Best Buys – 11-12 February
There is no better time of year than now to take advantage of the very best of produce this country offers. Wherever you live, fruit and vegetables are cheap and abundant, there is huge variety in meat and fish and the warm weather encourages a range of meal options.
Earlier this week I took a friend to the Queen Vic Markets. In part it was to satisfy her hunter/gatherer instincts with a perfect touristy opportunity, but it was also for my own ulterior motives. With stall holders shouting out friendly banter, the first of autumnal foods making their way to market and the perfectly sweet smells of mango and strawberries filing the air, it was a heady place to be. And the prices. Did I mention the prices?
Obviously not everyone has access to a local market but as supermarkets have been bombarding us with promises of cheaper fresh produce I thought it worth a re-visit to this thorny topic. Wherever you are, do try to seek out your local fruiterer, your local small fruit and vegie shop, your once-a-month farmer’s markets. When you buy from these retailers you know that local business is being supported, with more money going to the people who slog their guts out trying to scratch a living producing fruit and vegetables of high quality. There’s a better chance that fruit and veg bought locally is fresher and not been in cold storage. All this means that your fruit and vegetables will last longer in your fridge and give you a greater return on your dollar. And that’s got to be a good thing.
Outstanding value for money – a great bargain
New Season – will gradually drop in price over the next few weeks
All prices from Queen Vic Markets
MEAT
Lamb legs $10.99kg
Diced lamb $9.99 kg
Beef mince $5.99 kg
Pork fillets $12.99 kg
Chicken marylands $5.99 kg
Chicken, spinach and pinenut sausages $8.99 kg
Beef schnitzels, 7 for $10
Corned beef $6.97 kg
Oyster blade steaks 12 for $10.00
Porterhouse steaks 7 for $15.00
SEAFOOD
Whole snapper $14.99 kg
Calamari tubes $11.99 kg
Blue grenadier fillets $10.50 kg
DELI
Middle bacon rashers $10.99 kg
Dolmades $22.00 kg
Grana padano parmesan cheese $35.00 kg
White anchovies $5 per 100g
Stuffed peppers $35.00 kg
FRUIT & VEGETABLES
Blood plums $3.00 kg
Strawberries 3 large punnets for $4.00
Figs 5 for $3.00
Pink Lady apples $3.99 kg
Cherries $6.00 kg
New Season flat mushrooms $6.00 kg
Borlotti beans, in pods, $5.99 kg
Blackberries $2.50 punnet
New season fresh ginger $12.99 kg
Baby spinach leaves $8.00 kg
Red capsicum $2.99 kg
Green capsicum $2.00 kg
Hass avocadoes 3 for $5.00
Vine-ripened cherry tomatoes $1.50 kg
Peaches $1.00 kg
Sweet potatoes $1.50 kg
Ruby Grapefruit $1.99 kg
Basil $1.50 bunch
Coriander $1.00 bunch
GROCERIES
Riso Ceriotti arborio rice 1 kg $3.80
Puy lentils $8.99 kg
Cannelini beans $6.00 kg
Vero coarse polenta, 500g, $2.00
Vero semolina, 500g, $3.00
You should check out the prices of fruit and veg in Perth. You will be shocked.
Cherries 19.88/kg
Red Peppers 7.99/kg
Strawberries 5 / small pn
And to top it of we have no Aldi….
Your $120 challenge is really hard to achieve over here.
I echo the plea to use local fruit & veg shops. Once the conglomerates have full control they will charge what they like and screw the poor old growers to the bare minimum as they are doing with milk at the moment. The quality from small shops is better too!
I live in a small country town in NSW, it has 2 supermarkets (IGA and Foodworks) both owned by the same person! It costs double to shop here to what it used to being able to use coles, aldi and woolies. And the fresh produce is disgusting. So sad considering we are part of the food bowl..