What’s a person to do when faced with the dizzying array of "fresh" fruits and vegetables in the modern grocery store? Strawberries are now available in the middle of winter, but they also usually taste like cardboard at that time of the year! I’ve had to think through my buying habits very carefully in the last few years, since I spend most of my time and money in the produce aisle :-)
I love to buy organic if possible, especially if it’s an item with thin skin, or an item that I know from previous experience is far superior in taste to the non-organic varieties (like oranges). But organic is not the be-all and end-all of making choices. Some organic growers are huge agribusinesses that are only one step better than non-organic growers. They may not be spraying, but they are just as likely to be depleting the soil and shipping produce long distances.
Sometimes, buying local produce is the better choice, even if the farm is not certified organic. Fresh produce, in season, locally grown…especially if it’s grown on smaller independent farms…may end up being your best choice. Get to know your local farmers and farmstands. Find out what local farms supply your local grocery store.
That means we also have to know what actually is in season! We’ve lost our sense of the seasons over the last decade. Even though it’s probably neither possible nor convenient to eat local, organic, in-season food 100% of the time, most of us could do a lot better job if we simply went back to basics and paid attention!
So here’s my list of what’s available in my neck of the woods. Please feel free to leave more suggestions in the comments, particularly if there are food items available in your local region that I didn’t mention.
Here’s a link to a page with links to many spring recipes using these ingredients. I’ll be adding to it and creating new lists for each season. You can always find this page in the sidebar: What’s in season now?
Spring:
Crabs, soft-shell crabs, salmon, sardines, shad, shrimp, trout, soleLamb, chicken
Artichokes, asparagus, avocados, beans, fennel, morel mushrooms, new carrots, new greens, new potatoes, peas, radishes, scallions, spinach, spring onions, watercress
Apricots, mangoes, rhubarb, strawberries
Chives, dill, mint, parsley
Image: Stock.xchng
4 comments:
I love spring because it's the only time of year I can afford asparagus! Great information here. I plan to check out the farms in my area and see what I can find.
Please let me know if I missed anything obvious! :-)
If you can get strawberries from Florida, especially Plant City, you'll usually find they are delicious. However, some of the others, although they look yummy, often don't have much taste. Even our guinea pig, a strawberry lover, won't eat some of the non-Florida types!
I love the look of your blog.
Up here in New England, I've got to give them another month or so before they're really ready, but there are a few organic farmers around who get them going in hot houses, and they're wonderful :-)
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