Seasonal Eating: How to Eat Seasonally

Seasonal eating involves eating produce at peak ripeness. Every crop has different temperature, light, and moisture requirements. For most of agricultural history, farmers grew plants according to seasonal rhythms.
Industrial agriculture has made it possible to eat most fruits and vegetables year-round by growing them in greenhouses or harvesting fruits before they ripen, storing them for long periods, and then artificially ripening produce at any time of year. This convenience, however, comes at a price. Produce grown out of season is often less nutritious and less flavorful.

When Chef Alice Waters discovered this difference in flavor, she commited to serving in-season produce at her restaurant, Chez Panisse. On the dessert menu every night is a plate of hand-selected fruits—like ripe peaches—at their sweetest, most supple stage. The resulting dish—a plate of sliced peaches—rivals even the most decadent dessert offerings.

The longer produce sits in storage, the less nutritional value it has. Chemical changes that occur after harvest are responsible for nutrient loss. One study showed that leafy greens can slough off more than half their vitamin C content after transport and three days of sitting on the grocer’s shelf. Eating local foods in season ensures you get the healthiest food possible.

Eating foods in season can help reduce your carbon footprint. Generally speaking, out-of-season produce travels long distances before reaching its final destination, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, seasonal foods typically grow within local communities and therefore have a less severe environmental impact.

“Food is a living thing. So you really have to know that after its picked, it’s always changing every day.” — Chef Alice Waters

Here are some tips to help you eat seasonally:

1. 1. Pick up a seasonal food guide. You can find seasonal food guides online detailing when foods are in season where you live. Such guides can help you plan your vegetable garden or know when’s the right time to visit your farmers’ market for fresh produce.
2. 2. Shop mindfully. The key to enjoying seasonal food comes down to mindfulness. “Choice has to be informed by knowledge to have any meaning at all,” author Michael Pollan says. “And that’s why I think your only obligation is to know something about the system that’s feeding you, and then you make your choices.” Color, healthy skins, aroma, and the leaves and stems indicate ripeness and freshness. If you’re not sure, ask your farmer or grocer.
3. 3. Taste food before you buy it. Ask to taste-test food before purchasing. Alice Waters swears by this method for selecting the best in-season fruits. “I always cut them and taste them,” Alice says. “You’re tasting, and you’re tasting, and you’re tasting.”
4. 4. Sign up for a CSA program. Community-supported agriculture connects local growers with consumers to provide fresh, seasonal produce for a small monthly membership fee. Joining a CSA program is a great way to get your hands on local produce and participate in local food systems.
5. 5. Shop at your local farmers’ market. Although you can likely find seasonal produce at conventional grocery stores, your local farmers’ market is more likely to stock fresh, in-season produce. Shopping at a farmers’ market is a great way to support local farms and ensure your diet is full of fresh fruit and vegetables.
6. 6. Store seasonal produce properly. You can keep root vegetables—like parsnips, beets, and sweet potatoes—in a root cellar and covered with peat moss, sand, or sawdust for several months. You can also pickle or can foods for long-term storage. Try this recipe for making pickled green beans.

Here are some of the most popular North American produce items and the best time of year to enjoy them:

1. 1. Summer: Tomatoes and corn are the stars of summer produce. Other summer vegetable market staples include avocado, blueberries, basil, cucumber, green beans, eggplant, mangoes, shell beans, zucchini, bell peppers, and garlic.
2. 2. Fall: The crisp fall brings a bounty of vegetables perfect for roasting, like Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, broccoli, turnips, beets, and sweet potatoes. Fall fruits—like apples, pears, grapes, persimmons, and pomegranates—offer a welcome change from the plenty of summer melons and berries.
3. 3. Winter: Look for root vegetables of all colors, like carrots, beets, and radishes. Leafy greens, like chicories, Swiss chard, kale, and collard greens, are ready by this time of year, as are cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, and winter squashes.
4. 4. Spring: Look for green garlic, nettles, young leeks and green onions, small turnips, baby artichokes, asparagus, fava beans, fiddleheads, spinach, bok choy, new potatoes, shelling and snow peas, and morel mushrooms. Spring lamb and local wild salmon become available, and tender herbs like tarragon, chervil, mint, parsley, and chives begin to arrive.

See food like you have never seen it before. With the MasterClass Annual Membership, journalist and educator Michael Pollan teaches you how to determine your ingredient sources, shop at the grocery store, and rethink your relationship to food.