foodha for thought – menuism blog

Have you ever had an experience where you ate at a restaurant and really enjoyed a particular dish, returned and only to find it no longer on the menu?  There could be a lot of reasons why that dish is MIA, but these days, more restaurants are focusing on creating seasonal menus. Simply, the dishes will change according to the time of the year due to the availability of certain ingredients.  Although it is possible to get strawberries in the winter and squash in the spring, you really get the most flavor and nutritional value from foods that are in season; hence, winter strawberries will not be as sweet and enticing as during the spring/summer months.

If you really think about it, seasons form the natural backdrop for eating. Stop for a second and envision a vegetable garden in the dead of winter.  Now imagine this same garden on a sunny, summer day.  When looking at this side-by-side comparison of these two seasons, it’s quite clear that a delicate strawberry plant probably would suffer in colder temperatures, while the hearty squash may fare a little better.  Today, it’s really easy for us to forget about seasons when we eat because modern food processing and worldwide distribution has made food available all year long.  What we find on our grocery shelves in July would be the same things we’d find in December, but is that really that an advantage? For some yes, but not as much for those who enjoy savoring the season’s best at their peak of flavor.

Don’t despair if that favorite dish of yours is gone.  It just means that the Chef really cares about the food that he or she wants to present to you and would rather please, than disappoint your palate.  It doesn’t mean that the dish won’t return at a more opportune time.  If a restaurant doesn’t have a seasonal menu, here are some things for you to keep in mind when ordering.  The availability of any of the fruits and vegetables below are still quite dependent upon where in the world you live, and what is available at your own market. At least, it’s a good start and will hopefully, make you more aware of the quality of ingredients that show up on your plate.

Spring:

• Apricots (start)
• Artichokes
• Arugula
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Carrots
• Chard and other greens (particularly in colder regions)
• Cherries (seasons starts some places at the end of spring)
• Fava beans
• Fennel
• Fiddleheads
• Garlic scapes/green garlic
• Grapefruit
• Green onions/scallions
• Greens (particularly in colder regions)
• Kohlrabi
• Kumquats (end)
• Leeks (end)
• Lemons
• Lettuce
• Morels
• Nettles
• Spring onions
• Navel oranges (end)
• Parsley
• Pea greens
• Peas (garden, snap, snow, etc.)
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Scallions/green onions
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Turnips

Summer:

• Apples (late summer)
• Apricots (early summer)
• Avocados
• Basil
• Beets
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Boysenberries
• Cantaloupes
• Carrots
• Chard
• Cherries
• Chiles, fresh
• Corn
• Cucumbers

Autumn:

• Apples
• Artichokes (second crop)
• Arugula
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Broccoli raabe, rapini
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac/celery root
• Celery
• Chard
• Cranberries
• Edamame
• Eggplant (early fall)
• Fennel
• Figs
• Garlic
• Grapes (early fall)
• Green beans (early fall)
• Horseradish
• Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes
• Kale
• Kohlrabi (late fall)
• Leeks
• Lemongrass
• Lettuce
• Limes
• Mushrooms (wild)
• Okra (early fall)
• Onions
• Parsnips
• Pears
• Peppers (early fall)
• Persimmons
• Pomegranates
• Potatoes
• Pumpkins
• Quinces
• Radicchio
• Radishes (all types)
• Rapini
• Rutabaga
• Salsify
• Scallions
• Shallots
• Shelling beans (early fall)
• Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes
• Sweet potatoes
• Turnips
• Winter squash

Winter:

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cardoons
• Carrots (storage)
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac/celery root
• Celery
• Clementines
• Escarole
• Fennel
• Grapefruit
• Horseradish
• Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes
• Kale
• Kiwi
• Kohlrabi
• Kumquats (late)
• Leeks
• Lemons
• Mandarins
• Onions (storage)
• Oranges
• Parsnips
• Pommelos
• Potatoes (storage)
• Radishes (large varieties)
• Rutabaga
• Salsify
• Shallots (storage)
• Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tangerines
• Winter squash