Purple Mangetout on plate

The purple mange tout

Purple mange tout is now on sale in a leading UK supermarket.

Unique to The Co-operative, the vegetable - grown in northern Kenya - has a similar taste and texture to the more familiar, green variety.

The purple mange tout will be available for a limited period only from this week in a selected number of stores nationwide.

Aaron Lloyd, category buyer for The Co-operative, said: “We’re always looking for new and exciting additions to our fresh vegetable range, and it’s great to offer our customers the chance to try this quirky variety for the first time.

'Purple mange tout is best eaten in fresh stir fries, as its deep colour will complement the other vegetables perfectly, and the flash-frying ensures that it keeps its lovely purple hue.

“Eating a wide variety of colours is good for you, too. Fruits and vegetables come in five different colour groups - red, yellow/orange, green, white and blue/purple. Each of these groups gets its colour from a different combination of micronutrients and other natural substances, and mixing the colours is an easy way to ensure we get the variety we need.Purple mange tout is high in fibre, protein, vitamin C and is a good source of thiamin.”

The Co-operative Purple Mange Tout 150g is priced at £1.75 per pack.