Seasonality and vegetables

There’s been a lot of talk about food and seasonality over the last decade or so. Maybe too much talk.

While I agree that growing your own veg and eating with the seasons is an admirable goal, and one I’d like to achieve.

I also recognise that it isn’t practical, or even desirable for everyone to eat that way. We just don’t have enough space in the world.

seasonality can be a personal preference thing

I’ve been reading Nigel Slater’s fabulous book The Kitchen Diaries lately and in the introduction, he talks alot about seasonality.

There’s his own kitchen garden, his organic CSA veggie box AND the local farmers markets.

The man isn’t a supermarket fan by any stretch of the imagination.

He talks about seasonality not just in terms of Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. To Mr Slater, what we should be eating not only varies by the month, it varies with in months as well.

Wow. That really made me think.

And then the man went and used fresh tomatoes in the middle of Winter. Not once, but multiple times.

What the?

Then it dawned on me. He doesn’t have ‘my rules’ when it comes to seasonality, and that fresh tomatoes are a Summer-time only. He has his own. And who knows, maybe he has access to fabulous tomatoes in Winter grown who knows where.

So rather than preach at you about the seasons, I thought I’d share my personal rules about seasonality. Just to give you a starting place for developing your own. After-all, it makes sense that these things will vary depending on where you live AND where you shop.

my thoughts about seasonality

1. Some vegetables should really only be eaten at certain times of the year.
And others aren’t so sensitive. For example I can buy pretty decent broccoli any time of the year, but asparagus are something I think are only worth bothering with in the Spring.

See below for my list of seasonal and not-so-season-sensitive veg.

2. Just because something is on ‘special’ doesn’t mean it’s in season where you live.
One of the things that makes it difficult to keep track of seasonality is the global nature of food commerce these days. I’ve noticed that there are two times of the year when cherries are on special. Once during the Australian Summer, when it’s actually cherry season here. And secondly when it’s Summer and cherry season in the Northern Hemisphere.

3. Even if you can buy something out of season, it’s nice to impose your own limits.
I love the concept of seasonality. Limiting availability of different foods to certain times of the year makes life (and menu planning) a bit more interesting. Even though I can sometimes buy relatively decent fresh tomatoes outside of Summer, I tend to choose canned tomatoes or tomato paste. And save lovely fragrant fresh tomatoes for tomato salads only in the height of Summer.

my seasonal vegetables

summer
§ tomato
§ bell peppers [capsicum]
§ peas [fresh] including snow peas & sugar snap peas
§ beans
§ summer squash
§ eggplant [aubergine]
§ zucchini flowers
§ sweetcorn

autumn (fall)
§ pumpkin [squash]
§ wild mushrooms

winter
§ brussels sprouts
§ cabbage [although I do buy it more freequently than just winter]
§ parsnip
§ turnip
§ sweeds [rutabagas]
§ radicchio
§ celeriac [celery root]
§ horseradish
§ jerusalem artichoke
§ kohlrabi

spring
§ artichoke
§ asparagus
§ broad beans

my year round vegetables

§ avocado
§ broccoli [autumn / winter]
§ broccolini [autumn / winter]
§ bok choy & other asian greens
§ belgian endive [witlof]
§ beets [autumn / winter]
§ cauliflower [autumn / winter]
§ carrot [autumn / winter]
§ collard greens [autumn / winter]
§ cucumber [spring/summer]
§ celery
§ garlic [summer]
§ fennel [autumn / winter]
§ leeks [spring/summer]
§ lettuce [spring/summer]
§ mushrooms [autumn]
§ onion [autumn / winter]
§ peas [frozen]
§ potato [autumn / winter]
§ radish [summer]
§ salad greens
§ swiss chard or silverbeet [autumn / winter]
§ sweet potato [autumn / winter]
§ spinach [autumn / winter]
§ zucchini or courgettes [summer]
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