In now: Honey pears are a cross between a beurre bosc and a Josephine. They take Josephine’s perfumed flavour, creamy texture and squat shape, and buerre bosc’s cinnamon-sprinkled coloration. When under-ripe they tend to the grainy so leave them to fully ripen and eat them as soon as they give a little to gentle pressure.

At its best: Last year was the first time Australians bought more mandarins than oranges. Apparently we love our citrus sweet and easy-peel. Mandarins from the Riverland have now joined the Queensland and NSW harvest: enough for everyone.

Best buy: The best persimmons are in season, and a bargain in trays. I like them sliced – top and tail, cut off the skin, slice to show off the pretty star pattern in the centre and squeeze over some fresh lime juice.

In the vegie patch: Harvest lemons as needed – they’ll hang on the tree for months.

What else:

• there’s a rumour that jap pumpkins are Just Another Pumpkin. Cute, but untrue. They really are a Japanese variety, though not the best one. And right now, they are cheap.
• plenty of chestnuts about. Here are a few ideas on how to use them.
• broccoli is a bargain.
• aren’t the apples terrific!