In-Season Produce: A Love Story

Today's guest is Kris from Cheap Healthy Good. I love reading over at her blog. She writes about food in an entertaining and descriptive manner that is likely to leave me giggling and hungry. Enjoy this post, and then head over to see her at her place too!

Back in the day (note: 2004), I proudly and freely bought peaches in winter, parsnips in mid-July and chives on Halloween. It never occurred to me that they tasted different from other parts of the year, though I did question the price disparity. $3.99/lb for January plums? But they only cost, like, $1.49/lb in August. What was going on?

In a word, duh. Duh on me. See, I had no conception of what “in-season produce” meant in those bleak, clueless days of yore. I kind of assumed fruits and vegetables were good all year around. (Again, duh.) Yet, as it turned out, snagging chronologically-appropriate food had massive political, nutritional, emotional, and environmental perks. What’s more, it tasted better. And just like *that*, my duh days were over.

So, without further ado, here are nine reasons you should raid crops from the seasonal section, too:

It costs less. Simple economics here: an abundance of anything lowers its price. Plus, because in-season produce is often grown domestically, overseas transportation costs are cut. All told, this means you can save between 10% and 50% on beans, greens, and all the in-betweens. Need proof? Compare the price of apples in October and May.

It tastes better. When fruits and vegetables are imported off-season, they’re often harvested prematurely so they hold up better in transit. Once the food arrives here, it’s sprayed with ethylene gas, which artificially ripens it. By the time it reaches grocery stores, you’ll see decent color, but the flavor? Not so good. See for yourself: eat a plum tomato in winter, and write down your thoughts. Try another one at the end of the summer. Most likely, one will be a juicy flavor-bomb, while the other will be almost indistinguishable from a water balloon.

It’s better for the Earth (probably). The consensus is an average pound of produce travels about 1500 miles. Imported off-season crops can raise that number significantly since they’re coming from all over the world. That scrumptiousness has to be shipped somehow, and it’s usually via truck, train, plane, or boat, all of which consume energy and add to pollution. Buying seasonal produce can help offset the waste.

(That is, unless you buy this alarmingly convincing article from the New York Times, which pokes some pretty big holes in the transportation argument. Still, it concedes, “the connection between lowering food miles and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions is a no-brainer.”)

It’s healthier. Off-season fruits and veggies tend to lose their nutritional punch over time, since they’re shipped long-distance for weeks and months. As the London Observer reports, “freshly dug potatoes have about 21mg vitamin C per 100g which falls to 9mg after three months of storage.” What’s more, that produce may not have started out on equal footing to begin with, since produce grown off-season can pack less vitamins than produce grown in-season. (For some reason, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, and broccoli are particularly affected by this.)

It’s less poisonous. You’re not gonna croak eating off-season produce from abroad, but there’s a good chance it harbors more toxins than its in-season counterparts. Why? Well, according to the BioDiversity Project, “Many countries have neither the pesticide regulations nor the labor safety practices that are the law in the U.S., so there's no telling what is on or in your imported fruits and vegetables.” That added flavor you detect? It’s the bitter taste of uncertainty.

It’s in better condition. “Handling and storage … is one of the main problems in the deterioration of produce. From the way the grower packs it, to the loading and off-loading in the truck yard, to the handling in the markets, it all contributes to knocks and bruises that will quickly affect the quality of the produce,” says the Canberra Times. If you’ve ever flown cross-country, you can relate: the further something travels, the worse shape it’s in when it arrives at its destination.

It can be frozen or canned for future use. Imagine having a sweet, delicious blueberry on Easter. Now imagine that same piece of fruit hasn’t lost an iota of vitamins, minerals, or flavor because it was iced right after being picked. NOW imagine you’re not spending $6 on a pint of blueberries from the farthest corners of the planet, because you bought it for $2 six months ago and had the forethought to shove it in your freezer. Okay, you’re done imagining. Pat yourself on the back and eat a blueberry.

It’s politically correct (and not in an annoying way). This is a bit difficult to summarize, but here goes nothing: essentially, Third World farmers make more (but not a lot of) money importing specialized off-season produce to richer countries than by growing food for themselves. According to Briarpatch, this not only “threatens the extinction of [their] local crops,” but leads to hunger and “[slavery] to international commodity prices.” Meanwhile, local farmers are hosed by big-name suppliers who purchase cheaper goods from abroad. Buying seasonally benefits everyone more in the long-run.

It’s a mental trigger for the good times. BabyFit.com’s Rebecca Pratt makes a fabulous point: “[Food is] tied to the special days and seasons of our lives: sweet, luscious watermelon paired with the memory of fireflies and fireworks; fragrant hearty soups that temper winter’s chill; sweet young vegetables that accompany spring’s first warm day.” Think about it: on Christmas, do you crave gazpacho? When Easter rolls around, do you drool over the light, airy taste of pumpkin? Food is key to socialization, and in-season fruits and veggies can play major parts in our memories.

Of course, none of this information is any good unless you know what produce is ripe at which times. The guides at Food Network and KQED are good places to start. Consumo felice!

(For a bibliography and more information on the sources for this article, please go to this post.)