With only 5 sleeps left until Christmas, excitement levels in some households are reaching fever pitch as the jolly old fella in the red suit is nearly here. The time is now for that last minute present shopping, gift wrapping and most importantly, food preparation. To ensure you have the freshest and best quality produce for your Christmas celebrations, make sure you visit your local independent A better choice! fruit and veg shop, which sources produce from the Brisbane Markets. Just ask the friendly staff in-store if you need help picking your produce; they are more than happy to make your Christmas feasts one to remember with the perfect produce.
Our final pick of the week for 2024 is Lychees, from North Queensland. To ensure you pick the sweetest and juiciest of Lychees look for those with a pink-red skin. Lychees can be refrigerated for up to 7 days, perfect timing to buy some now and keep for Christmas day! Refresh your Christmas cocktail menu by adding this Cucumber and Lychee Sour to tickle your taste buds!
White and Yellow Peaches from Victoria are great value this week. To make sure you get the ‘right’ Peach here is a little test you can do: gently press the top of the Peach and if it feels a little squishy it is ready to eat! If you are looking for ways to incorporate this delicious juicy stonefruit into baking, give this Peach Tart a try, or on a hot and sticky summer day why not try this refreshing Homemade Peach Ice Tea!
We have lots of Cherry farms in Australia, and this week the Cherries from New South Wales are great value. Cherries tick the box for all Christmas occasions, Cherry gift boxes, salad toppers, or just a bowl for dessert! They are definitely a crowd pleaser at Christmas time.
You won’t miss the plentiful supply of Papaya from Mareeba and Innisfail at your local fruit shop this week. This football shaped fruit, is great chilled, sliced up and passed around the table at all your summer gatherings. Add more sweetness to your bowl of creamy vanilla ice cream with this delicious tropical favourite! Papaya is full of antioxidants to boost your skin and immune system, so why not add Papaya to this Breaky Smoothie while you are on the go during this busy season.
The Brisbane Markets are brimming with juicy, vibrant Cherry Truss Tomatoes this week. These sweet, little tomatoes, grown in New South Wales and Victoria, are perfect for everything from snacking on straight from the vine, roasted with the Christmas ham, making your favourite sauce or even fried up with your Christmas morning bacon and eggs. Pro tip: the redder the tomato, the sweeter the flavor!
Sweet Corn from New South Wales represents a good buy this week as supply and quality are excellent. Packed with vitamins A and C, iron and dietary fibre, there’s nothing much better than biting into a juicy Sweet Corn, especially when steamed and coated in butter.
Zucchini from Stanthorpe is in abundance! These versatile green veggies can be used for frittatas, Ratatouille, zucchini pasta or even some traditional chutney. Combine this with some Sweet Corn this week and make Zucchini Corn Cakes for a healthy lunch. It will be a hit with the kids, as they will not even notice the Zucchini! With air fryers being the ‘pick of the kitchen’ appliance this year, if you jumped on the bandwagon and bought yourself one give these Parmesan Thyme Zucchini Fries a try. Well, that is a wrap for 2024, we would like to thank you for supporting your local independent A better choice! fruit and veg shop. By shopping local, you are not only purchasing the freshest produce, but are supporting your community, Aussie growers and the economy. Continue shopping where you see the A better choice! logo and have a wonderful festive season.
About Brisbane Markets
As Queensland’s only central fruit and vegetable market, the Brisbane Markets is the state’s most important centre for the marketing and distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables. It records an annual trade of over 700 million kilograms of produce valued at more than $2 billion.
An important economic and employment hub, more than 4,500 people work or do business at the markets each day through over 170 businesses. This includes over 50 wholesalers who receive fresh produce from over 7,000 growers and trade five days a week to more than 800 registered buyers.
