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Louise's Kitchen on the morning show
On The Rise Several produce lines are experiencing price increases this week due to multiple seasonal factors affecting supply. Seasonal Transitions Impact Supply The South Australian season for tomatoes and capsicum has come to an end, prompting our usual transition to Queensland suppliers. Unfortunately, a poor start to the Queensland season means many lines aren't ready yet. Expect tomatoes across most varieties to hit higher than normal pricing, with relief likely still a week or two away. Weather Slowing Growth Colder weather in our southern states has significantly slowed growth conditions. Several vegetable lines are climbing back up from their recent lows, with broccoli, asparagus, beans and cauliflower leading the charge. Some onion lines, particularly red varieties, are set to tighten up over the coming week. Mushrooms continue their stubborn price climb with lower yields hitting the market - only large white flats have decent quantity available right now, though this should improve next week. Citrus and Berry Updates Imperial mandarins will finish this week, making way for Daisy and local Satsuma varieties that are eating beautifully. Valencia oranges have wrapped up, with early season Navelina navels just starting. These tend to be quite tart initially, and crops are running light with plenty of larger fruit available. Berry lines remain tight in these cooler conditions, with quality fruit commanding premium prices. Local kiwifruit season has ended and New Zealand fruit is starting, so expect prices to climb. Value for Money Despite rising costs in some areas, excellent value opportunities remain across several categories. Vegetable Bargains Potato lines are delivering exceptional value - grab 2.5kg washed bags and loose cocktail chats for outstanding quality at great prices. Broccolini is your best choice over other greens and priced perfectly to move. Local Savoy cabbage is abundant this week and absolutely worth trying. All pumpkin varieties offer excellent value with very good quality. Fresh young ginger is superb quality and won't be found cheaper anywhere - at just $9.99 per kilo this week, it's time to stock up. Eggplant should see some price relief in the coming week. Fruit Opportunities The grape season is winding down, but sweet black grapes are superb and priced to sell quickly. Keep an eye out for value pricing on rockmelon and watermelon next week. Pineapples have pulled back in price, making them an attractive option. Local King Valley walnuts are eating beautifully - do yourself a favour and try them. We've set competitive pricing to move these quality nuts. As winter cold sets in, look for extra value on soup ingredient lines next week. Hass avocados are now excellent value. What's New Fresh arrivals this week include: Chokoes - Perfect for winter cooking Spaghetti Vegetable - A unique addition to your menu Soup Packs - Convenient winter warming options Star Fruit (Carambola) - Exotic and refreshing Quince - Ideal for preserves and cooking Hard to Find Current limited availability items: Gold Squash Butter Beans Season Finishing Soon Get these while you can - seasons are wrapping up: Pomegranate Persimmon Plums Don't forget we are here to help save you on your weekly shop. Shop Local. Steve Arnold's Buyer
A number of prices have come back in the past few days and will continue into this week which is always good news. Cauliflower, Broccoli and Avocado the stand outs. The Hass Avocado season is now over for a few weeks. We have transitioned to the Sirprize variety. This is an in-between season variety with a slightly roughish skin. They start green and ripen to a dark black/purple looking skin. They do become quite soft to the touch when ripe however when cut present with a lovely creamy flesh. Mushrooms this week also of good value with the large white flats and white cups best value. Other value product includes Capsicum and Sweet Corn. The stone fruit season is nearing an end. Plums, however, are good value and eat well. They will be around for a few more weeks. A range of local apples are becoming available with local Gala and Honeycrisp available, local pink ladies are a couple of weeks away. Local Beechworth Chestnuts are now available. The Mango season also at an end with limited stock available. The Kiett variety will be the last variety for his season for us. Green Mangoes are also extremely scarce. Citrus remains good value along with Rockmelon to give some options. New season Australian Pomegranates are available and super cheap. Make the most of these. Good quality Hand Picked Beans continue to be firmer in price although back a little from previous weeks. Most Tomato lines have seen prices up and down as the extreme heat in South Australia affects supply. In regard to Cyclone Alfred in Queensland. Land fall was mostly over metropolitan areas leaving most of the growing regions alone. Some heavy rain and flooding has impacted some regions though. There has been some transport issues but in general no market effect as yet. It does usually however take time for any impact to be felt from these weather events. We will keep you updated.
What an absolute honour it was for the team from Melbourne Market to choose me to appear on Sunrise Weather with Sam Mac! It was a very early wakeup call on 3.30am to then be in the Market by 5am. Strangely this is rather late compared to the majority of workers in the Market who start at midnight! The wonderful team at A Better Choice! had set up a makeshift kitchen in The Buyers Walk section of the Market. It included a tomato press (or otherwise known as a mincer) because the Sunrise producers had requested we make passata which is an uncooked tomato purée that has been strained of seeds and skins. This is typically done across a whole day and many family members get involved, but for TV purposes we did a quick step by step showcasing delicious ripe Aussie grown tomatoes. What the audience didn’t see was the tomato press not working just minutes before we went live! Watching how a TV crew navigate being remote and mobile was awesome to see. Sam Mac was genuinely interested in learning about “sauce tomatoes” and he loved Louise’s Kitchen! Representing Arnold’s and Louise’s Kitchen on national TV was a great experience. One that I hope to replicate again!