Abel and Cole Organic Mixed Box

Abel and Cole have very kindly sent me an organic mixed fruit and vegetable box to 'try out on your behalf'!

Robert, the delivery driver, brought my very welcome box of goodies at 8.00 am on a Wednesday morning.


The box contained: oranges, apples, melon, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, white onions, potatoes, carrots and a green pointed cabbage.

My first impression - everything in the box looked in excellent condition - always a good start - next step was to think about how I was going to use the produce, especially as I didn't want to 'mess about' with any of it.


I used the carrots and courgettes by cutting them on a mandolin to produce small strips of vegetables. These were topped with freshly ground pepper and a few small pieces of butter, then cooked for a few minutes in the microwave. Both vegetables were sweet and full of flavour.


For the red potatoes and white onions, I used a Bill Granger recipe, Parmesan-crusted fish with braised potatoes and peas. The potatoes were noticeably white and full of taste.


The oranges were very juicy and sweet, the apples were crisp but lacked in taste, although it is fair to say my husband disagreed with this. I thought the melon was ripe, cut into it and found it was under-ripe. The cabbage squeaked when I cut it (always a sure sign of freshness), also it had a superb taste and cooked well without going into mush. The cherry tomatoes, cucumber and melon I have yet to try.

One of the great advantages of using Abel and Cole, is that you are given online details regarding your next delivery and can change produce you don't like.

When you get a delivery of fresh produce it can be slightly daunting thinking about how best to store it. This is my way, for the onions and potatoes I use these food preserving bags, for the perishables I have found these stayfresh longer bags really do work, and the produce keeps for ages in the fridge.

An amusing Abel and Cole story here - my son, together with a housemate, were to interview prospective new housemates to share the house. One of the housemates had just started an Abel and Cole delivery, and insisted, if the interviewee hadn't heard of Able and Cole they wouldn't be considered!!! I'm still smiling now.........