A GUIDE TO potatoes
• COLIBAN – white skin, white flesh; good for boiling, baking, mash and chips.
• DESIREE – pink-skin, yellow-flesh with waxy texture; good for boiling, mashing, roasting and salads; not recommended for frying.
• DUTCH CREAM – exceptionally creamy and rich yellow flesh, waxy texture, thin skin; perfect simply boiled or mashed with a little salt. Ideal for roasting or baking (makes soft creamy baked potatoes), for au gratin, or as a pureé or soup; not suitable for frying.
• KING EDWARD – the classic English roast potato, white skin with pink blotches, white-flesh and floury; good for baking (crispy outside, soft creamy inside), chips and mash; not recommended for salads.
• KIPFLER – waxy, finger-shaped, yellow skin and flesh; has buttery nutty taste; try boiled, steamed, in potato salads, sauteéd or roasted, or slow-baked whole in a casserole; keeps its waxy, firm texture even if overcooked; holds shape well (good for presentation purposes), not suitable for mash.
• KESTREL – white skin and purple eyes; good all-rounder, particularly for chips and roast spuds.
• NICOLA – rich yellow flesh, with sweet, buttery, nutty flavour, holds shape well; low GI; all-rounder: good for mash, gnocchi, boiling, chips and roasting and baking, in salads.
• OTWAY RED – oval-shaped with red smooth skin and cream flesh; good all-rounder; try mashed, roasted or fried.
• PONTIAC – round, red-skin with deep eyes, white flesh; good for boiling, chips, baking and mash, and for salads as it holds its shape well after cooking; makes crispy baked potatoes; not suitable for frying.
• RUBY LOU – creamy texture, white flesh, rosy skin
• SEBAGO – bright white smooth skin, white flesh, shallow-eyed, regular shape, thick, oval shaped; the popular all-rounder.
• SPUNTA – large, elongated, with pale yellow skin and flesh, good all rounder, particularly for frying and roasting and in potato salads, also makes a fine puree.

A GUIDE TO apples
There are literally thousands of varieties of apples – more than 7500 cultivars in fact – ranging from big and floury to tiny and crisp. Here's a short guide to the more common and popular varieties Alfalfa stocks when in season.
• GALA (Royal Gala) – a sweet, medium-sized apple with a crisp, dense texture; has a yellow with pinkish-red stripe (February-May)
• GRANNY SMITH – the cooking apple, with its high acid content (quite tart), has a bright green skin with flecks
and a firm, juicy texture. (March-September)
• GOLDEN DELICIOUS – a medium/large apple with a pale green/yellow coloured skin with occasional pink blushes and russet flecks; has a sweet smell and flavour, good to eat fresh or for cooking. (April-July)
• RED DELICIOUS – Deep red in colour and mildly sweet. Eat fresh or fresh in fruit salads
• FUJI – a medium to large dull red apple with a firm texture. Fujis have a high water and sugar content, making them juicy and honey-sweet. Good fresh, or in stews or bakes. (April-August)
• JONATHAN – a medium-sized striped red apple, sweet and full of acidity, with a tough but smooth skin. A good eating and keeping apple. (July-September)
• PINK LADY – a medium to large apple with a pink blush over a yellow undertone; crisp with dense flesh; firm, cream coloured flesh resists browning; sweet-tart flavour; ideal raw. (May-August)
• CROFTON – a medium to large apple with yellowish green skin and a reddish pink blush. Mildly sweet flesh. Good for fresh eating, cooking, freezing, drying. An excellent keeper. (August-September)
• COX'S ORANGE PIPPIN – greenish yellow, red stripes over orange blush; medium size, elliptical and oblate shape; moderately juicy flesh; excellent dessert quality. To check it's a pippin shake the fruit to hear the seeds rattle.
• LADY WILLIAM – Bright pink-red with a stripe over most of the surface.
Smooth, firm, crisp texture with good flavour when sugar–acid balance is allowed to develop.
• SUNDOWNER – Red with characteristic white lenticel spots, smooth, russet around stalk and open deep-set eye. Crisp and juicy flesh, sweeter than Lady Williams but not as sweet as Golden Delicious.
• LONDON PIPPIN – medium-sized, roundish, with a few ribs on the sides, which increase in size towards the crow. Pale yellow or lemon colour, with brownish red on the side next the sun. Flesh, yellowy-white, firm, crisp, tender, and juicy, with a brisk and pleasant flavour.
• RED SPLENDOUR – a larger apple with a pinkish-red coloured thin skin and a juicy, white inner flesh; has a distinctively sweet flavour. It can bruise easily, but keeps well.
• BRAEBURN – a multipurpose apple, varies from orange to rosy red stripes over greenish-gold background. This crisp, juicy apple has a rich, spicy-sweet tart flavour.
• PRINCE ALFRED – very large fruit with a sweet, perfumed cream coloured flesh
• DEMOCRAT – a red apple with very white flesh. Keeps extremely well.

When stored at a cool temperature, away from direct sunlight, apples should keep for a month.