Do you want to eat the best fruit and vegetables in season at maximum flavor every day? Learn to know its seasonality and you’re done
Knowing the seasonal calendar of garden products allows you to choose fresh zero-kilometer ingredients every day , perfect for cooking delicious dishes every day of the year, and organic fruit and vegetables
Choosing fresh fruit and vegetables harvested according to their natural ripeness means enjoying a unique and extraordinary richness of flavors, while buying vegetables and fruit out of season means eating foods that probably have been traveling for days or have been stored in cold storage for a long time, losing their original flavor.
Eating seasonal vegetables and fruits also means eating healthy starting from the expense , both because the plants do not need tricks or additives to grow, and because in this way the contribution of vitamins, mineral salts and other nutrients is automatically diversified. the body needs.
Here, therefore, month by month, how to choose seasonal fruit and vegetables .
Winter
Winter food is largely a continuation of the stronger autumn crops that continue to grow, but there are also some unexpected vegetables that ripen even in the midst of the coldest months .
In December you can still find the latest salads, such as lettuce and radicchio, while in January and February seasonal vegetables are mainly gems : curly kale, black cabbage, cabbage and cauliflower are perfect in hot soups while carrots, spinach, pumpkin and fennel add a little color to the season, not forgetting legumes like lentils and beans.
As for the fruit , after enjoying the last chestnuts in December, in the months of January and February to dominate it are the typical products of the South : oranges, clementines, mandarins, persimmons, pomegranates and almonds, to which are added kiwis, apples and pears.
Spring
Spring is the season in which vegetable gardens flourish , marking the end of dishes with heavy root bases and the beginning of light meals, prepared fresh and with care.
Asparagus and courgette flowers are the classic and delicate seasonal vegetables, along with broad beans, artichokes, leeks and beets, especially in the months of March and April , while in May you can start enjoying peas and tomatoes.
The offer of fruit is also very varied , to be purchased, when possible, directly at the farms and to be consumed alone or to prepare desserts or ice creams. In March there are still typically winter fruits, while starting in April the red of strawberries, cherries and black cherries dominates, to which the orange of the loquats and the first apricots is added from May.
Summer
The months of June, July and August bring plenty of vegetables and vegetables with a fresh and refreshing taste: cucumbers, aubergines, melons, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes and basil flood the markets with perfume and color.
The same thing happens with seasonal fruit : it continues with strawberries and apricots in June, to which are added peaches, watermelons, berries, figs and plums in July, to conclude with the first tasting of grapes in August.
Autumn
The beginning of this season is characterized by the collection of crops planted in the summer, which go to overlap with the fruits and vegetables already on the market, offering the best of the two seasons .
To the typical summer vegetables, then, starting from September, broccoli, pumpkins, mushrooms and truffles are added, up to the first collection of fennel in October, ending in November with spinach and cabbage that mark the beginning of the winter season.
Lovers of this season will be able to enjoy plums and, in September, chestnuts, boiled or roasted ( the roasted chestnuts! ) In October, figs, persimmons and kiwi in November.
Final tips
Consuming seasonal fruits and vegetables allows you to fully enjoy the flavor and nutritional value of these foods, with an eye also to the convenience of the purchase .
Early and late foods are in fact usually more expensive and of lower quality than those of the season and, moreover, they do not respect the philosophy of sustainable agriculture .
Furthermore, eating seasonal fruits and vegetables is also good for the environment . The trucks that travel through Europe with exotic products, the cold rooms that store vegetables even for weeks and the production in heated greenhouses are all activities that consume gasoline (fossil fuels) and clean air.
It is therefore better to choose the short chain , which is the first and best guarantee that the products brought to the table are really fresh and genuine .
