Imagine it’s the beginning of the year, right after the holidays and you find yourself in a Greek street fresh produce market. There, among the usual fruit choices, winter citrus fruits, pears, tropical bananas, there is an odd addition that’s beginning to make an appearance. “Fresh”, red, probably juicy (or maybe not so…) strawberries.
This early winter appearance of strawberries has become the norm for quite a few years and many consumers have already got used to it. But the truth is that we shouldn’t. Neither get used to it, nor buy any.
I’ve always loved strawberries ever since I was a child. But strawberries back then were kind of a rare fruit, one that we only had the privilege of enjoying for only a limited time. They appeared in the markets for only a few weeks, a month the longest. I still remember my mother bringing them home at the end of April or early May, and with them always came this precious notion that summer was just around the corner. They were always small in size, with irregular shape, some of them red, other half-ripe, but all of them with a distinct, mouth-watering smell! And their taste was beyond comparison! All the sweetness and the aroma of spring closed inside a tiny, red fruit.
Did I just give you an appetite for strawberries? If so, allow me to take it back for now. Just until the spring arrives. Because in all seasonal fruit guides, strawberry is categorized as a spring fruit. And believe me, these February strawberries that you may also find in your market, are not something that you actually want to eat.
Seasonality and locality
Seasonality and locality are two very important concepts for our nutrition, especially when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables. Let me remind you that they lie at the base of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid and are among its fundamental principles. Unfortunately, the continuously increasing demand for some products has led producers to try to cultivate them throughout the whole year. And modern cultivation methods, which are constantly being developed aiming at meeting the supply and demand law, make it possible for some consumers to eat strawberries almost all year round. Of course, strawberries are just an example as there are many other fruit and vegetables grown in the wrong season. Like tomatoes, for example, which are now constantly present at most Greek tables.
Moreover, the development of world trade keeps bringing more and more products from every corner of the world to our doorsteps. And even though there is nothing wrong with trying new tastes that we may not be able to find in our own country, is it preferable to choose “fresh” fruit and vegetables that have travelled a long way rather than those that have been grown close to our home?
The importance of eating seasonally
The beneficial role of fresh fruit and vegetables for our overall good health is a known fact to most people. But how many of us choose to eat only fruit and vegetables that are in season? Some people have the knowledge, do their research, think before they buy while others choose whatever they find available at the market. If you belong to the second category, allow me to give you a good number of reasons to review the way you shop for fruit and vegetables and add the “season” factor to your choices.
1. Flavor
We’ll start from this reason because it can definitely be the most convincing. Plants are living organisms and, just like us, they thrive in ideal conditions. When cultivated in the right temperature, humidity, sun exposure and many other parameters influenced by seasons, their characteristics such as aroma and taste are optimized and reach our plate at their best. On the other hand, when they are grown under imitations of these conditions, what we eat is also an imitation of the original flavor. Simple!
2.Nutritional value
Plants, their leaves, their fruit are not industrial products and they do not all have the same nutrient content. Those that are cultivated with proper farming practices, in the right conditions, with respect to their individual requirements, are bound to have the maximum content of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. And in recent years there have indications that the nutritional value of fruit and vegetables may have declined due to many reasons, one of them being agricultural practices.
3. Different nutritional needs for each season
Human needs for different micronutrients vary according to the season. Nature has wisely provided the right produce for every season so that these needs are fully covered. The apricots and peaches we enjoy during the summer are rich in carotenoids that our body will turn into vitamin A because our skin needs it more during the summer months that our exposure to sunlight is maximized. Also, summer fruit and vegetables such as watermelon, cucumber, melon have a very high water content, which contributes to our increased need for hydration in the hottest months of the year. Citrus fruits that we find in the winter are rich in vitamin C which will strengthen our immune system and protect us from colds and viruses typical of the season. We can find numerous examples that all lead to the same conclusion: Fruit and vegetables that are in season can optimally cover our seasonal nutritional needs.
4. Economy
Seasonal products are always more economical. Their cultivation is much easier without many special requirements, they can be found in abundance and also from many different farmers. All of the above keep the prices at low levels, helping us to create quality meals on a budget.
5. Pesticides and chemicals
Organic products are, by definition, free from chemicals, which is why they are almost always seasonal products. However, even conventional products, when grown in the right season, are certain to have less pesticides and chemicals than their counterparts which are off-season, simply because they are grown under normal conditions and the farmers only have to deal with the known, common dangers for each plant species.
