Beautiful beets, in a variety of colors, are in
season now. Photo courtesy Capitole Grille |
Nashville

If you see asparagus, apricots, cherries and other spring-summer foods in the market, they’re not from here. Off-season fruits and vegetables are grown in countries below the equator where the seasons are reversed.

They’re then shipped many thousands of miles to your market, giving you produce that has been sitting for weeks in shipment, and has required lots of fuel to get it to you.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental action group, wants you to eat what’s in season. They’ve created an app to show you what’s in season in your area. You can use it on the NRDC website or download it from the iTunes Store.

Is the app perfect? Well, it’s a good start, although it told us that tomatoes were in season in November in New York. Perhaps they meant dried tomatoes.

Yet, we like the app for its ability to highlight foods we should be considering. It will expand your repertoire by encouraging you to try different recipes; you’ll discover new favorites. And you’ll save mone by purchasing what’s in season.

There are other ways to find seasonal produce, of course: simply search in your browser for “fall produce,” “fall vegetables and fruits” or “seasonal produce” and your state.

 
Find our favorite vegetables and recipes in our Gourmet Vegetables section. The fruits are here.