Sun-tanned cauliflowers and knobbly spuds - the heatwave veg that's good to eat

Image source, OddboxByAlex DanielBusiness reporterPublished4 hours agoWould you buy a cauliflower that looks like it's been sunburnt or a cucumber that's curled back on itself?

Farmers across the UK are grappling with one of the driest, hottest growing seasons in decades. Repeated heatwaves after a warmer than usual spring have led to predictions of the worst harvest since records began.

The heat is not only affecting how much produce is grown, but also how it looks.

Retailers usually reject fruit and vegetables that don't meet strict guidelines on size, shape and colour. But with supplies under pressure, many are now expected to loosen those rules rather than risk empty shelves.

That means shoppers could start seeing smaller, wonkier or oddly coloured veg on the shelves in the coming weeks - and sellers and growers say it's still good to eat.

Cauliflower is one of the most affected vegetables in hot weather because it needs lots of water.

Its heads are usually shielded from sunlight by the leaves, but in this year more light is reaching them and turning them yellow.

Emilie Vanpoperingh, co-founder of Oddbox, a subscription company that sells surplus produce that supermarkets reject, said it is "purely a cosmetic defect" and the plants taste exactly the same.

She said Oddbox acquired 6,000 cauliflower heads last week that were too dark for supermarkets to sell.

Growers are reporting that their water reserves are depleted, Vanpoperingh said, which means the cauliflower and broccoli family of brassicas will experience slower growth, leading to shorter supplies.

That short supply means retailers may soon start stocking "sun-tanned" cauliflower because "their biggest nightmare is empty shelves", she said. "They want to make sure that they've got availability of produce all the time."

Growers are also reporting cucumbers that are coming out misshapen, with some bending back into a spiral.