Seasonal Eating: Why Eating with the Seasons Is Better for You and the Planet

Nutritional quality in vegetables and fruit begins declining from the moment of harvest. For produce shipped long distances or stored for extended periods, the nutrient losses are significant:

**Vitamin C** is particularly vulnerable — spinach can lose 50% of its vitamin C within 7 days of harvest at room temperature; even refrigerated, losses of 15–35% occur within a week. Asparagus loses up to 50% of its folate within 4 days of harvest.

**Polyphenols and antioxidants** accumulate in fruits and vegetables as a stress response to environmental factors — sun, temperature variation, pest pressure. Produce grown in season, in its natural climate, is exposed to these stressors and accumulates higher concentrations of beneficial compounds. Greenhouse or out-of-season produce, grown in controlled environments, often has lower polyphenol concentrations.

**A landmark 2004 study** published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that nutrient content of 43 garden crops had declined significantly between 1950 and 1999, attributing this partly to the selection of varieties for yield and shelf life over nutritional density — a trend that intensifies with out-of-season production.

**Research comparing seasonal versus non-seasonal produce:** A 2001 study found that broccoli grown in autumn (its natural season in the UK) had three times the vitamin C content of spring-grown broccoli. Tomatoes ripened on the vine in season have significantly higher lycopene, flavonoid and vitamin C content than those ripened post-harvest during cold-chain transport.

**Food miles:** Out-of-season produce is typically imported from distant countries where the climate is appropriate for that crop. UK strawberries in December come from Egypt or Morocco; UK asparagus in November from Peru. The transport emissions are substantial — air-freighted produce (typically soft fruit and fine beans flown from sub-Saharan Africa) has carbon footprints 50× higher than locally grown equivalents.

**Energy use in growing:** Heated greenhouses — necessary for growing tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers year-round in northern Europe — are energy-intensive. A heated Dutch greenhouse tomato has a significantly higher carbon footprint than a field-grown seasonal tomato from the same region.

**Water use:** Many out-of-season growing regions (Spain's Almería, California's Central Valley) face severe water stress. Growing water-intensive crops in water-scarce regions for export to northern Europe or the US exacerbates regional water crises.

**Biodiversity:** Seasonal eating, particularly from local sources, supports genetic diversity in crop varieties. Industrial global supply chains favour a tiny number of standardised varieties (one variety of banana — Cavendish — accounts for nearly half of global banana production). Local seasonal produce supports dozens of traditional varieties that are better-adapted, more flavourful and more genetically diverse.

**Spring (March–May):** The 'hungry gap' is ending — the first fresh greens are emerging after a long winter of storage crops. • **Highlights:** Asparagus (May is peak — the British season lasts only 8 weeks), Jersey Royal new potatoes, spring onions, radishes, watercress, purple sprouting broccoli, rhubarb, wild garlic • **Mindset:** Celebrate freshness after winter — these early crops are genuinely extraordinary, particularly asparagus

**Summer (June–August):** The most abundant season — maximum variety and peak flavour across almost every category. • **Highlights:** Tomatoes, courgettes, runner beans, broad beans, peas, sweetcorn, cucumbers, salad leaves, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, plums, gooseberries, garlic, basil • **Mindset:** Eat tomatoes and strawberries in volume now — they will not taste like this in winter. Preserve where possible (jam, passata, roasted and frozen)

**Autumn (September–November):** Harvest season — roots, squashes, apples and brassicas come into their prime. • **Highlights:** Butternut squash, pumpkin, celeriac, parsnips, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes, Brussels sprouts, cavolo nero, apples, pears, quinces, blackberries, hazelnuts, chestnuts, wild mushrooms • **Mindset:** Deeply satisfying, warming produce that suits longer cooking methods — braises, roasts, soups

**Winter (December–February):** Storage crops and cold-hardy brassicas dominate. • **Highlights:** Carrots, parsnips, swede, turnips, celeriac, kale, cavolo nero, Brussels sprouts, leeks, beetroot, forced rhubarb, blood oranges (imported, but in-season in their origin countries), citrus generally • **Mindset:** Winter eating requires embracing root vegetables and brassicas — these are genuinely great ingredients when cooked well, not a compromise

**1. Visit a farmers' market or farm shop once a month.** What's on display is, by definition, seasonal and local. This is the easiest, most reliable guide to what's in season — more reliable than any list, which varies by year and microclimate.

**2. Sign up for a veg box scheme.** Weekly or fortnightly deliveries from local farms (Riverford, Abel & Cole, or local equivalents) ensure you cook with what's seasonal, even if you don't plan it yourself. The mild inconvenience of not choosing what you get is actually a feature — it pushes you to cook unfamiliar vegetables.

**3. Learn to preserve.** The gap between eating seasonally and eating well year-round is bridged by preservation. Simple approaches: roasting and freezing tomatoes in August; making jam from summer fruit; fermenting cabbages in autumn; making chutney from windfall apples.

**4. Shift your flavour expectations.** Out-of-season produce has normalised a baseline of mediocre flavour. A supermarket January strawberry tastes like it looks — pale and hollow. Adjusting to seasonal rhythms means certain flavours become genuinely exciting when they return each year.

**5. Use frozen produce strategically.** Frozen peas, beans and sweetcorn are frozen at peak ripeness — often more nutritious than 'fresh' equivalents that have spent a week in transit. Frozen fruit for smoothies and cooking is almost always preferable to out-of-season fresh.