Your Scrumptious Seasonal Food Guide
What is more delicious than food eaten when it’s at its delectable peak? There is something thrilling about the changing larder as we move through the seasons. Spring brings the bright green shoots of asparagus, summer brings the sweet burst of strawberries, autumn’s mellow fruitfulness sees mushrooms on the menu and we love winter’s hearty stews. Here’s our guide to what’s in season when in our island nation.
Seasonal eating ticks all the boxes. First, and our favourite, it has bags of flavour. Locally grown food gets to your table faster and retains more of its flavour - and nutrients. And it’s not just asparagus and apples that are best eaten at certain times, did you know that fish and game are seasonal too?
And of course, local food has fewer food miles. When the larder’s bare in this country, look for fruit and vegetables that are trucked in from Europe. Spanish mangoes are a delectable treat. But don’t forget to treat yourself to some air freighted delicacies from time to time. Prickly pears are not yet grown in Portugal.
Read on if you want to find out what seasonal fruit, veg, meat and fish are in season each month…
January
Frosty January: we're thinking kale sauteed with garlic and chilli or deep-fried like seaweed, and how about some home-made marmalade?
Fruits
Blood orange / Clementines / Forced rhubarb / Satsuma / Seville orange
Vegetables
Beetroot / Cabbage / Cauliflower / Kale / Leeks / Parsnip / Purple sprouting broccoli / Swede / Truffles (black) / Turnip
Fish
Clams / Flounders / Gurnard / Hake / Mussels / Oyster / Skate / Turbot
Meat
Goose / Pheasant / Venison
Click here for some seasonal recipe ideas for January.
February
Poor old February. Cloudy, cold and wet, it comes at the end of winter when the ground can be frozen hard and nothing much wants to grow.
But the February larder is not entirely empty. In February, we get the first taste of forced rhubarb which stewed with candied ginger and mixed with cream makes a delicious fool. Or how about a mellow, creamy parsnip soup?
Fruit
Apple / Blood orange / Forced rhubarb / Pears
Vegetables
Beetroot / Cabbage / Carrots / Cauliflower / Horseradish / Jerusalem artichoke / Kale / Kohlbrabi / Leek / Parsnip / Purple sprouting broccoli / Raddicio / Swede
Fish
Bass / Bream / Clams / Coley / Lemon sole / Mackerel / Mussels / Pollock / Scallops / Whiting
Meat
Duck / Guinea Fowl / Pheasant
March
It may be winter's Hungry Gap, but March brings spring and the promise of fresh green shoots. For foragers, the nettles are young and sweet and the wild garlic is making an appearance.
We recommend a tangy wild garlic risotto with goats cheese crumbled on top.
Fruit
Rhubarb
Vegetables
Cauliflower / Chicory / Leeks / Morel mushrooms / Nettles / Purple Sprouting Broccoli / Radishes / Sea kale / Sorrel / Spring Greens / Spring Onions / Watercress / Wild garlic
Fish
Clams / Cockles / Cod / Coley / Dover sole / Haddock / Mussels / Pollock / Sardines / Skate
Meat
Mutton/ Venison
Click here for some seasonal recipe ideas for March.
April
Finally, the days get longer, the light is coaxing out the swelling buds and, yes, the April showers will arrive. April is a tantalising month for foodies in this country: yes, the plants are stirring but we're still a month away from the return of gastronomic abundance.
Still, the asparagus is beginning to appear and what could be better than tender young asparagus shoots drenched in melted butter? Not much we think.
Fruit
Rhubarb
Vegetables
Artichoke / Asparagus / Broccoli / Chives / Jersey Royal new potatoes / Lettuce / Nettles / Radishes / Rocket / Salad leaves / Samphire / Spinach / Spring onions / Watercress / Wild garlic
Fish
Brill / Clams / Cod / Gurnard / Halibut (farmed) / Langoustine / Mussels (farmed) / Plaice / Pollock / Rainbow & chalkstream trout / Red Mullet / Seabass / Turbot / Whitebait
Meat
Guinea fowl / Lamb / Rabbit / Venison
May
At last, the darling buds of May arrive with the growing season in full throttle. It may still be cool sometimes in the shade, but the earth is heating up and summer is just around the corner.
On top of which asparagus season has begun! I love mine freshly picked and doused in melted butter with a sprinkle of chives on top or tossed into a risotto with heaps of parmesan.
Fruit
Elderflowers / Rhubarb / Strawberries
Vegetables
Basil / Broccoli / Carrots / Chervil / Chives / Coriander / Dill / Jersey Royals / Lettuce and other salad leaves / New potatoes / Oregano / Parsley / Peas / Radishes / Rhubarb / Rocket / Rosemary / Sage / Samphire / Sorrel / Spinach / Spring onions / Tarragon / Watercress / Wild garlic
Fish
Coley / Crab / Flounder / Gurnard / Herring / Lobster (European) / Northern prawns / Plaice / Pollock / Pouting / Rainbow trout / Torbay sole
Meat
New season lamb / Poussin/Spring chicken
Click here for some seasonal recipe ideas for May.
