NZ vegetables
Pick of the week are llam Hardy new season potatoes. Potatoes are a year-round staple but the start of the Ilam Hardy variety is always an exciting time for potato lovers. They are a classic variety; white fleshed with a nutty taste.
Suggested recipe: Potato salad. Cut and boil your potatoes in a pot with a pinch of salt. Boil for 10-15 minutes, so that they are tender. While these are cooking; in a small glass mix together 1 tsp of Dijon mustard, 3 tbsp. white wine vinegar, the juice of one lemon, ¼ cup of olive oil and 2 very thinly sliced garlic cloves. Once cooked drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss it all together; to this add 1/3 cup of grated carrots and ¼ cup of both chopped dill and chives, along with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to soak up the flavour. If it looks slightly dry add more vinegar and olive oil.
Other top vegetable buys are spring onions, cabbage, watercress and fennel bulbs. Spring onions are surprisingly higher in most nutrients than brown onions. They are full of vitamins A, C and K as well as iron, calcium and potassium. Make sure to add them to salads, stir-fries and as a garnish to get a nutrient boost.
Also look out for iceberg lettuce. While icebergs are available year round they definitely get bigger and better as the weather gets better. Icebergs are grown outside year round so changing weather conditions have a significant effect on the quality. Icebergs have taken well to the start for the spring season and are in flush resulting in good prices.
NZ fruit
Pick of the week is Richard special mandarins. They are in the peak of their short season and supply is limited; meaning they are mostly sold by independent retailers rather than supermarkets. Richard specials are an incredibly tasty variety of mandarin and definitely worth chasing.
Suggested recipe: A fun way for kids to eat mandarins is to make jelly. Stir together the juice of 8 mandarins, 100ml of ginger ale and ½ cup of sugar in a saucepan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Whisk 2 tsp of gelatine into 50ml of boiling water until dissolved. Whisk the gelatine mixture into the mandarin mixture. Pour into 4 100pl glasses and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Also look out for lemons, NZ Rose apples, avocados and navel oranges. All are in season and at a good price. The first local strawberries are starting to arrive in limited numbers.
Imported produce
Grapes from California are in full swing; the season is great and the product is juicy and delicious. US pomegranates are on the scene; fantastic in a salad, as a marinade or as a flavoursome desert garnish. Australian mangoes are on trend at the moment and popping up everywhere.
Fresh on the shelves
BREAD MYTHS BUSTED
While gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye and barley – has often had a bad rap for causing weight gain, health professionals suggest eating bread suited to your lifestyle and dietary needs can actually assist with weight control. In a bid to discover and then bust common bread myths, Bakers Delight surveyed 1005 women on their bread eating habits, choices and consumption.
The result revealed 58% of women (aged 25-65) believe bread contributes to weight gain. More than half of the women surveyed also revealed finding the healthy food category confusing and overwhelming but said they would enjoy bread more often if there were healthy choices.
Nutritionist Sharon Natoli, says this reflects an increase in food insecurity and a loss of basic nutritional knowledge around healthy bread options. “Many women are unaware of the long list of benefits offered by wholemeal and low GI breads, and often turn to gluten free diets which can be more harmful than good,” she says. “The right bread choice can offer numerous health benefits, including digestive health, sustained energy and an all-round healthier heart, mind and body.”
Bakers Delight has launched a Healthy Loafstyle campaign designed to educate consumers in-store and via an interactive online quiz. Six bread varieties, chosen for their individual health benefits, make up the Healthy Loafstyle range. They are: Hi-Fibre Lo-GI White – for sustained energy; Chia Omega-3 – for a healthy mind; Cape Seed – for heart, mind and body; Wholemeal Country Grain – for weight management; Wholemeal Chia Block – for a healthy mind; and Chia and fruit – for women’s wellbeing.
CHOCOLATE CLUSTERS
Donovans Chocolate Clusters feature a trio of sweet and crunchy chocolates in three flavours; Milk Chocolate Hokey Pokey, Milk Chocolate Ultimate Peanut and Milk Chocolate Wild Berry Crunch. Chocolate Clusters come in 150g re-sealable pouches. They join an existing range of New Zealand-made made premium pouches including Milk Chocolate Turkish Delight 170g, Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger 170g, Dark Chocolate Caramels 170g, Russian Fudge 200g and Chocolate Fudge 200g. Donovans chocolate is available at selected New World and Pak’nSave supermarkets, speciality stores or online from www.donovanschocolates.co.nz. Clusters have an RRP of $3.99.
DOCELLO BY NAME
Nestlé Professional’s chocolate range designed for use by chefs and bakers has undergone a makeover. This includes a move to a new brand name and launch of a new couverture product. Nestlé Professional chocolate now appears under the Nestlé Docello name and in revamped packaging. Dolcello is tailored to deliver inspired desserts and cakes. The couverture range includes Royal and the new Ultima 70% Cocoa. Both are available in kibble form and come in 5kg packs comprising 2 x 2.5 kg bags. The existing compound range of one dark and one white chocolate product remain unchanged.