One disappointment I have with UK retailers is they seem to ignore the potential offered by fruit baskets. I suppose it’s all a question of wastage, so impulse sales take a back seat. As a result, this niche market tends to be based on placing special orders or left in the realm of gift companies.

Full marks to Morrisons in the run up to Mother’s Day for offering a wide selection of fruit in this format for £5. Made up in the back room near the produce aisle, the baskets feature two different apples, a pear, a pineapple, a bunch of white grapes, a mango and some kiwifruit. All this presented in a wicker basket that shoppers can keep.

While herbs are now an integral part of baby leaf salads, Morrisons is also offering a branded pack that highlights the contents at £1 for 90g. The mix contains coriander and chives, alongside red batavia, spinach and baby red leaf.

Moving to the more exotic end of the scale, the mushroom industry has come a long way since the time that white buttons, cups and opens were the only choice. Chestnuts, shiitaki and many more with strange sounding names compete for space.

Combining the latter in a triple presentation is somewhat rarer but, at £2 for 250g, Tesco has a selection of three coming from Lancashire as part of a wider “any two” range. The mushrooms illustrated are pink and yellow oyster, and one called pioppini. There are variations that include shiitaki, grey oyster and shimejii.

The concept of harvesting fruit later to enhance its flavour can trace its history back to when English tree-ripened Cox first made an appearance, but now the concept is far more widely known.

Marks & Spencer has even gone further to reveal the extra time span on Argentinean Red Williams, at £2.49 for four, pointing out that the variety has an extra 30 days on the branch to give it a superior taste.

And finally, with all eyes on unrest in Africa and the Middle East in the news, it is intriguing to see that Egypt is supplying baby leeks on sales at Sainsbury’s.

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