Fresh Food – What’s In Season Now
June 25, 2010, By Ryan Tetzlaff 0 comments
Now that school is out and summer is in full swing, it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming summer crop of fresh fruits and vegetables. Although July and August are typically the busy months for fresh foods, you should start seeing some great food coming to the grocer near you during the month of June.
Why focus on seasonal foods?
- They taste better. Did you know that lettuce grows best when grown in a temperature of 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit? When grown in warmer conditions, lettuce can develop a sour taste. Other vegetables suffer the same fate when grown out of season. You’re likely to be able to find nearly any fruit or vegetable at your grocery store at any time during the year, but when grown in out of season temperatures, the process will develop foods that don’t quite taste as good.
- They cost less. Foods in season are abundant – and cheap.
- They're better for the environment. Foods grown out of season need to travel further to get to you – meaning more trucks, fuel and air conditioning to move them around. This is another reason seasonal foods cost less too – they're local.
Now that you may be a bit more enlightened, let’s get on with the list of June seasonal foods.
Fruits:
- Apricots
- Blueberries
- Cantaloupe
- Cherries
- Peaches
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
Vegetables:
- Asparagus
- Cabbage
- Corn
- Lettuce
- Peas
Note that this list will vary greatly depending on where you live. In order to get a better idea of what is available in your area, here are a few resources that can help you determine what is in season for your part of the country.
The Epicurious Seasonal Ingredient Map is an interactive flash based map that displays food seasonality on a map of the United States and lets you pick the month you are interested in. You can then click on a state to see what fruits and vegetables are in season and better yet, what they can be used for along with some related recipes.
The Frugal Life blog also has a handy seasonality chart showing fruits and vegetables. The difference with this chart when compared to the Epicurious map is that it shows the approximate duration of each food’s seasonality. For example, apples are almost always in season whereas fruits like strawberries and watermelon are limited to just a few months a year.
With these resources, you should be set to pick the right foods and eat seasonally!
Ryan Tetzlaff is a father of five working in the IT industry as an IT Manager. He is a contributor to Six Apart Media.
