Make the most of In-Season Produce
One feature I include in the Dollop Planner is a list of seasonal produce and seasonal flavours/ meal types – for example, slow-cooks in Winter and crisp salads in Summer. I find it provides really good dinner inspiration!
Why Cook with What’s in Season?
I’ll never grow tired of saying it! It looks better, smells better and definitely tastes better meaning anything you make with it will have instant flavour. I’ve also noticed that the produce will be bigger – check out apples and cauliflower in season vs out of season.
But one of the best things is if it’s in season, there’s usually a lot of it – and that’s going to make it cheaper!
Finally if it’s in season for where you live – there’s a better chance it’s sourced locally. This not only means supporting local business; but it never sits well with me that my grape was put in cold store and shipped from the other side of the world. Let alone the environmental cost of all that transport….
Where to get your hands on some
If you really want to get serious about it – avoid the local grocery store and support your local growers! Farmer’s markets seem to be popping up everywhere and I for one am here for it. If you can’t get out to the markets – they will come to you! There are loads of services offering delivery of locally grown, in-season produce right to your door. How good is that! A lot of these services will also have awesome social media accounts where they share recipes using the produce from their seasonal boxes as well.
Taking advantage of what’s in season
It’s all well and good to say “cook with what’s in season” and filling the trolley with All. Of. The. Berries. Because yay you can finally afford them… but there’s even then going to be a limit to how much you can get through!!
1) Meal Plan
Ha! Bet you saw that one coming. Check what’s in season and write your meal plan around it. Buy only how much you know you’re going to use up; and really think twice about buying those extra bananas for banana bread if you’re not sure you’re going to have time to bake it!
2) Store it right
Spend a little time learning how to store produce properly to make sure it lasts a little longer. A well organised fridge / freezer will help for sure – it’s not always about perfect lines of clear containers for the sheer aesthetic of it! It’s also about not losing packets of spinach etc.
3) Cooking methods that work for you
Make sure where you are trying to take advantage of the flavours and budget-friendly seasonal produce – there’s a plan for how to use it up!
Some of the more common ones, as produce moves past it’s best-before include:
- Baking
- Pickles and preserves
- Freezing
- Stewing / roasting
- Jams (I hear you can do this easy in a Thermomix if you’ve got one!)
Store and label it all carefully. And again make sure you know how to use up your creations – personally even when I want to be I’m not a massive fan of pickles & preserves… pickled watermelon rind is something I love the idea of from a food waste point of view but I don’t see it working my way into my family’s weekly rotation… so I don’t spend the time and energy making it!
I once roasted some extra capsicum and put it in a sterilised jar and felt like I’d just milked the cow and churned my own butter.
Next week I’ll share some inspiration with you for my favourite spring produce.
What are your favourite ways to use up in season produce? What produce do you hang out for every year?