Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs: When Are They In Season? [infographic]

As the industrial and economic age of technology has evolved, so has the availability of food year-round. In fact, much of the produce found in giant supermarkets are now omnipresent. But to accept that these foods are of the utmost quality and quantity (by which I mean $) year-round is quite a fallacy. If you find yourself eating strawberries around Christmas time for instance, it’s most likely those strawberries were picked well over half a year ago and stored in some facility to keep until you bought them at your market. So what’s the problem? Why is it bad to eat any fruit I want, whenever I want?

Well, while there might not be anything incredibly wrong with it, if you buy your produce by the season, the chances that your fruits and vegetables being much cheaper, fresher, and tastier is much more likely. There’s a reason why most restaurants around the world buy by the season. Also, something is lost in both the flavor and nutrients when you artificially keep these foods ‘alive’ for that long. P.S. for all of you environmentally conscious folks, the carbon footprint that is produced from shipping and storing these fruits and vegetables year-round is quite substantial. So go ahead and visit your local produce market co-op farmers market community garden whatever and get some EATS! Or even better, grow your own!

There is a lot more to delicious cooking than sound technical knowledge. Knowing your ingredients is just as key. One of the most important ingredients that can affect your cooking and baking is produce. Unfortunately there is a misconception floating around that fruits, vegetables and herbs are naturally available year-round.

Though you may be able to find just about every type of fruit, vegetable or herb everyday of the year in the grocery store, a majority of those items are not in season. If you are buying a strawberry in december, you are likely purchasing a fruit that was picked six months ago and stored in a climate controlled facility. Or you are buying a berry that has spent the last few weeks in a shipping container as it trekked halfway across the globe from somewhere in the southern hemisphere. This extra time between picking and eating means loss of nutrients, flavor and quality and an increase in cost and carbon footprint.

Whether you are a strict seasonal-only shopper or not, knowing what produce is in season when can be very advantageous to successful cooking and baking. Not only will you notice fresher taste and stronger flavors but you will see a marked increase in savings, and a heightened sense of anticipation and appreciation for each season.

Below are three calendars breaking down the seasonal availability of fruits, vegetables and herbs

*check out these cool infographics (bw to remove confusion, these seasons correspond to the Northern Hemisphere), it seems they are available as posters as well! Just check out the [via]

Seasonal Fruits Availability Calendar

Seasonal Vegetables Availability Calendar

Seasonal Herbs Availability Calendar