The fruit and vegetables to look out for this month

The fresh fruit and vegetables to add to your shopping list in October Asparagus is "absolutely sublime" at the moment, according to green grocer Jo Toscano. Asparagus, snow peas and garden peas are increasingly prominent on shelves as spring sets in. While no-one doubts the convenience of frozen peas, Effie Ramos from organic market garden Remi's Patch in Naarm/Melbourne says there's something special about the ritual of slowing down and popping the pods open yourself. University of Newcastle nutrition professor Clare Collins says shopping seasonally can help us to introduce variety into our diets. "If you eyeball all the veggies and fruit, look at what hasn't visited your trolley for a few weeks," she says. What can you look for? Vegetables: - Asparagus - Garden peas - Snow peas - Broad beans, including broad bean tips - Broccoli - Cauliflower - Asian greens such as Chinese broccoli and bok choy - Capsicum - Beetroot - Fresh garlic - Celery Fruit: - Citrus, such as alfourer mandarins, navel and blood oranges - Mangoes, as availability increases Asparagus, peas and broad beans Asparagus is expected to peak in mid-to-late October, Ms Toscano says. People tend to avoid the thick asparagus spears, but she says they're "juicy and full of flavour". White asparagus doesn't offer the "great value" of green asparagus, Ms Toscano says "it is divine". She recommends peeling it as the exterior can be "quite fibrous". Dr Collins says asparagus works well in an omelette, quiche or with a simple cheese sauce. Garden peas are also in season. "Fresh peas sort of stay elevated in price but when they're good they're really good and it's worth it," Ms Toscano says. When garden peas are fresh and young, she suggests using the pods (after they've been shelled) to flavour homemade vegetable stock or blitzing and sieving that mixture to make an intense pea-flavoured cooking liquid. Broad beans are also "awesome" right now, Ms Toscano says. Ms Ramos says the leafy green tip of the broad beans have been popular and are "really good, fresh in a salad". Brassicas and Asian greens (again) Broccoli and cauliflower "are pretty good value" and Asian greens such as Chinese broccoli are another good buy, Ms Toscano says. Dr Collins says brassicas, including cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage, can be divisive because they can taste bitter to "super tasters" — people with a more sensitive sense of taste. "But the good news, especially for parents, is that [through] repeated exposure you increase your tolerance," she says. Avoid overcooking the produce and try roasting it or masking the flavour with something like a cheese sauce if someone you are cooking for finds it bitter, she suggests. Seeing red (capsicum and beetroot) Ms Toscano says lots of red capsicums are coming from Queensland and that there are "bargains to be had" over the next couple of weeks. Dr Collins says you can use affordable capsicums and Asian greens in stir-fries. Ms Ramos says it's a good time for beetroot, which can be added to salads, raw or cooked. "A lot of people sort of underestimate the power of the leaves of the beets. You can have them raw, or I just blanch them with a little bit of olive oil," she says. Ms Ramos expects an abundance of spring onions, coriander, parsley, which will decrease prices. October fruit offerings Grapes have started but they're still very expensive, Ms Toscano says, and the first stone fruit will begin appearing this month. "With the confluence of WA and Queensland mango seasons in a few weeks, prices are expected to fall," she says. Cathy Senn from Sensational Berries in Naarm/Melbourne says supplies of Victorian berries will increase as the month continues, adding to those coming from northern Australia. "Starting with the strawberries and then we'll go on to raspberries and then later on we'll have the blueberries come on and then the strawberries, the blackberries after that," she says. Citrus varieties are "diminishing", Ms Senn says, pointing to her "about finished" blood oranges, cara cara oranges and ruby grapefruits. Dr Collins says at this time of year you can often buy bags of great value lemons and oranges. If she's got people coming over, she likes to cook her lemon-and-orange delicious. "You use the rind, the more rind the better," she says. Separating the egg white from the egg yolks is "the tricky bit", but it's also a good opportunity to teach kids or grandkids how to do it.