White Poached Nectarines with Sweetened Mint Cream and Toasted Hazelnuts

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<h3>White Poached Nectarines with Sweetened Mint Cream and Toasted Hazelnuts </h3>

Preparation time: 25 minutes plus cooling time

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Skills needed: beginner 
Serves: 4

Ingredients 
8 medium nectarines

200ml cream – whipped to a soft peak

1 tablespoon icing sugar

1/3 cup diced fresh mint leaves

1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts – skins removed and roughly chopped

Syrup

2 cups caster sugar

3 cups water

1 cup white wine

1 strip lemon zest

Method

Fold icing sugar and mint through cream and refrigerate

Place syrup ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer

Lightly score nectarines along natural line and lower into syrup in two batches

Poach for approximately five minutes or until just tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and rest in a shallow dish

Increase heat and boil until half original volume then cool. Gently remove skin from nectarines then pour over syrup

Arrange syrup drizzled nectarines and minted cream onto dessert plates and scatter with toasted Hazelnuts

Summer Stonefruit Growers Rise to the Challenge

Last season they survived flooding and weather bombs that included hail, fierce winds and deluges of biblical proportions, but that hasn't stopped Australian Summer Stonefruit growers from laying the platform for a good season in 2011/2012.

Prospects for nectarines, peaches, plums and apricots this summer are positive with promising flowering and the moisture content in the soil at optimum levels. Another bonus is that many areas struck by above average rainfall didn't use their water entitlement last season and so have carry-over rights.

Industry chairman Ian McAlister says conditions are as good as they could possibly be given the disruptions of last season.

'Last year we probably would have seen an over-supply, but the havoc caused by the extreme weather events meant a lot of saturated fruit didn't meet our quality standards and simply didn't get picked," McAlister said.

'The reports we're getting from our key growing areas is that we're well and truly on track to meet demand and we have our fingers crossed for no severe frosts and no hailstorms during the fruit's formative stages."

Around 800 growers in 26 regions spread around the country produce more than 100,000 tonnes of nectarines, plums, apricots and peaches from October to April each year.

Production has increased by approximately 25% nationwide over the last 10 years, but the year to March 2011 saw the lowest volume of exports in a decade. While the volume was down 24% on the previous year, the actual value of the exported fruit only dipped by 15% because of a higher unit price and the strengthening Aussie dollar.

Apricots were the export hero, growing by a dramatic 29% at the same time as its stonefruit friends suffered a significant decline in volumes.

'We're extremely proud of our growers," McAlister said. 'Like any Australian in the workforce they're not shy in confronting and overcoming obstacles. They were hit by dramatic climate upheaval, but showed strength of character and extraordinary resilience to roll their sleeves up and prevail.

'That's our heritage…and that is what makes the fruit we grow so special."

Growers will have comedy legend Con the Fruiterer on their side to promote and market their fruit for the third year in a row.

The iconic character developed by renowned actor Mark Mitchell has rallied against the waste of fruit through poor storage techniques and has also declared January 25th Australia's Summer Stonefruit Day, a day of appreciation for plums, peaches, apricots and nectarines.

'He has helped raise our profile significantly and has such broad appeal with all Australians," McAlister said. 'You can't help but smile when Con's about and we're pleased to have him on our team."

And Con is thrilled to be in Camp Summer Stonefruit: 'I've been waitin', waitin', waitin' for my bewdiful wife Marika to wake from her winter hibernation and for the dribbilicious aprekots, necktarins, pitches and plums to hit the fruit stalls.

'We appreciate the unbelievit conditions them growers are overcoming to get that stuff into yoose, so I'll be praising them to the heavens as I wipe the joosez off my chin and bib."

The season starts in sub-tropical Queensland and production kicks in down-country as the sun heads south for summer. The northern areas of Western Australia and New South Wales spring into action before Victoria and South Australia come on-stream, rounded off by Tasmanian harvests from mid-January.

Australian Summer Stonefruit Fact Sheet

Farming:

Australian summer stonefruit is produced by about 1,200 growers in 26 regions across the country. Production has risen by approximately 25% over the last decade with growers producing over 100,000 tonnes of fruit from October to April each year.