June
The month of Wimbledon, Ascot and more. June, everyone knows, is when the British strawberry season truly gets underway. And what could be more reminiscent of warm British summers than strawberries and cream?
Fruit
Apricots / Blueberries / Cherries / Raspberries / Strawberries
Vegetables
Asparagus / Artichokes / Broad beans / Carrots / Courgettes / Fennel / New potatoes / Pak choi / Peas / Peppers / Rocket / Spinach / Spring onions / Tomatoes / Turnips / Watercress
Fish
Brown crab / Brown shrimp / Coley / Flounder / Haddock / Herring / Mackerel / Pollock / Seabream / Squid / Wild halibut
Meat
Lamb / Beef / Chicken / Pork / Rabbit / Venison / Wood pigeon
July
And the living is easy... and the fruit and veg are at their most abundant. Mange tout tumbling down the vine, broad beans with pods that feel soft enough to sleep in, and lettuces popping up from the soil like jack-in-a-boxes.
What more evocative flavour of summer is there than a tiny red cherry tomato picked straight from the vine, hot as a sunbeam, or sliced and diced, served with a glug of olive oil and torn up basil leaves?
Summer, with goats, sheep and cows grazing on lush, abundant fresh grass is a great season for cheese - we particularly love soft goat's cheese for a picnic.
Fruit
Bilberries / Blueberries / Cherries / Greengages / Gooseberries / Peaches / Raspberries / Strawberries
Vegetables
Artichokes / Aubergine / Beetroot / Broad Beans / Broccoli / Cabbage / Carrots / Cauliflower / Celery / Chillis / Courgette / Cucumber / Fennel / French Beans / Garlic / Jersey Royal Potatoes / Kohlrabi / Lettuce / Mangetout / New Potatoes / Onions / Pak Choi / Peas / Radishes / Runner Beans / Savoy Cabbage / Samphire / Spinach / Spring Onions / Tomatoes / Turnip / Watercress
Fish
Clams / Dover sole / Hake / Lobster / Mackerel / Sea bream / Sea trout / Signal crayfish / Squid
Meat
Lamb / Rabbit
Click here for some seasonal recipes for July.
August
August is the Sunday of summer: long, languorous days of endless lunches and holidays by the sea.
It's also a cornucopia of fruit: lush, plump raspberries, peaches brimming with sweet juiciness and figs bursting with jammy ripeness.
Fruit
Apples (some early varieties) / Blackberries / Blueberries / Cherries / Damsons / Figs / Peaches / Plums / Raspberries / Redcurrants / Strawberries
Vegetables
Aubergine / Artichoke / Broadbeans / Carrots / Courgettes / Cucumber / Chillies / Fennel / Lettuce / Mange tout / New potatoes / Peas / Peppers / Radishes / Rocket / Runner beans / Sweetcorn / Tomatoes / Wild mushrooms
Fish
Brown crab / Dab / Dover sole / Coley / Herring / Mackerel / Pollock / Sardines / Scallops / Seabass / Squid / Whitebait
Meat
Grouse / Beef / Chicken / Pork / Rabbit / Farmed venison / Wood pigeon
September
September, the full stop to summer. The month of Harvest Festivals, damsons, plums and cobnuts by the basket load and the joys of wild mushroom season.
Summer's warmth still lingers in the daytime air, but at night there's no disguising the nip of the autumn equinox. Time to cosy up with a butternut squash risotto and a glass of sumptuous Verdejo 2022 - Rueda from Canned Wine Co.* (Use code GREENSALON10 for 10% off all of their wines.)
Fruit
Apples / Bilberries / Blackberries / Damsons / Elderberries / Greengages / Medlar / Pears / Plums / Raspberries / Redcurrants / Quince
Vegetables
Artichoke / Aubergine / Beetroot / Butternut squash / Carrots / Celery / Chillies / Courgettes / Cucumber / Fennel / French beans / Leeks / Lettuce / Potatoes / Pumpkin / Runner beans / Spring onions / Sweetcorn / Tomatoes / Wild mushrooms
Fish
Clams / Coley / Crab / Dab / Grey mullet / Haddock / Halibut / Hake / Herring / Mackerel / Monkfish / Pilchard / Plaice / Pollack / Red mullet / Sea bass (wild) /Sea breams / Shrimp / Squid / Turbot / Whelks / Winkles
Meat
Duck / Grouse / Guinea fowl / Partridge. / Mallard / Pheasant / Rabbit / Turkey / Venison / Wood pigeon
Click here for some seasonal recipe ideas for September.
