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Figuring out what's in season when in Vancouver
December 28, 2007 - 6:08pm — Boris Mann
I like to eat local and in general go with what's fresh and in season. But how do I know what fruits and vegetables are in season? We've become used to kiwis and bananas and all sorts of other produce that's not really available locally, ever, so how can we start with a list of what IS in season and start planning meals around these items?
A little web searching found an article on local web company Suite101 that lists items seasonal in December:
Vegetables in season in December include artichokes, avocados, beans, beets, bell peppers, bok choy, broccoli, broccoli rabe, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, chili peppers, collards, endive, fennel, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, potatoes, radicchio, radishes, rutabaga, scallions, spinach, winter squash, sunchokes, sweet potatoes and turnips.
Among the end-of-the-year seasonal fruits and nuts are chestnuts, dates, grapefruit, grapes, guavas, kiwi fruit, kumquats, lemons, limes, mandarins, oranges, pears, persimmons, pomegranates, pomeloes, tangerines and walnuts.
Great! Now how do I figure out what's in season for the other months? Anyone have links to share?
Comments
Getting creative
Boris, you must have noticed the dismal state of the tomatoes and lettuce at Northern Voice. If I'd been sticking with my restricted diet PLUS 100 Mile Diet I'd have gone hungry (except the apple I brought along). I'm not a strict 100 Mile Diet person but I do avoid buying anything out of season. I still buy bananas, oranges and chocolate so I compromise. But I've gotten creative trying to stick local: quinoa (ancient grain from South America, not sure where it's grown) with sauteed mushrooms and dried cranberries, squash, and varieties of potatoes cooked in a variety of ways. If I had a bigger freezer I'd be making chili and pasta sauce with local produce and freezing most of it for later. Could you imagine how much money one could save? I really like the idea of actually preparing for the winter and not relying on supermarkets to feed me with their crap. Aluminum cans are not healthy so I must pursuade myself to get dried bulk beans instead -- I've already switched to tomatoes canned in glass, but the premium on organic there is atrocious! If you make it through February, you're in luck!
what about locally distributed?
Seasonal=fresh and immediate, a beautiful thing, however it's not the whole story for me.
What's stored and distributed locally year round? Cranberries are in season in October, but my holiday baking December, January is crammed with cranberries. Did I get local ones? Do I know? no idea.
I'm assuming part of your inspiration for this thought is
http://100milediet.org/ (eewww firefox on windows barfed trying to make this a link BTW claiming TinyMCE isn't defined)
thanks for the thread.
Sure, local is good
I was focused for the main part on seasonal produce, because I realized that I didn't actually *know*. Not really a 100 mile diet thing, but more of a connection to our local area here.
If you dry, can, or otherwise preserve stuff, great! It's still available and seasonal doesn't really come into it. For me, I want to know perhaps when *I* should be doing some drying or canning.
Seasonal Produce in BC
There is also Slow Food Vancouver that lists seasonal local produce. In this context - a comment about local food: When shopping in the Cariboo at a remote small store at Highway 24 (between Lone Butte and Little Fort) we were impressed by the choice of products. Our bounty included ground beef from the Simmental Ranch (a mountain ranch between Clinton and Pavillon), free-run eggs from Lone Butte (very fresh and good taste), small cucumbers and a whole bag of peppers from the Fraser Valley. This despite the fact that the store is attached to a laundromat and gas station and carries the usual fare expected in such a location. Things must be looking up for marketing local products, even in such remote locations. - And, to continue on the streak of local food: Mark your calendar for three cycle tours planned this year - a Vancouver Blossom Cycle in late April, a 30 km Slow Food Farm Cycle in Agassiz on August 9 and a 50 km Slow Food Sunday Cycle through the Pemberton Valley on August 17. What could be more fun that cycling along flat roads, enjoying the scenery, discovering the farms and their products in a leisurely way and bring home fresh food from the farm.
What's in season when
Fantastic
Didn't find that in any searches. That's perfect.