Autumn, fall, hærfest, backend, Marrai’gang – this is your guide to the most underrated season of the year.
Autumn signals the annual harvest for many of the wonderful products we enjoy throughout the year at the market. This is the time our winemakers such as Bacco Wines, Eloquesta Wines and Aristotelis Ke Anthoula are busy harvesting grapes and making wine for their next vintage.
Meanwhile our nut growers like Hand N Hoe Macadamias are harvesting fresh nuts off their trees before transforming them into the raw, roasted, sweet, spreadable, salted snacks we entrust to our pantries.
ALTO Olives‘ Autumn harvest sees them producing their award-winning oils, including the highly coveted Novella – this is the first pressing of their new season oil, with a fresh, green, spicy flavour – it’s only available in small quantities and for a very limited time during the season.
As we move out of late summer into the cooler autumn months, we continue to enjoy the deliciously plump ripe sweetness of the figs from Figlicious and juicy plums from Prickle Hill Produce, before making way for the crisp, tart flavours of rhubarb, apples and pears from Kurrawong Organics.
Pear tip: When they are firm and crisp, slice them raw into sharp flavoured salads to balance their sweetness or roast them in halves with verjus and thyme to be served alongside meat and fish. As they ripen, try bottling them by placing them in a tightly sealed jar covered in 50/50 sugar syrup, a vanilla bean and a dash of white wine vinegar. Place the sealed jar in boiling water and simmer gently for 1hour. Remove from the water and leave the jar to cool in a dark place. They will keep in the larder for months and are delicious served with their syrup.
Apple tip: Apples are always crisp so are fantastic grated into a slaw or sliced into a salad. As the cooler weather sets in, try baking them whole by removing the core and stuffing the cavity with raisins and spices such as cinnamon and clove. Place a dollop of butter on top, scatter with a tablespoon of brown sugar and a splash of white wine and bake for an hour in a moderate oven until the flesh is very soft and a lovely caramel has formed in the pan. Perfect with ice cream for that hot and cold kind of vibe.
Autumn sees the arrival of all the perfect veggies for cozy roasts and soups, like pumpkin, Jerusalem artichokes and squash from Block 11 Organics, along with the first bitter leaves.
Jerusalem artichoke tip: If they are shaped like an egg, you’ll want to cut them in half. If they are the little knobbly ones that look like ginger, break the nodules from each other and leave them as they are. There flavour is like a nutty potato and are perfect roasted or simmered and blended into a soup.
You’ll find fresh new season broad beans and borlotti beans either bundled together or lovingly hand-shelled by Carmel at Zavaglia’s Gourmet Produce, then pop straight to the stall next door and pick up some delicious saffron cap (pine) mushrooms from The Fungi.
The Easter season also sees an abundance of treats from our bakeries and chocolate makers, plus shoppers can fill their baskets with seasonal blooms, the best quality meats, dairy and condiments while sipping a coffee or fresh juice, and indulging in a well-earned Sat morning brunch.
