NOW in SEASON, Australia – Melbourne Market

What image pops in your mind when I mention Australian fruits? Grapes, persimmons, peaches, plums, nectarines and friends? Yup yup yup, these fruits are Now in Season indeed. But what’s so special about Australian fruits anyway?

I love making healthy and pretty breakfast as you could easily tell from my #BreakfastBonanza ritual on Instagram, and I’ve kept up this habit since a few years ago. I would use both local and imported fruits to décor my oats, smoothies, nicecream or yoghurt. My favourite fruits are those with bright and popping colours, they seem to add more appetite somehow (for me). As someone who regularly haunts the fresh produce aisle at the supermarket or fruit markets, I am often swoon by the pretty and appetizing imported fruits, and the best ones are often labelled with ‘Australia’.

Why Australian produce?

Australian produce are grown in clean, fresh & safe environment, it is also worth mentioning that the industry is heavily regulated by the Government. Australian farmers are required to use only approved fertilizers and the water Down Under are undoubtedly clean, even tap waters in the cities are drinkable sans boiling!

Australian produce are superior in quality, thus are very safe for consumption. Due to the rigorous processing and packaging system, the relatively short shipping distance, these produce will arrive in Indonesia still fresh and in optimum condition. According to Nutritionist Jansen Ongko, tree-ripe fruits are more nutritious, as opposed to those picked before they ripen, or worse added chemicals to force maturation in artificial condition. And the short shipping distance between Australia and Indonesia makes this very possible.

Shorter time spent on the road means more nutrition stays intact within the fruit, making Australian fruits highly nutritious. According to Jansen, Indonesians are known to consume not enough fruits, only 91gr/day, a far cry from the daily recommendation of 400gr/day.  Local fruits alone are not yet sufficient to supply the local demand, both in terms of quantity and quality. Yes there are good produce grown in Indonesia, but they mostly picked off for export, as they fetch better price. Local consumers are thus only get to pick from the leftover.

Australian fruits are known to be delicious and sweet, and I can personally vouch for this! From my visit to Australia last time, I made a priority to shop for fruits there to bring home such as cherries, blueberries, peaches, I even bought pomegranate home! As a foodie, it's about being discerning consumer; to eat not just for the sake of feeling full, but also for the pleasure and for its nutritional value.

And hey, it’s April, which means autumn  in Australia. At this time of the year, the fruits which are in season are stone fruits like plums, nectarines, peaches, as well as berries, pears, apples, oranges, table grapes, etc. If you see these fruits in stores, you can almost be certain that they’re from Australia. Seeing those ripe and bountiful produce at the supermarket recently, I couldn’t help not to bring a couple of these home.

I believe fruit is best eaten fresh in its original state, but after tasting the baked Corella Pear that Chef Yuda Bustara cooked for us the other day, I decided to try making it at home. Here are some more fresh dish ideas that Chef Yuda made for us using the now-in-season Australian produce:

I decided to try poaching the Australian Corella pear, using a super simple solution. I made it with:

- white wine

- sugar

- vanilla beans

- cinnamon

- water

Simmer the pear for a while in enough water to cover it entirely in the solution, to make sure it’s soft to the core and then serve it on milk-soaked oats, together with the sweet and crunchy persimmon slices, some blueberries for contrasting colour. Have I told you that poached corella pear tastes so good?

#MelbourneMarketID #NowInSeason

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