While it may be tempting to buy fresh strawberries and blueberries in January or avocados in March, fresher, tastier and healthier selections are available if only shoppers can wait until those items are in season.
Time was when Americans excitedly awaited the arrival of freshly picked produce from local harvests. Family menus, from dinner to dessert, were planned around what the
season would yield: spring berries, summer corn, autumn apples, winter root vegetables.
Now, buoyed by advancements in agriculture and transportation, the fruits and vegetables that we buy from local grocery stores many times are not local at all. They are harvested outside of their natural growing cycle from other parts of the country and the world.
Seasonal food – produce that is purchased and eaten around the time that it is harvested – is a better option, said Alyson Marquez, UMDining’s registered dietitian.
“Eating seasonal produce can support our well-being because of its higher concentration of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber,” Marquez said. “Seasonal produce usually spends less time in transit, which further optimizes nutrient content.”
Eating seasonally means having a respect for nature and knowing that it is OK to eat foods when and where they are harvested, said Mimi Ohno, an artist/educator who maintains a plot at a local community garden in Brooklyn.
“All of us are so removed from growing food,” Ohno said. “Living in modern time, you eat year -round, whatever you feel like in any given time.”
Ohno, whose parents are from Nigeria, said her seasonal garden plot includes plants and herbs that she uses to prepare Nigerian dishes — basil, oregano, Nigerian greens, garden eggs (eggplant) and tomatoes. Wanting to capture her mother’s zeal for gardening, Ohno took a one-year course at Farm School NYC, an urban agriculture education course.
Her philosophy: “Eat where you live and in season. The point is not to have everything, but to enjoy the things that you do have when you have them.”
Niven Patel, chef and owner of Ghee Indian Kitchen, also has a farm, but it’s for his restaurant in Kendall. The 2-acre farm, located in Homestead in South Dade, supplies mangoes, eggplant, avocados, beets, and many other fruits, vegetables and herbs typically used in Indian cuisine.
“We try our best to have things from the farm and create special dishes,” Patel said. For example, Ghee salads might feature carambola (starfruit) that are switched out with tomatoes when they are in season.
While Seasons 52 in Coral Gables does not have its own farm, it does offer a “seriously seasonal” menu featuring a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, much of it locally grown.
“It allows us to offer the best ingredients at their peak flavor and ripeness,” said Fernando Orms, managing partner. Over the summer, a Seasons 52 salad might feature a summer spinach and strawberry salad,
“Strawberries are super tasty in the summer,” he said of the salad that includes almonds and spinach. Post summer, the menu featured beets and arugula, and the asparagus side dish was replaced with broccolini. From September to February, diners will enjoy meals made from Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, pumpkin and butternut squash, Orms said.
Seasonal produce is often easier to cook because the vegetables are picked at peak season, Orms said. The taste does not have to be enhanced with heavy sauces and seasonings when the meals are prepared.
“We just add a little olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s all,” he said.
“When things are in season, you can drastically taste the difference,” Patel said. For example, mangoes picked locally in South Floria during the May-August peak season will have a better taste than those that appear on supermarket shelves in January from Mexico, he said. Because imported mangoes have to be picked early for shipping, they have not matured. Nutrition is diminished and so is the taste.
From a chef’s perspective, it’s about flavor,” Patel said. “One of the most enjoyable things is eating a carrot that just came out of the ground. It’s life changing.”
Many countries in Europe, Central and South America still adhere to seasonal eating habits.
Mirla Irías Carbajal, a junior data science and artificial intelligence and mathematics major, said a lot of people in her country, Honduras, have seasonal diets.
“In August they produce avocados more than they do during the rest of the year,” Carbajal said. “There’s so many avocados, so that’s what we eat a lot of in August.”
By contrast, the United States tends to prioritize year-round availability over quality.
This consistent availability has influenced Americans so that many are not aware when they eat produce that is out of season. As a result, having a seasonal diet has become an intentional and uncommon lifestyle in the United States.
“When you eat foods in season you get connection to the real world,” Ohno said. “Just because produce is readily available does not mean that you are having what’s best for you.”
Luckily for Florida residents, lots of seasonal options abound. Winter in Miami offers the best time to enjoy oranges and tangerines, kale, broccoli and cauliflower, while summer brings tropical fruits such as mangoes and guavas.
Students who want to eat in season don’t have to go beyond campus. University of Miami’s dining hall conveniently creates meals based on seasonal produce and features seasonal-themed meals. Marquez, UM’s dietician, said campus dining uses local produce such as bell peppers, oranges and watermelon.
Alfredo Gonzalez, a Chartwells executive chef, works with dining staff to create a menu for each season except summer because few students are on campus then.
“Everything we do is within season,” Gonzalez said. “We change our menu every season for that reason.”
In winter, the Mahoney-Pearson Dining Hall serves meals such as tomato basil soup for lunch and savory ground beef stewed with tomatoes, raisins, and olives for dinner. The Centennial Village Dining Hall boasts meals that include ingredients such as tomatoes, avocados, grapefruit and eggplant – produce that is grown locally in season.
“It’s going to be healthier,” Gonzalez said. “It’s growing in the season it’s supposed to be growing; it’s going to be better for your body.”
South Florida residents and students can enjoy eating seasonally beyond restaurants and dining halls.
Patel of Ghee restaurant advises students during spring semester to check out the various farmers’ markets in the area, “seeing what is fresh and local, and tasting the difference.” If they are around in summer, check out the many lychee stands that sprout up in South Dade, he said.
Josue Torres, a sophomore media scoring and production major from Orlando, said he has never tried a seasonal diet but might try it in the future.
“I’m still very ignorant of it all but it generally makes sense,” Torres said, “especially if one wishes to avoid preservatives and other added ingredients that often have a negative impact on people. It doesn’t make sense to eat only the things that you like no matter the season because you could be eating something healthier and more natural for you that is in season.”
When Are Fruits in Season?
Eating a sour blueberry or unripe avocado can be a disappointing experience. Buy your produce when they’re peaking in flavor by following the chart below:
words_kay-ann henry & tracy ramos. illustration_andres alessandro. design_leah bahamonde
This article was published in Distraction’s Winter 2024 print issue.
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