Should you care about eating in season?

Gordon Ramsay recently said that restaurants serving fruit and veg out of season should be fined! Serious stuff, and it does beg the question of what you should be doing in your own kitchen regarding seasonality. Read on and you'll completely understand the issue and discover the three ways to buy and cook food with a clear conscience on seasonality - no matter what Gordon says! DCSIMG

THE ISSUE SIMPLIFIED
In the past, everyone had to eat food in particular seasons. In spring, for example, you could get early salad leaves, in summer there were peas and beans and a wide variety of berries and by autumn the trees were groaning with apples and pears.

In recent years - particularly with the massive expansion of air transport in the last 20 years - these seasons have lost their importance. You can buy food from all over the world - so that even in the depths of a British winter you can get green beans and mange tout from Kenya. And, of course, many crops can be grown under cover or brought forward by using heated glasshouses. And many crops can be kept in cold stores, so that they can last several months in storage.

So what exactly do foodie folk mean when they talk about buying seasonal food? They mean buying British food and using it at around the season when it is first ready to eat.

THE ADVANTAGES OF BUYING SEASONAL FOOD
* It is better for you. Food which hasn't been stored or transported long distances will have more vitamin C

* It tastes better. Food which has been stored will deteriorate. Food which has been ‘forced' in glasshouses will often be bland and tasteless

* It is better for the planet. It obviously takes less fuel to bring beans from the English countryside than it does to fly them over from Kenya. Also, if crops are grown in season, they don't need so much fuel for heating the glasshouses.

* It means that we can return to more traditional ways of cooking and eating food. There is something 'good' about eating salads in spring and potatoes and cabbage in autumn. Being in tune with the seasons feels good and in many cases means a return to traditional recipes

AND THE DISADVANTAGES...
* At certain times of year, seasonal food can be pretty monotonous. Until around 25 years ago, it was relatively difficult to buy salads in autumn. You ended up eating an awful lot of cabbage. Although cabbage can be absolutely delicious, sometimes you want a bit of salad or some spinach leaves or even a few beans flown in from Kenya.

* At some times of year, there is almost no seasonal food around. In the middle of winter, all food has to be stored rather than dug out of the ground. Even potatoes have to be stored - either in a cold store or left under the ground, covered in straw to prevent frost.

* Seasonal foods are often inconvenient for busy people. You don't always want to use old King Edward potatoes which have to be peeled and chopped and mashed. Sometimes you want some new potatoes which just have to be washed and boiled and taste better. Seasonal food may require more cooking.

* Some common foods can't be profitably grown in this country. You can't buy British oranges. Oranges have to be imported.

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
Is it practical to eat only seasonal food? Here's our three-point plan to eating/buying and cooking food with a clear conscience as far as the seasons are concerned...

1) You can eat an awful lot more seasonal food. You can eat salad leaves in summer and through to early autumn and we can eat British asparagus, strawberries and tomatoes in summer; new potatoes in early summer; and cabbage in autumn. It's tasty, nutritious and it saves fuel for transporting vegetables.

2) You can try cutting out some imported food. For example, stick to traditional British apples, rather than foreign varieties. Have a go at preserving more food through traditional methods such as pickling (ideal for onion or red cabbage), by using seasonal produce in chutneys and jams or by freezing (great for Bramley apple pies, apple sauces, vegetable soups etc).

3) Finally you can realise that non seasonal foods should be seen as an occasional treat, rather than part of everyday cooking. Those Kenyan mange tout may be just what you want to give a bit of variety to your diet in the middle of winter, but it seems wrong to eat them during the rest of year when there are excellent seasonal alternatives, grown in this country.

By Jack Shamash, who writes for Horticulture Week

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