What's in Season in Europe

Find out what's in season now and why we should be eating seasonally.

Have you ever wondered why the salad you had on holiday tasted so much better than the one you made when you returned home? Those Spanish bell peppers, Italian lemons or tomatoes in your local store don't taste quite as delicious?

Supermarkets always seem to be full of fresh produce, but not everything is worth buying.

There are some very good reasons why. Let's get into it!

Jump to:

• As featured in
• What does seasonal eating mean?
• Why eat seasonally?
• What about out of season produce?
• Are frozen fruit and vegetables as good?
• Winter produce (December, January, February)
• Spring produce (March, April, May)
• Summer produce (June, July August)
• Autumn produce
• Year round produce
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• Reviews

What does seasonal eating mean?

Seasonal eating is eating foods which are ripe and at their peak, having been harvested in the current season. It is worth finding out which fruit and vegetables are in season right now and for some seasonal meal planning.

Why eat seasonally?

There are several great reasons for buying seasonal produce:

• it's often fresher, therefore tastier and more nutritious
• enjoy a larger variety of foods
• cheaper as it is available in abundance
• usually supports the local economy
• comes to you via fewer air miles and a smaller carbon footprint

Immediately after fruit and vegetables are picked, they begin losing their nutritional content. This will happen even with the most sophisticated storage or chilling solutions.

So the quicker produce can go from farm to fork, the fresher and more nutrient rich it will be.

Eating seasonally allows you to add more diversity to your diet, eat healthier and enjoy new flavours. The arrival of each season brings anticipation and excitement for a dish you have not eaten for a while, like eating roast turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

It is generally easier to find foods when they are in season. Even if the region you are in does not grow a certain fruit or vegetable, it will usually come from a nearby country.

However, it is not always easy to tell what is in season, especially as we are used to seeing a huge range of produce in supermarkets. Below are lists of when various fruits and vegetables are in season, to help you shop and plan meals accordingly.

The availability of seasonal produce will vary in different parts of the world.

What about out of season produce?

I have also mentioned below fruit and vegetables that are available all year round, as they are cultivated in greenhouses or polytunnels according to demand.

In order to fill shelves with all year round produce, various methods of ripening and post harvest techniques are required for these foods, using heat, chemicals and gases.

These out of season foods may not be as nutritious as those grown in season. For example, when grown in season broccoli has a higher level of vitamin C than when grown at other times of the year, and tomatoes have twice as much vitamin C when grown in sunlight compared with those grown indoors.

Are frozen fruit and vegetables as good?

I want to also mention frozen foods, as it is in fact possible to use them to eat seasonally.

Frozen fruit and vegetables are allowed to ripen before they are frozen thereby retaining many of their nutrients.

As long as the freezer is set to -18℃/0℉, frozen foods will retain their nutritional content. They are often regarded as being more nutritious than fresh produce which may have travelled many miles and passed its peak freshness.

The longer food is exposed to oxygen, the sooner it will spoil. This is why frozen foods are usually packed within hours of harvesting.

However frozen food does not always have the same wonderful flavour as very fresh produce.

Use the seasonal lists below to see what is at its best right now across Europe - jump straight to the current season, or browse the whole year.

Winter produce (December, January, February)

Winter is root and brassica season across Europe with hearty leeks, kale, parsnips and squash, with the arrival of Mediterranean citrus, from blood oranges to clementines, at its very best in the coldest months.

Vegetables: beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cabbages (red, green, savoy), carrots, cauliflower, cavolo nero, endive, fennel, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, parsnips, potatoes, radicchio, salsify, shallots, spinach, swede, sweet potato, turnips, winter squashes (acorn, buttercup, butternut, pumpkin, spaghetti, sweet dumpling).

Fruit: apples, blood oranges, clementines, forced rhubarb, grapefruit, oranges, pears, persimmons, pomegranate, pomelo, satsumas, tangerines.

Herbs: bay, rosemary, sage, thyme.

Nuts: chestnuts, walnuts, almonds (stored).

See all winter recipes →

Spring produce (March, April, May)

Spring is the leanest season for European fruit - the so-called "hungry gap"; but a wonderful one for vegetables as the first tender asparagus, peas, artichokes and salad leaves arrive after the long winter.

Spring is the leanest season for European fruit - the so-called "hungry gap" - but a wonderful one for vegetables, as the first tender asparagus, peas, artichokes and salad leaves arrive after the long winter.

Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus (green, purple & white), beets, purple sprouting broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, fava beans, fiddlehead ferns, garlic, green beans, leeks, mustard greens, peas, radicchio, ramps, rocket, spinach, spring onions, sugar snap peas, Vidalia onions, watercress, zucchini/courgettes.

Fruit: forced rhubarb, rhubarb, strawberries (late spring).

Herbs: chervil, chives, dill, mint, parsley, sorrel.

See all spring recipes →

Summer produce (June, July August)

Summer is Europe's most abundant season, overflowing with soft fruit and sun-loving vegetables, such as tomatoes, courgettes and peppers alongside berries, stone fruit and the first figs of the year.

Vegetables: beets, corn, cucumbers, eggplant/aubergine, french beans, garlic, globe artichokes, green beans, kohlrabi, okra, peas, peppers, radishes, runner beans, samphire, shallots, spring onions, Swiss chard, tomatoes, zucchini/courgettes.

Fruit: apricots, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, boysenberries, cherries, damsons, elderberries, figs (late summer), gooseberries, grapes, greengages, loganberries, melons, mulberries, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, red currants, strawberries, watermelon.

Herbs: basil, chives, coriander, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, tarragon.

See all summer recipes →

Autumn produce

Autumn is harvest season across Europe, with squash and pumpkins, wild mushrooms, orchard fruit like apples and pears, plus nuts: chestnuts, walnuts and hazelnuts.

Vegetables: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celeriac, fennel, kohlrabi, mushrooms, potatoes, pumpkin, rabe, radishes, savoy cabbage, shallots, spinach, squashes (acorn, buttercup, butternut, spaghetti, sweet dumpling), Swiss chard, truffles, turnips.

Fruit: apples, cranberries, grapes, kiwi, medlars, pears, persimmons, pomegranate, quince, sloes.

Herbs: chives, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, bay.

Nuts: chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts (cobnuts), almonds.

See all autumn recipes →

Year round produce

Modern greenhouses, polytunnels and good storage conditions allow certain produce to be cultivated so they are available all the year round. However, they still taste best in their true season even though you can buy them any time.

Some store extremely well (apples, onions, potatoes, carrots), others are grown continuously under glass or polytunnels (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, courgettes), and there are those that are imported year-round (bananas, coconut, ginger, avocados).

The produce one can more or less expect to find year round in markets and shops in Europe:

Vegetables: avocados, beetroot, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, cucumber, eggplant/aubergine, endive, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini/courgettes. (Note: tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, cucumbers are available all year round but they are at their peak in summer.)

Fruit: apples, bananas, lemons, limes.

Aromatics & other: coconut, ginger.

Herbs: Woody herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage and bay.

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