The Savvy Shopper. Rose Prince
the wider (and controversial) use of polytunnels and glasshouses mean that the season for UK-grown produce is now greatly extended. British tomatoes, for example, are available from February onwards. Supermarkets sometimes stock UK produce in preference to imports (e.g. apples, strawberries and raspberries) but unless they can buy in large quantities throughout the whole UK season for a particular vegetable or fruit, they tend to source imports, which are often cheaper. For this reason there is more chance of buying a wider variety of UK-grown produce through ‘box schemes’, which are more economical if bought direct from the farm where they are grown. Best value is to be had during the ‘glut’ – the natural window when outdoor-grown produce peaks and is at its most abundant.
Fish and shellfish
There is an optimum time to buy fish and shellfish, namely outside the spawning period of each species. This gives the fish a chance to reproduce and reduces the catch of egg-bound females. But a seasonal approach is not all a shopper needs to adopt when buying fish. Always choose large, mature fish and ask the fishmonger about the catch method: ‘line caught’ is preferable to trawled, for example. Fish from UK inshore fisheries, which tend to fish for shorter periods in smaller boats by more sustainable means, are the best choice.
Game
The season for game birds is short, but take advantage. Some species, such as grouse and woodcock, are rare and expensive but during the height of the pheasant shooting season there is a glut well worth buying into. Other, naturally wild game such as rabbit and wood pigeon are available fresh for most of the year. Wild venison has ‘close’ seasons when it can be shot but not sold; these differ between Scotland and England and Wales. The open seasons are marked on the chart that follows.
Seasonal meat and dairy produce
While most fresh meat and cheeses are now available all year round, there are still a few festive and traditional specialities that have a short season. Lamb deserves special attention. We could reduce our dependence on imports of New Zealand lamb by tapping into the supplies of the light ‘upland’ lamb and mutton available direct from farms and traditional butchers throughout the autumn and winter.
UK-GROWN VEGETABLES AND FRUIT
Apples (August to March)
Asparagus (May to June)
Aubergine (May to September)
Cabbages (all year round)
Carrots (June to April)
Cauliflowers (all year round)
Celeriac (October to February)
Cherries (June to July)
Courgettes (June to October)
Cucumber (February to September)
Curly kale (all year round)
Farmed blackberries (July to October or until the first frost)
Fenland celery (November to January)
Fennel (May to October)
Forced rhubarb (December to March)
French beans (July to October)
Fresh herbs (April to November)
Garlic (August to December)
Gooseberries (June to July)
Grapes (September to October)
Green celery (March to November)
Jersey Royal and Cornish Early new potatoes (February to June)
Jerusalem artichokes (October to March)
Kentish cobnuts (September to October)
Leeks (August to April)
Lettuce and salad leaves (January to November)
Mangetout (May to September)
Marrows (August to October)
Morels (March to April)
Mushrooms (all year round)
New potatoes (May to September)
Onions (July to May)
Oyster mushrooms (May to June)
Parsnips (July to March)
Pea shoots (May to August)
Pears (September to April)
Peas (June to September)
Plums (August to September)
Potatoes (all year round)
Puffballs, chanterelles, ceps, fairy ring and other wild mushrooms (September to October)
Pumpkin and squash (September to February)
Purple sprouting broccoli (November to April)
Quince (September to October)
Radishes (January to November)
Raspberries (June to October or until the first frost)
Red, white and black currants (July to August)
Runner beans (August to November)
Seakale (January to February/March)
Sloes (September)
Spinach (all year round)
Stinging nettles (March to April)
Strawberries (April to October or until the first frost)
Summer rhubarb (April to October)
Swede (November to March)
Sweet chestnuts (October to January)
Sweetcorn (August to October)
Tomatoes (February to December)
Turnips (July to April)
Walnuts (October)
Watercress (February to November but can run on in a frost-free winter)
Wild blackberries (August to October)
Wild garlic (March to May)
FISH AND SHELLFISH
Anchovies (September to May)
Brill (October to May)
Brown crab (February to November)
Brown shrimp (February to October)
Brown trout (March to October)
Cockles (September to May)
Cod, line-caught from Bristol and English Channel (May to January)
Dover sole (August to May)
Gilthead bream (January to October)
Haddock (August to February)
John Dory (May to February)
Langoustines/Dublin Bay prawns (October to April)
Lemon sole (September to March)
Lobster (April to September)
Mackerel from Bristol and English Channel (August to February)
Megrim sole (May to December)
Monkfish (July to March)
Native oysters (September to April)
Plaice (April to December)
Red