START YOUR ENGINES

Q: Could you fuel a V8 from your kitchen?

After the slow and steady pace of Winter, Spring is a time of supercharged activity for the horticultural and food service sectors. The V8 supercars may set the pace at Eastern Creek but they fall well short of the speed at which the markets turnover between September and January. To help you keep track of the changes ahead, below is a concise calendar of key produce lines that hit full throttle during Spring and others that fall off the pace in terms of quality, supply and price. To see the markets in action this Spring, contact us to organise your guided tour of the Sydney Produce and Growers markets with SG&S  Director, Damian George.

FULL THROTTLE:

The below produce lines hit their natural peak in Spring and will therefore offer great buying and quality over the coming months

 

OFF THE PACE:

While we are fortunate enough to have a relatively unbroken supply of produce throughout the year in Australia, that being said, you can expect the following items to increase in price, become limited in availability or finish altogether during Spring as their natural season ends.

Buddha Hands- while supply has been inconsistent this year, the traditional season ends in October

Celeriac- while still available, peak season ends September

Gold Kiwifruit – start to drop our in September/October

Limes – while supply is still steady, prices will start to rise considerably over the coming weeks

Mandarins- start to phase out in October

Oranges- Blood Oranges drop off in September while Seville Oranges drop off in October, though Navels will be available until November

Root Vegetables-peak season for most winter root vegetables ends in September

Tangellos- start to wind up November

Taro Root- drops off for a few months in Oct/Nov

 

A: Well maybe not, but in 2009 a British team did design a Formula 3 race car powered entirely by vegetable oil and waste chocolate. In fact vegetables played a key role in the car’s overall design- the turbocharged engine ran on biodiesel and lubricants derived from plant oil, the wing endplates were made of potato starch covered with flax fibre and the steering wheel was made of curran (carrot fibres said to be equally as strong as carbon fibre). Even closer to home, Australia’s V8s are also vege powered (to a degree) with the racing competition being exclusively powered by E85 – an 85% ethanol-based fuel- since 2009.