October
And with that... October's nip is in the air, the pumpkins are being lined up for Halloween and the Le Creusets are filled with warming casseroles.
It's also the season of quince. Aromatic, bright golden-yellow pome fruit, quince are hard, tart and astringent until cooked when their solid yellow flesh turns pink and fragrant.
Quince makes the ultimate tarte Tatin… You can watch our very own Green Salon version here.
Fruit
Apples / Pears / Quince / Autumn-fruiting raspberries
Vegetables
Beetroot / Cabbage / Calabrese (often called broccoli in the shops) / Celeriac / Celery / Carrots / Cauliflower / Chard / Chillies / Jerusalem artichokes / Kale / Kohl rabi / Leeks / Marrow / Mushrooms / Onions and shallots / Pak choi / Parsnips / Potatoes / Pumpkins / Rocket / Spinach / Swede and turnip / Winter squash
Fish
Brill /Cockles / Coley / Dab / Flounder / Gurnard / Haddock / Hake /Herring / Monkfish / Plaice / Pollack / Sardines / Scallops / Skate / Wild turbot
Meat
Grouse / Guinea fowl / Pheasant / Wood pigeon / Venison / Autumn lamb / Duck / Goose / Beef / Chicken / Pork
Click here for some seasonal recipe ideas for October.
November
Remember, remember ... so much in November! From Guy Fawke's botched plot to blow up Parliament to Armistice and Remembrance Day.
Still, November is no slouch in the vegetable department with lots of delicious winter squash some as orange as autumn leaves.
You can eat the rainbow this month in squashes, root vegetables - purple beetroot, creamy white parsnips - and dark green brassicas like kale and chard.
Fruits
Apples / Clementines / Cranberries / Passion fruit / Pears / Quince
Vegetables
Artichoke / Beetroot / Brussels sprouts / Butternut squash / Cabbage (savoy, red and white) / Cauliflower / Celeriac / Celery / Chicory / Horseradish / Jerusalem artichoke / Kale / Kohlrabi / Leeks / Parsnips / Potatoes / Pumpkin / Salsify / Shallots / Swede / Truffles / Turnips / Watercress / Wild mushrooms
Fish
Brill / Cod / Coley / Crab / Dab / Dover sole / Gurnard / Haddock / Halibut / Hake / Lemon sole / Monkfish / Mussels / Oysters / Plaice / Pollack / Red mullet / Sea bass (wild) / Sea bream / Skate / Squid / Turbot / Winkles
Meat
Wild duck / Goose / Grouse / Guinea fowl / Hare / Mallard / Partridge / Pheasant / Rabbit / Turkey / Venison / Wood pigeon
December
And so the sparkling frost arrives, heralding winter's silver arrival and the year's end. And with it comes winter's greedy treats: roasted chestnuts, thick winter stews, honey-roasted ham and mince pies.
It's so cold that, for the most part, winter's vegetables can only live underground in their snug soil beds, so our plates are piled high with celeriac mash, roast parsnips and baked potatoes.
Fruit
Apples / Cranberries / Pears / Quinces
Vegetables
Beetroot / Brussel sprouts / Carrots / Cauliflower / Celeriac / Celery / Chicory / Horseradish / Jerusalem artichoke / Kale / Kohlrabi / Leeks / Mushrooms / Parsnips / Potatoes / Pumpkins / Shallots / Swede / Swiss chard / Truffles / Turnips / Winter squash
Fish
Brill / Cod / Coley / Crab / Dab / Gurnard / Haddock / Hake / Halibut / Herring / Monkfish / Mussels / Oysters / Pike / Plaice / Pollock / Prawns / Shrimps / Wild turbot / Winkles
Meat
Game pies / Roast bacon-wrapped pheasant with chestnuts / Venison
Click here for some seasonal recipe ideas for December.
Fish stocks and seasons can change from place to place, so visit The Good Fish Guide from the Marine Conservation Society to check their latest best to eat fish list.
Our top places for fruit and vegetables is either the local market, Oddbox which sell on fruit and veg that’s not pretty enough for supermarkets or Abel & Cole*. For your seasonal catch or game, we like Knepp Meat or Piper’s Farm*.
We're always on the look out for more delicious new recipes so tag us in your stories and posts on Instagram.
Inspired to start leading a greener life? How our directory works is here to help!
We analyse each brand for their commitment to sustainability but we are not a certification body, nor are we auditors, and we have taken the approach that we trust brands to tell the truth about their sustainability policies, practices and plans.
Affiliate/ Partnership disclaimer: ❀ / * indicates affiliate links with brands to help fund the Directory so that we can research further sustainable brands. This does not affect the price you pay. Some of these brands paid to be part of Green Salon’s The Greenhouse which means they pay us to promote their brands. However, we only work with brands that score 50% on our Ratings System.