When it comes to grocery shopping, knowing what’s in season can really make a difference when selecting produce.  Not only does eating seasonally ensure you’re getting the freshest and tastiest produce, but in season food is usually cheaper, too! Most people don’t think they know much about the seasonality of produce, but chances are you know more than you think.

When you first consider the seasons for foods, turn to your personal experiences. When you think of watermelon, for instance, you are most likely to associate that with Summer- and you’d be right! Watermelon and Cantelope Melons (and most fruits for that matter) are best when harvested in the summer. Pumpkin, on the other hand, is most commonly associated with the Fall, which corresponds to the fact that pumpkins along with most gourds and squashes are best when harvested in the Fall. While these are pretty obvious examples, it’s a jumping off point for understanding the seasonality of food.

Here are some basic guidelines:

Spring/Summer: Most Fruits and Veggies.  Think leafy and refreshing.
Fall/Winter: Some veggies and few fruits. Think hearty with warm colors.

Spring:
For the most part, Spring serves up some delicious root and leafy veggies.  Artichokes, spinach, parsley, and onions make up some of the list.  Raspberries start to be in season, but that about sums it up for Spring fruits.

Summer:
A majority of the fruits are in season during the Summer. Berries, melons, and most of the pitted fruit are best during the hot months. Eggplants, all bean varieties, corn and tomatoes  make up some of the vegetables, along with zucchini and cucumbers.

Fall:
Apple is the star fruit for Fall, along with Figs, Pears and Grapes. For veggies, think orange, as pumpkin, carrots, and sweet potatoes are some of the fall bloomers.

Winter:
Pears and tangerines are the main fruits… Think about the boxes of fruit people always send as gifts in Winter. Cabbage and root veggies such as daikon, turnips, leeks and shallots make up most of Winter’s produce.

Makes sense why people used to can things in preparation for the Winter, considering a majority of the produce was harvested in the warmer seasons, they had to come up with a method of preservation. Hmm…