June 11 2018News

Winter Seasonal Produce Guide

Winter certainly does not mean the end of all good things. Yes the sun sets earlier and the rain is here for longer, but the local seasonal produce is in abundance and Victorian farmers have some of the best winter produce going around.

The crowd favourite the trusty avocado is back in season, which means to get your daily fill of avocado at home won’t cost you $7 a pop for the delicious green morsels. Avocado not your thing? Don’t worry because they are plenty more delicious fruits and vegetables to enjoy this Winter too.  Some of the classic favourites include a large variety of apples, pears, oranges and mandarins and winter veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms, kale, potatoes and pumpkin. However aside from the household favourites winter is also the host to many more uncommon fruits and vegetables, so if you’re ready to change up your winter with something new then why not try some of our favourites listed below.

In the fruit sector you can’t go past the persimmon, a delicious and vibrant deep orange/red fruit that is increasingly becoming popular in many fruit and vegetable grocers. There are two varieties of persimmons, the original persimmon, in which should only be eaten once the fruit is a deep red/orange colour and the  inner flesh has a soft jelly like texture. While the second variety, the sweet persimmon often has a lighter orange exterior and a sweet crisp flesh similar to an apple.

Also on the fruit-to-try list is the Feijoa. Originating from South America, much like the persimmon, the feijoa is  common fruit in a Mediterranean diet, featuring in a lot of older generation European’s household gardens ,however is progressively popping up in common grocers too. The feijoa is a small green fruit, similar to a fig  where the inner flesh is eaten leaving the outer skin to discard. This is a fantastic fruit for cakes or to add onto your daily yoghurt or granola.

Winter vegetables to try this season include Kohlrabi and Celeriac. Both are hearty winter vegetables that can be a welcome addition to any stew, soup or Sunday roast. Kohlrabi, although it has an unusual name has quite the familiar flavour profile. With a similar texture to other root vegetables such as potato or turnip, it’s flavour is most similar to broccoli or some say cauliflower. So while it seems daunting you can cook and prepare Kohlrabi exactly like you would  a potato, boiling them to mash, roasting them in the oven, stewing them in a slow cooker or perhaps blending into a potato and leek soup.  Also great in soups is Celeriac. A root vegetable too, celeriac is an edible cultivated celery root which grows into a bulb shape. Texture is similar again to other root vegetables which makes it it an amazing ingredient  to add to soups and stews too. The flavour isnt has strong as Kohlrabi, which means it will blend into soups and puree’s nicely, adding a slightly different flavour to your normal go-to recipes this winter.

While we have only singled out a few of our more unusual favourites see the complete winter guide below from sustainabletable.org.au to see what is fresh and in season this winter.

Also if you need some more recipe idea’s, or perhaps some great ways to enjoy the winter produce mentioned above then stay tuned as we will be featuring some great winter recipes over the coming weeks!

 

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