Tamarillos an ideal fruit

Press, 18 June 1982, Page 2

Tamarillos an ideal fruit

Tamarillos, ’ an .ideal fruit for keeping away winter colds, are reaching ' the height of their season at Christchurch produce markets. The red and slightly: soft fruit is grown commercially only in New Zealand ;and its April-September' season will peak during the next-fort-night. As well as a higher vitamin C content than oranges or tomatoes, it; also has a low sugar level. 4 " 1 The developing tamarillo industry has produced pne of its best crops this year.-, Halfcases of . tamarillos '.j from Tauranga and . Kgrikeri fetched to $l3 on the market floor yesterday. in Tamarillos can be qsed as a fruit or vegetable combining with sweet or savoury foods but the bitter flavoured skin should be removed, before cooking/To remove the i skin, pour bojling water .oyer the tamarillos and ''leave them for a few minutes. The . skin can -then be - peeled easily from the stem end with a knife. They will also keep frozen for 12 months. A fresh shipment of Californian grapefruit was unloaded at the markets, on Tuesday but it will probably be the last for some time, with more local grapefruit available. Plenty of Clementine mandarins are also ! coming forward - although' Satsuma mandarins have almost finished their season. ? The. price of New Zealand lemons has dropped slightly during the last, two weeks to about $l2 a bushel yesterday. ■New Zealand marmalade oranges are also becoming more plentiful. The Kiwifruit season is getting under way but cus-

tomers may still find unripe kiwifruit on shop shelves. One way to ripen kiwifruit is to put them in aplastic bag with an apple or banana and they will soften quickly. North Island avacados were another market highlight yesterday. Large avacados sold for $55 a tray and smaller sizes fetched $3O. The fruit is usually scarce this month but more is expected during the next two weeks. ' Tomatoes are also arriving from the North Island to supplement local supplies. A 7kg case fetched from $l5 to $lB. Pumpkins and onions are both at their, seasonal peak. Onion prices, at $4.50 a bag yesterday, were nearly four times that amount last June when the supply was smaller and export demand higher. Pumpkin ../■prices’,... have

fallen slightly since last week. The best Crown pumpkin fetched $4.50 a bag. Buttercup and butternut were also plentiful. Shoppers should take care buying celery and cauliflowers. Cold weather has effected some crops, and price varies according to the quality. Plenty of broccoli, cabbages and Brussels sprouts are available, although red cabbages are' slightly scarce at present.

This week’s recipe TAMARILLO PIE 450 g tamarillos 225 g cooking apples *-'2 cup seedless raisins 250 g pastry Vs cup brown sugar Method: Skin the tamarillos and slice thickly. Peel and slice the apple. Place the fruit in 20cm pie plate and

scatter the raisins and brown j sugar through it. Roll out the | pastry and cover the pie. I Bake at 200 to 230 deg. Cel- ) sius according to the type of I pastry for 10 to 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 160 deg. and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.