Latest News

In the Spotlight: Rhubarb.

For the last few weeks Rhubarb has been plentiful with the indoor forced Rhubarb is in its peak. Rhubarb has received a lot of press recently. Firstly, Yorkshire Rhubarb has now been awarded the protected designation of origin status by Defra. This means that only rhubarb grown and packaged in the ‘Rhubarb triangle’ between Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds can actually be branded ‘Yorkshire Rhubarb.’ This brings rhubarb into the same category as Champagne and Parma ham! A delicacy for the UK! Secondly, Sheffield Hallam University have recently undertaken some research on Yorkshire grown Rhubarb and they have discovered that if baked for 20 minutes, levels of polyphenols are increased. These polypehenols could reduce or prevent growth of cancerous cells. More research could now be conducted to see how this potential source of pharmacological agents could be used to develop les toxic therapies for cancer treatment. It seems that people are ready to embrace rhubarb again, and numerous top chefs have featured it in their recipes. Why not pick up some rhubarb in the shops next time and experiment with it. It works wonderfully in savoury dishes as well as sweet. You could try this savoury dish below.

Pork with Rhubarb Salsa.

Strawberries.

We are sourcing Strawberries from a variety of different countries at the moment. We still continue to get fruit from Egypt and we have been able to maintain quality due to many of our specially bred Redeva varieties that are proving strong in the late season. We are also importing from Morocco the main varieties here are Festival, Camirosa, and Sabrosa. Supply from Spain now well underway. Like a lot of other countries in the supply of soft fruit at this time of year, Spain has not escaped the wet weather. This rain has meant a slow start in Spain. However, as the weather improves so will the availability and quality and we will be supplying predominantly Spanish fruit. Looking ahead, we hope to see the first early English glass house strawberries at the end of March!

Blackberries

The 2009/2010 El Nino event has caused extremely wet and stormy weather in central and South America. This has had a direct effect on the Blackberries that we source from these areas. There has been very heavy rainfall throughout January and February and it may well continue into March, which is characteristic for the El Nino weather pattern. The volume of water and humidity has meant that it has been difficult to enter the fields to pick fruit. These conditions also impact on quality of the fruit. The outlook for March is looking better and we should see significant increases in the volume available.

Raspberries

We have a steady supply of raspberries coming from Spain at the moment, again rain had affected availability early on, but now the warmer weather combined with the rain has brought them on and there is better availability. The main variety with significant volume at the moment is Glen Lyon. We also have the new variety Grandeur which is a variety that has been grown for the first year commercially in Spain this year. We also look forward to the Radiance variety in the next few weeks. These new varieties are a good size and a lovely bright colour and are juicy with a sweet flavour.

Blueberries

We have a steady supply of raspberries coming from Spain at the moment, again rain had affected availability early on, but now the warmer weather combined with the rain has brought them on and there is better availability. The main variety with significant volume at the moment is Glen Lyon. We also have the new variety Grandeur which is a variety that has been grown for the first year commercially in Spain this year. We also look forward to the Radiance variety in the next few weeks. These new varieties are a good size and a lovely bright colour and are juicy with a sweet flavour.