Early season's bounty comes from sub-tropical Queensland and northern areas of Western Australia and New South Wales and are followed by crops from areas in mid to southern New South Wales and Western Australia, parts of Victoria like Swan Hill and the Riverland of South Australia. Fruit from cooler climates are last to market.

Renmark, Swan Hill and Goulburn Valley (Shepparton and Cobram) constitute more than 50% of production.

Tasmania produces all home-grown apricots harvested in mid January to February.

Supply of summer stonefruit is based on a staggered flow of different varieties, each lasting only a week or two which means there is a fresh, new variety at green grocers and supermarkets each week.

Summer stonefruits are rich in vitamins A, C and E and a great source of dietary fibre and potassium.

Exports:

Almost eight million tonnes of Australian summer stonefruit was exported over the last 12 months.

The majority of the exports were plums (45%) followed by nectarines (36%), peaches (15%) then apricots (4%) with most of the bounty coming from Victoria.

Hong Kong was the largest export market for Australian summer stonefruit last season followed by the Middle East, Singapore, Europe then Malaysia.

Storage and handling:

Correct storing and handling is important in maintaining good quality Australian summer stonefruit. The ideal storage temperature is 0o to 2o celsius. Fruit will ripen most effectively between 8o to 25o celsius.

Under no circumstances should summer stonefruit be stored for any length of time 2° to 8° celsius. At this temperature the fruit will cease to ripen naturally and may exhibit browning of the flesh and a loss of juice. Fruit stored above 25°C will ripen rapidly and become overripe within 48 hours.

Fruit should not be stored beyond its normal storage life of between two and six weeks, depending on variety, maturity and storage conditions.

Peaches:

The peach originated in China where it has been cultivated for thousands of years and is regarded as the -tree of life'. Known as Persian Apples by the Romans and introduced to America by Columbus, the fruit has been produced in Australia since the 19th Century.

Peaches bruise easily so look for smooth, unblemished fruit and handle them with care. When ripe, a peach should produce a delectable fullbodied aroma from the stem and start to lose its brightness. A good sign of how sweet they are is the presence of white freckles on the top half. White peaches, like white nectarines, can be eaten sweet and crunchy. Peaches are a fantastic any-time snack and great sliced up in fruit or vegetable salads, pies, flans or on top of cheesecakes and pavlovas. They are also brilliant for jams and chutneys and go well with chicken, pork and fish.

Nectarines:

Nectarines, or -nectar of the Gods', are a variety of peach with a smooth yellow, orange or red skin and either white or yellow flesh. Originating in China some 4000 years ago, they are ready to eat when they start going a little dull and you can smell a sweet fragrance coming from the fruit. Yellow nectarines are great soft and juicy and will yield slightly to gentle palm pressure and be both sweet and tart.

They usually start off with a slightly acidic flavour while their white counterparts have low acidic levels meaning they're sweet even when they're firm and crunchy. Both varieties get sweeter and juicer as they soften and white speckles near the stem of the fruit are the best indicator of this. Sliced nectarines are excellent in salads and on cheese and fruit platters.

Plums:

Plums are far more diverse than their summer stonefruit relatives coming in a wider range of shapes, sizes, skin colours and tastes which vary from extremely sweet to quite tart. Some plum varieties are specifically bred so they can be dried and still retain their sweetness and these are used for prunes.

When selecting, go for plump, full-coloured plums. They generally become dull just before they are ready to eat.

Plums add a sweet surprise to hot and cold desserts, stewed, grilled or baked, and in fruit salads or pies. They also make tasty sauces for various meats or ice-cream and can also be preserved in jams.

Apricots:

In Latin, apricot means -precious', a label earned because it ripens more quickly than other summer fruit. Originally from China, cuttings of this golden fruit made their way across the Persian Empire to the Mediterranean where they flourished. Spanish explorers introduced the fruit to California and in 1792 the first major production of apricots was recorded.

Apricots should be deep yellow or yellow/orange, plump, well-formed and fairly firm. Their characteristic flavour and sweetness develops on the tree. Delicious fresh, they are also fabulous in desserts, poached, stewed or pureed, and in chutneys, pickles, compotes, salads and sorbets. They also pair up well with meats and poultry.

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White Poached Nectarines with Sweetened Mint Cream and Toasted Hazelnuts

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