Written by Tom Moggach
October 09, 2017

There's some startling colour this October - from gigantic pumpkins to speckled Castelfranco.

Check out these Lancashire Brussel sprouts and tops on the stalk - in tip top condition over at wholesaler P & I. All the brassicas are a good bet at this time of year, including kales, kohl rabi, broccoli and the cabbages.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Brussel Sprouts

This is also the time when citrus starts to get interesting. The first bergamots are in from Italy and these Miyagawa clementines, an early variety first discovered and bred in Japan and now grown in Europe, too.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Miyagawa Clementine

Here's the pumpkin, up on the counter at S Thorogood & Son. There are plenty of other squashes on hand - everything from the tiny Munchkin to the crinkly numbers in the second pic below.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Pumpkin

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Squash

The radicchio season is just starting in earnest. Check out the gorgeous Castelfranco and Precoce varieties below. Tardivo will be along a little later. (To find out more about this ingredient, see our Product Profile).

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Castelfranco

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Radicchio

And last but not least - while we're highlighting colour - here's some Blue Meat radish, grown in France, on sale at European Salad Company.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Blue Meat Radish

English apples and pears are the pick of the fruit. Here's a photo that explains which varieties are most abundant at time of writing. (Bramleys, the cookers, are also readily available).

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Apples Pears

British soft fruit is still flowing in, including raspberries and blueberries. Strawberries are in their very last weeks.

Black figs from Turkey are a good call - read more about this fruit from our trip to the orchards, described in last month's Product Profile.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Bursa Black Fig

These artichokes are UK-grown. You'll find others from France, Spain and Italy. Other British crops in their prime include corn on the cob, onions, parsnips (including Piccolo), bunched beetroot, rainbow chard, turnips and carrots (including Chantenay).

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Artichoke

Other Continental lines include wet walnuts, chestnuts, courgette flowers, aubergines, puntarelle, peppers and coloured cauliflowers. Posh grapes from France and Italy are also terrific, such as the complex Muscat.

Over at Premier Fruits, salesman Scotty showed me some pictures of these Apache potatoes, a new line for them. Apparently it has a buttery, chestnut flavour. (Find out more here).

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Apache Potato

These fresh Espelette peppers at The French Garden are also a rare find.

Fruit And Vegetable Market Report October 2017 Espelette Pepper

Other fruits worth a special mention include pomegranates and pineapple. I popped by fruit specialists H G Walker, celebrating 130 years in business this year.