Brussels sprouts are at their cheapest

Press, 30 April 1982, Page 2

Brussels sprouts are at their cheapest

The best buying at the produce markets this week was Brussels sprouts, which were considerably cheaper than at last week’s market. Sprouts of excellent quality were plentiful and buyers paid between $5 and $7.50 a bag. This often-neglected vegetable can be eaten either raw or cooked. A cross marked in the stem will make cooking quicker. Drumhead and red cabbages were also well sup)lied throughout the week. A >ag of drumhead cabbages made $2 to $3 for growers and red cabbages fetched to $5 a bag. A strong demand for courgettes pushed the price up to $3O a half-case for the betterquality produce. The courgette season is almost finished and stocks are diminishing.

Prices for corn also rose as it draws to the end of its season. Cobs were selling for 17c to 20c each, with some retailers offering cobs at only 15c to their customers.

Quality and price varied for broccoli on sale. Halfcase lots sold for as little as $4 and as much as $l5. The first of the glasshouse beans arrived at the market and sold at $4 a kilogram. The season for outdoor beans has finished, as has the season for outdoor cucumbers.

Glasshouse-grown telegraph cucumbers reached 50c each and those shorts available made 45c each. Oamaru lettuces were plentiful and relatively cheap at $2 to $3.80 a case. Tomatoes dropped dramatically in price from the beginning of the week when a 4.5 kg carton was selling at $l5. The same sized carton was sell-

ing for $4 to $9 yesterday. Greater quantities of tomatoes at the market and decreased demand with cooler weather were responsible for the reduction in price. Radishes, spring onions, and celery were all reasonably supplied with buyers paying $1 to $2 a dozen for radishes, $3 to $3.50 a dozen for spring onions, and to $6.50 a case for celery. Bunched leeks were in demand and bunches of 12 fetched to $11.20 for growers. Full supplies of silverbeet, cauliflowers, and carrots sold well at $4 a case for silverbeet, to $7.40 a bag for cauliflowers, and $2 to $2.20 for a bag of carrots. The price for carrots was down on last week, probably because more were available.

Pumpkins — crown, buttercup, and butternut — were abundant as they have

been for the last few weeks. Prices ranged from $2 a bag for buttercup pumpkin to $6 a bag for butternut pumpkin, with crown pumpkin selling at $3 to $4.50 a bag. Dargaville and Motueka kumara were plentiful and a carton of the sweet potatoes made between $l2 and $2O. Stocks of field and cultivated mushrooms were snapped up by retailers at $8 to $l4 a tray.' The harbour pilots’ dispute meant that a shipment of citrus fruit could not be unloaded early in the week. Existing stocks of oranges, lemons, and grapefruit were able to cope with the demand and, with the settlement of the dispute, the shipment should be unloaded within the next few days. Both New Zealand and Australian lemons are available. Case lots of Golden Queen peaches and Omega plums

were at the market and prices ranged from $3 to $5 for peaches and from $5 to $l2 for plums. Some strawberries are still available and trays of the fruit sold for $9 to $l2 a tray. The complete range of exotic fruits was on sale although tamarillos were scarce. Half-cases of the fruit sold for $l2 to $lB. Feijoas and avocados were expensive at $9 to $l4 a halfcase for feijoas and up to $35 for a tray of avocados. Pipinos and figs were available early in the week, selling at $4 to $5.60 a tray. Grapes made $lO to $l5 for 2W>kg cartons while a range of kiwifruit sold well. Prices varied from $ll to $12.50 a half-case, $1.35 to $1.50 a kilogram and $25 a bushel. This week’s recipe BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND CROUTONS 750 g Brussels sprouts 1 small onion 1 to 2 gloves garlic 25g butter 2 thick slices bread 50g butter salt and pepper lemon juice Method: Wash and trim sprouts, cook in boiling salted water for 8 to 12 minutes, and drain. Peel the onion and garlic and chop finely. Melt the first measure of butter and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Cut the bread into Icm cubes. Melt the second measure of butter and fry the croutons until golden and crisp on all sides. Mix the sprouts with the onion and garlic and heat through. Season well with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Serve garnished with the croutons.