May

Fantastic, sweet Cherries have started their season early from California, the fruit is large and juicy with a lovely red flesh

April

The recent spell of warm weather means this years Local grown Asparagus from Morels at Knaresborough has started today 20th April - the quality is extremely good and it is cheaper than any other UK Asparagus (early season) at £3.99 per 454g bunch.

March

We have started a new delivery service of fruit to your workplace, deliveries are on a Monday and Wednesday. There is an information leaflet available to pick up in the shop, alternatively give us a call or e mail if you want more details.

Some stunning Purple Sprouting Broccoli has arrived from Lancashire, picked daily its very fresh and the quality is superb

February

Good luck to all the young cross country runners who will be competing in the Wharfedale Primary Schools Cross-Country League sponsored by Arcade Fruits each runner will receive a piece of fruit at the end of their race.

January 2007

Happy New Year

Local forced Rhubarb starts soon, coming from Wakefield its a bright and interesting addition to the seasons fruit.

Time to get on those diets!! If you are making fresh Orange juice then the variety to go for is Salustiana from Spain, they have a lovely sweet flavour and loads of juice

Marmalade Oranges have started, we have an Organic supplier from Seville and the season usually lasts a month, through January. The quality this year is excellent.

November and December

Phew!! That was busy! Thanks to all the customers who supported us.

October

October 21st is English Apple day, we will have at least a dozen varieties to try for this celebration day!

Cauliflowers, savoy cabbage and leeks from Preston are all excellent in quality and value.

Chantecler apples are traditionally used for making the famous Tarte Tatin, a tart that starts out ‘upside down’ with the caramelising of the apples in a pan and the pastry then placed on top and finished in the oven.

This is a fantastic time of year for true Wild Mushrooms, the season is in full swing for Scottish Girolles, French Cepes, Trompette de Mort and Wild Oyster, intense flavours mean only small amounts at a time are required.

Squashes come in weird and wonderful shapes!.Butternut is seen all year round these days but more seasonal varieties include Crown Prince, Spaghetti, Gem, Onion, Acorn, Jack be Little, Turkish Bonnet and Bread

September

We now have half a dozen different varieties of English eating Apples in store, as the season goes on more will be available plus some local varieties from Ampleforth. At the moment (6/9/06) Worcester Pearmain, Worcester Tydemans, Coxs, Laxton, Discovery & Red Free.

Throughout September we shall be promoting sales of Fresh Fish you will have to call into the shop or e mail us to find out whats a bargain!!! Emphasis being on top quality wet Fish at really competitive prices.

Fresh Figs are at their best right now coming from France they are firm but ripe and very sweet. This week 3 varieties are on offer at 3 for £1 - Black, Green or White Paradise.

August

This years crop of Victoria Plums seems to be plentiful and the fruit is nice and sweet so now is the time to make the most of this English classic.

Damsons are now available, it is short season that peters out next month, they are at their best price now so time to start making those jams and jellies.

Possibly the most flavoursome variety of Black grapes have started their season from France, Muscat de Hambourg have an exquisite flavour and are an excellent addition to any fruit bowl or cheese board.

July

Cultivated in Poland, the shortest season of all is the Bilberry which has arrived for this week only - July 24th - 30th, makes the most delicious pies and freezes very well, contact the shop if you want some saving.

June

Starting tomorrow , June 27th, the first of this years locally grown Strawberries are being delivered daily from Birstwith, Harrogate.

New season Maris Bard New Potatoes have arrived from Nidderdale, they are grown next to the River Nidd and have a fantastic flavour!

Summer vegetables include Broad Beans and Garden Peas the best are NOW as they are very tender and sweet.

A new hybrid fruit crossing plums and apricots has arrived from France - Plumcots! are sweet and juicy with a smooth, yellow skin - worth a try!

We are pleased to see the return of English strawberries from Kent, they are nice and sweet and not too expensive!.......expect prices to creep up next week with the start of Wimbledon!

Soft Fruits and Stone Fruits are at their best right now!! Cherries are massive and full of flavour, the best variety being Garnet which are hand picked in France. Rainier is the popular white/red cherry which has a shorter season than the black varieties but is no less tasty!

Peaches and Nectarines are bursting with juice and flavour, pick of the crop at the moment are the White fleshed varieties of both fruits. Something more unusual is the Flat Peach this fruit has a white flesh and a tiny stone and has the most intense peach flavour.

May

Cherries and Apricots have dropped in price and the fruits have become bigger and tastier, making them the pick of the stonefruit crop at the minute.

Maincrop Jersey Royals are coming into the shop, they are now more affordable and still good quality - buy them in the next couple of weeks before the skins set.

The baby leaf salad season is now in full swing, as with last summer, our Mesclun mix is proving very popular, there are some other lovely varieties around this week including baby watercress, young spinach and red mustard leaf.

Arcade Fruits were amongst the final entrants shortlisted in this years Independant Greengrocer of the Year.The awards were presented at the London Marriot Hotel, Grosvenor Square on May 11th.... we just missed out on winning this years title but were happy to be highly commended in the category.

Some nice small sized (1Kg - 2Kg) Sea Trout are looking like the pick of the fish bed, in season for the next month, so enjoy them whilst you can!

