The Best Fruits and Vegetables to Buy During Winter

So, you’re craving for watermelon…in winter! Will you buy expensive watermelons to satisfy your craving? Or just look for cheaper fruits and vegetables in season?

Seasons change and so does the fresh produce that comes with it.

Now, that winter has arrived, a huge variety of fruit and vegetables only seen this season will be yours for the taking.

So, just for this season, we can forget for a while some of our favourite summer fruits and vegetables, and focus our strengths on how we could maximise on this season’s harvest.

Although fruits and vegetables grown during summer may still be available in the market, buying food in season makes sense for a few reasons. Here’s why.

1. Fresher And Tastier

Foods in season are fresher and tastier than out-of-season food that has been grown forcefully to meet the market.

2. More Nutritious

Some fruits and vegetables grow better in colder weather, which means, they are more nutritious because they are in an environment suited for optimal growth.

3. It’s Cheaper

Buying food that is out of season also means it travels a long way to get to you and most likely wasn’t grown locally, which increases its cost. It is also likely to not be available in abundance translating to grocers charging as they please for it rather than competitively pricing for a flooded market.

4. More Environment-Friendly

Eating seasonal fruits and vegetables reduces the demand for out-of-season produce which helps local farming in your area, which means less transportation, less refrigeration, less hot houses, and less irradiation of produce.

5. Challenges Your Creativity In Cooking

Having only particular choices of food for this specific season challenges your creativity to come up with new, fun and delicious dishes based on what you find.

Examples of Winter Fruits

• Grapefruit
• Kiwi Fruit
• Lemons
• Mandarins
• Naval Oranges
• Apples
• Avocados
• Limes
• Nashi Pears
• Passionfruit
• Pears
• Quince
• Tangelo
• Strawberries (in August).

Examples of Winter Vegetables

• Beetroot
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac
• Celery
• Fennel
• Leeks
• Onions
• Parsnips
• Potatoes
• Pumpkin
• Silverbeet
• Spinach
• Sweet Potato
• Turnips

Winter is here… stock up on the freshest fruits and vegetables now!

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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