The best fruit and vegetable buys of the week, in partnership with New World.
FRESH IN: Meyer lemons have arrived! "If you haven't heard them by name before, Meyer lemons are New Zealand's most popular lemon variety, grown in our warmer places like Bay of Plenty and the Far North", says New World fresh expert Brigit Corson.
While the sharp zest of the Yen Ben offers mouth-puckering acidity when needed, the golden, smoother-skinned Meyer rewards with loads of juice and less bitter pith for marmalade and Moroccan preserved lemons and takes a softer approach when thin lemon slices are called for in a dish. The Meyer is actually a cross between a mandarin and a lemon which explains all.
Lemon, gin and ginger marmalade
Preserved lemons
Lemons will keep in the fruit bowl for a week but if you are tired of watching them go mouldy before you use them, transfer to the fridge where they will keep well for a month, in a sealed bag or container.
Still thinking citrus, Satsuma mandarins and limes are plentiful and good-buying as their season progresses. Same goes for green and yellow kiwifruit, offering more vitamin C.
LOOK FOR: Exotic New Zealand-grown Kiwano melons. "They're an amazing and slightly alien looking fruit," Brigit says, "with a bright-orange, horned skin and lime-green seeded interior, a bit like the cucumber they are related to."
The Kiwano tastes like a mix of banana, passionfruit and lime. To eat, cut in half across the middle and spoon out the jelly-like seeds. Kiwano are high in zinc, magnesium and calcium with a good amount of vitamin A and beta carotene, but they are low in sugar.
Look for bunches of baby carrots and remember to cut off the moisture-sucking green tops before you store the roots. Imported Mexican mangoes are in-store too, use them to bring a tropical touch to meals.
MOVING ON: Local beans and courgettes have been replaced by Australian imports for the winter. The feijoa season will be finishing in a few weeks so get your fill!
