We all have heard that seasonal food is the way to go now that we are turning into a more balanced relationship with the planet but it is good to remind ourselves from time to time of the benefits of buying seasonal food:
- There is no doubt, tastes better!!
- Seasonal Food = More Local Produce Availability.
- Cost Effective, promoting sustainability and enriches the local economy.
- Grow it yourself! More and more easy to grow packs are available in stores. From a pot to grow your tomatoes to larger versions for those who enjoy from a back garden.
- Low carbon footprint compared to the other foods that have been flown and transported for hundreds of miles. It is not always possible but let’s try to go local as much as possible!
- Quality: the longer the food is stored , the fewer vitamins it contains.
- Excitement! there is always an extra enjoyment when we get that something a bit… extraordinary. Eating strawberries everyday might be cool but they taste much better when they are in full season and we waited for them to be ready… Do you eat your cake when is cooked and cooled, or when is baking inside the oven??
- To gain a better understanding of seasons and nature.
- Common sense. It is something we talk a lot and not use that much… I leave it up to you to make your own conclusions 😉
The list below has been compiled from Failte Ireland and Eat the Seasons websites and it gives us a good idea about the seasonal food available. So now, let’s go shopping and cook something new!
May____________________________________________
- Meat: Game, Poultry, Lamb, Duck, Chicken, Beef, Pork, rabbit, turkey, wood pigeon
- Fish: Sea Trout, Lemon Sole, Wild Salmon, Turbot, Monkfish, John Dory, Lobster, Prawns, cockles, cod, coley, conger eel, crab, lemon sole, mackerel, pollack, salmon, sea trout, shrimp, whelks, whitebait
- Vegetables: Asparagus, Cauliflower, New Potatoes, Carrots, Watercress, broccoli, cucumber, lettuces & salad leaves, new potatoes, onions,potatoes (maincrop), radishes, rhubarb, rocket, samphire, spinach, spring onions, wild nettles
- Fruit: Rhubarb, apricots, bananas, kiwi fruit, lemons, oranges, passion fruit
- Herbs, Flowers, Funghi, Nuts: basil, chervil, chives, coriander, elderflowers, mint, mushrooms (cultivated), mushrooms (wild), parsley (curly), parsley (flat-leaf), sage, sorrel
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The links below are pretty handy 😉
Vegetables Best in Season by Board Bia
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