Seasonal food

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Seasonality of food refers to the times of year when a given type food is at its peak, either in terms of harvest or its flavour. This is usually the time when the item is the cheapest and the freshest on the market. The food's peak time in terms of harvest usually coincides with when its flavour is at its best. There are some exceptions; an example being sweet potatoes which are best eaten quite a while after harvest.

This page serves as a guide to the seasonality of food. The list below is for foods common in the Northern Hemisphere.

History

Seasonal food was practiced since ancient civilisations as people ate what nature produced which varied according to seasons.

In 8th century, however, the choice of what to eat in every season became a conscious social event. Cordoba Calendar, a historical record written in mid 10th century, provided unique detailed information about the eating habits of Spain under the Muslim rule. Typical winter meals were based on rich vegetables such as Seakale beet, cauliflower, turnips, parsnips, carrots, celery, coriander, peas, broad beans, lentils, chickpeas, olives, hard wheat (burghol), couscous, pasta, walnut, almonds, pistachio, and pine kerneis. These were usually taken with meat based diet included lamb, camel and trotters, while fruity desserts consisted of dried figs, dates, raisins, and prunes, accompanied with drinks from syrups violet, jasmine, aloes, medicament spices, fruit pastilles and gums.

In contrast, summer diet consisted of green beans, radish, lettuces, chicories, aubergine, carrots, cucumber, gherkins, watercress, marrow, courgettes, and rice. The meat accompanied these vegetables consisted mainly of poultry, ostrich and beef products. Fruity deserts included fruits such as lemon, lime quinces, nectarines, mulberry, cherries, plums, apricot, grapes, pomegranates, watermelon, pears, apple, and melon. Meanwhile, the drinks involved syrups and jams. Fruit pastels, lemon, rose, jasmine, ginger and fennel.

In Autumn, meals included cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, celery, gourd, wheat, barley, millet, turnips, parsnips, onions, acorns, pulses, and olive oil. Drinks incorporated aromatic herbs and flower distillations of essential oils.

In Spring, meals consisted of onions, gourd, spinach roquette salad, asparagus, lettuces, marrow, fennel, artichokes, fresh broad beans, lemons, cardoons, truffles, peas, wild artichokes, beetroot, basil, mint, sweet marjoram, saffron, green barley, pigeons, lamb and dairy products. Drinks involved lemon and mint syrup, distillation of orange blossom, rose and other herbs for winter.

There has been considerable controversy about how far people should be encouraged to eat seasonal food. In 2008, the chef Gordon Ramsay attracted media coverage when he stated that restaurants should be fined for serving non-seasonal food. In September and October 2008, Valentine Warner presented a programme for BBC Two, entitled What to Eat Now, persuading people to consume seasonal food.

Spring

Vegetables

Asparagus is necessarily seasonal in most places where it grows

• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Bamboo shoot
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Kale
• New potato
• Onion
• Parsley
• Radish
• Rhubarb
• Samphire or sea grass
• Spinach
• Watercress

Fruit

• Raspberry
• Strawberry

Seafood

• Clam
• Cockles
• Flying fish
• Kokanee
• Red sea bream
• Salangidae
• Sardines
• Skipjack tuna

Game

• Grouse
• Hare
• Chicken

Summer

Vegetables

• Eggplant
• Green Bean
• Baby Turnip
• Zucchini/Courgette
• Bell Pepper
• Samphire
• Basil
• Cannellini bean
• Trompettes de Mort
• Broad Bean
• Runner bean
• Swiss Chard
• Peas
• New potato
• Borlotti bean
• Sweetcorn cobs
• Chanterelle (mushrooms)
• Cucumber
• Okra
• Bitter melon

Fruit

In Russia, watermelons remain a highly seasonal food, predominantly eaten in the later summer and early fall

• Cherry
• Greenguages
• Blackberries
• Nectarines
• Apricot
• Mango
• Victoria plums
• Watermelon
• Fig
• Strawberry
• Peach
• Rhubarb
• Blackcurrant
• Raspberry
• Walnut
• Cantaloupe Melon
• Ume
• Tomato

Seafood

• Soft shell crab
• Crayfish
• Sea Bass
• Sea Trout
• Sardines
• Clams
• Skipjack tuna
• Aji
• Rainbow trout
• Ayu
• Unagi (Japanese eel)
• Pacific jumping squid

Autumn (Fall)

Vegetable

Carrot, Chestnut, Pumpkin, Sweet potato, Lettuce, Renkon, Turnip, Shiitake mushrooms (though they are not technically vegetables.)

Seafood

Mackerel, Salmon, Oyster, Pacific saury

Game

Big game, e.g. deer, elk, moose, etc.

Meat

Lamb

Winter

Winter melon is so named for its suitability for being stored over the winter

Vegetables

Carrot, daikon, Chinese cabbage, swede (or rutabaga), celeriac, turnip, Brussels sprout, pumpkin, beetroot, parsnip, red cabbage, leek, cabbage, shallot

Fruits

Pear, Tangerine

Game

Duck, Goose

Seafood

Sea bass (Grouper), Scallop, Pacific yellowtail, Pacific cod, Monkfish, Halibut, Lobster, Mussels, Stone Crab

Oysters

See also

• Simple living
• WWOOF

External links

• BBC Good Food - Seasonality table (UK)
• BBC Food - In season section
• Seasonal food calendar (note: this site requires you to enter a New York zip code.10003 is one that will work)
• SYUN - Japanese-English Syun 旬 Seasonal Dictionary with photo (JP)