it’s worth thinking creatively. Lettuces can be grilled, pan-fried, stir-fried and braised, used as wraps for dumplings and as a gluten-free bread or cracker alternative — find recipes on bite.co.nz. Shred some iceberg lettuce into the bottom of glasses as a base for prawn or seafood cocktails for your love this Valentine’s Day.

Moving on:

Tuck some of that summer fruit away now for winter crumbles, pies, cakes and smoothies. Cut peaches, nectarines and plums in half, remove the stones and freeze the fruit straight away. Compotes are handy too — boil sliced fruit for a few minutes with a little sugar or honey and spices (cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, star anise) and cool before freezing in portions.