6. Environment
Leading a lifestyle that respects nature and its rhythms can only have positive effects on us, our life and our world. The environment has repeatedly proven to us that any attempt to live against the laws of nature can have devastating consequences. We unfortunately have multiple examples of that.
7. Sustainability
The environmental footprint of anything we do, combined with product value and responsible management of our resources are among the pillars of sustainability, our success in enduring through time as a species and providing a safe and livable planet for future generations. Nobody would want to jeopardize this.
8. Biodiversity
In this area, we have already done a great damage so the sooner we act and start making changes, the better. Many years ago, one could find so many different varieties of potatoes, for example, with different characteristics and each one grown in different seasons of the year. The farmers’ attempts to find a kind that is more durable and easily manageable at all times of the year, as well as the consumers’ demand for a product with the same familiar characteristics that could be found throughout the year, has resulted in the prevalence of very few varieties. The same is true for many other products and as a consequence, biodiversity is constantly at threat. By choosing seasonal fruit and vegetables, we indirectly ask farmers to grow and provide us with all the different species that nature has to offer. Do not forget that they choose their cultivations according to demand. If no one would buy strawberries in January, nobody would choose to grow them.
9. Traditions
Every country has its own important food traditions. The history of a country and the identity of the nation are directly related to our customs and traditions. And for most people these traditions are connected with food. Seasonality plays such an important role in this that our ancestors had even nicknamed the months of the year according to the different farming practices that each crop required. My grandmother would eat figs and grapes in the winter but only as preserves or jams that they had made when these fruits were in season. Surely there are food traditions in your country, too. It is our duty to preserve the cultural inheritance of our ancestors.
10. Variety
Seriously now, who wants to eat the same things all year round? It is boring, meaningless and steals the pleasure of creativity from any aspiring cook, amateur or professional. It also deprives us of the joy of waiting. That sweet anticipation I remember having when I was a kid, for the strawberries that would arrive in spring only to remind me that summer was just around the corner.
But there is something that I want to remind you, too. Seasons are equally important for our choices of fresh fish, both from the nutritional point of view and for the protection of the environment. We should choose fish in the season when they are fully grown and not during the egg-laying periods. This way, our fish will have the greatest nutritional value possible, but at the same time we will protect their breeding cycle and their population.
A few words about locality
Commerce works in mysterious ways following its own laws and rules aiming mainly at profit. This isn’t always – or should I say never? – in favor of the consumer. Here in Greece for example, we can find imported products that have traveled from distant countries at much lower prices than their Greek counterparts. It really makes you wonder…
But let’s just forget about price for now and focus on all the other important characteristics of local and non-local produce. And let’s start with the obvious, which unfortunately, is not something all consumers are aware of. A “fresh” fruit or vegetable that has traveled many thousands of miles before reaching our plate is simply… not fresh.
Various food storage practices have been used in order to preserve its appearance and have it reach the consumer’s eyes as attractive as possible. This product has already lost much of its nutritional value and, of course, its freshness. It is therefore certain that its basics characteristics such as taste, texture and flavor have been demoted. Depending on the plant species, the time that has passed since the harvest and the distance it has traveled, the fruit or the vegetable may have already begun to decompose and produce toxins. So, let me say this one more.
It. Is. Not. Fresh.
Ideally, we would pick the vegetables from our garden and immediately turn them into a fresh salad for our lunch or dinner. However, since such freshness is not feasible for all of us, the closest we can do is choosing produce that has been locally grown. Always taking into account the nature of the produce we want to buy. Durable produce like potatoes can easily travel a few hundred miles without risking their quality. More vulnerable produce like lettuce will definitely lose much of their freshness on the way.
I hope I have given you some good reasons to give a second thought to the concepts of seasonality and locality of the fresh food you put in your plate. At offadiet.com I always try to present recipes made with seasonal ingredients. Because that’s how I shop and that’s how I cook for my family. And I hope that you can always find tastes that are to your liking and you would give them a try. Bear in mind that I live in Greece and that if you don’t live in countries close to the Mediterranean sea that share similar seasonal produce, you should check your own country’s fresh produce seasonal guides.
Do you eat seasonally and locally? What is your opinion on all of the above?