We are stocking at least 3 varieties of Heritage Tomatoes each week, the individual varieties will change each week throughout the season so we can try all the dozen or so varieties that are available..... This weeks varieties are Pineapple, Marmande and Black Ribbed.

The first stocks of European Stone Fruit have begun, White Fleshed Peaches and Nectarines along with Burlat Cherries and some small but tasty Spanish Apricots.

Outdoor grown stocks of Jersey Royals new potatoes will be coming into the shop this week (beginning 2/5/06), as they become plentiful - the price falls!

The tastiest Tomato at the moment is a variety of Italian Cherry Vine they are sweet and bursting with flavour.

Back in stock for the summer months is a beautiful mixed Baby leaf salad called Mesclun it is popular in France and is far superior to anything found on the supermarket shelves! - Fresh delivery days are Wednseday and Friday - this is best eaten when fresh!!

April

As summer approaches! we are starting to see traditional summer fruits, a melon variety that is very sweet and juicy is the Piel del Sapo ,it is a similar shape to the classic Honeydew but has a green, striped skin and a greater depth of flavour. Charentais Melons are the best variety of Orange fleshed Melons, the new Moroccan season started a few weeks ago but it is now that the fruit are a decent size and hence better value!

The best tasting Apple variety at the moment is Juliet from France. It's an organic variety that is very sweet with a pure white flesh, similar to an English Spartan.

Early season thin grade Asparagus, from Southern France is now in store - very tender with terrific flavour this is the next best thing to the local grown crop which will start next month.

Organic Avocados variety Hass are on special offer at 79p each - they are rich in antioxidants, potassium and folic acid.

Ripe and ready to eat, Mini Kiwi Fruit from New Zealand - these fruit are thumbnail size eat everything, no need to peel

Spring is in the air and we have a special offer this weekend with Primulas and Pansies in trays of 15 for £6.00!!

March

Ugli Fruit! look like they sound, like an ugly grapefruit - Easy to peel thick skin leaves a segmented fruit that is a cross between an orange and a grapefruit - worth a try 99p each.

Lettuce varieties such as Oak Leaf and Batavia have improved in quality and dropped in price this week, due to better weather in southern France! Why do the French rave about Batavia?? Simple, Because it is great! - The French are very "flavour minded" people and Batavia is a lettuce that absorbs oils beautifully. It is similar to Webbs lettuce that was once grown extensively in the UK before we started having tasteless Iceberg.

A stunning variety of organic Blood Orange, called Tarroco, has arrived from Italy, they have a high juice content, are deep red fleshed and very sweet. You can tell they are ORGANIC because even the skin tastes good!!

Salmon prices will rise this week, demand from Asia pushing up the price, as consumers there are eating less chicken due to the bird flu scare.

Spanish strawberries are coming with more and more flavour each week, the best flavour though is the French Gariguette variety.

The best Grapes at the moment are a variety called La Rochelle, they are big, black and very tasty! Its a variety that only has a relatively short season.

A fantastic range of growing herbs in pots have arrived from Provence, strong plants that will last in your kitchen or garden - Mint, Basil, Tarragon, Chervil, Lavender and Lemon Verbena. Price 1.99 each

New varieties of southern hemisphere pears are now in store including Comice, Red Bartlett,Red Williams and Beurre Hardy

Look out for Purple Sprouting Broccoli - Catch it while it's in the shop as supplies of good quality are sporadic.

Local grown forced Rhubarb from Wakefield is finishing its season - Outdoor varieties will start soon.

• Wet garlic by air from Egypt has started and though a little small in size is excellent quality.
• Large vine tomatoes from the alpine regions of Provence have incredible flavour and are full coloured.
• Girolle is expected to arrive from Portugal making a welcome change to the quality of product that has been arriving from Morocco.
• The Spanish asparagus season has begun with some exceptional white and violet tipped white samples.
• Maris peer baby round potatoes from Portugal are now available in a tiny 17-22mm calibre.
• Rosemarie pears look like a William with a blush, come from South Africa and are re-packed in France in the small trays that are so popular.
• Red berlotti and yellow wax beans from Morocco are now a little more consistent in supply.
• The best eating Strawberries are of course the French Gariguette-sweet flavour and red through and through
• Sweet pineapples are making a little more money at the moment, but we will endeavour to keep the colour as good as possible, justifying the price!
• Petite pois from Spain has also started, the tiny peas in the pod are still on the branch and have a truly sweet flavour.
• Passe Crassane, the famous wax tipped pear, is now available in a range of sizes in The Dog marque. The pear is also available without the wax which makes it very suitable for poaching.
• Plenty of changes in the exotic fruit at the moment. Chayote and the white Christophine are well worth a look at. The fruit may be boiled, stuffed, mashed, baked, fried, or pickled.
• Citron Niçois is a lemon from the South of France that is not sharp to the taste. It is packed with its leaves still attached, much like the Amalfi lemon from Italy.
• Baby violet artichokes from Egypt are 100% edible after removing the stalk and are a nice alternative to traditional vegetables.
• Plenty of choice in RSA and Chilean stone fruit with air freighted Australian commanding a premium.
• Baby plum tomatoes on the vine from Tunisia are another with full flavour at the moment and are a compliment to any salad
• Small berried red moscatel grape has arrived by air from Chile. The grape has a distinctive strong flavour that rivals the Muscat from France.

end.