Eat the seasons

I've talked about Food Miles and how we can reduce them by buying British and visiting farmers' markets. To get the best of British, it's good to know what's in season. Some things are obvious, like apples in autumn and strawberries in summer, but there's a whole plethora of seasonal foods out there that you may not have even considered eating before.

Luckily, Eat The Seasons addresses this problem. Each week there's the lowdown on what's in season right now. This week it's leeks and you can find out about their history, biology and nutritional value. Even better are the tips and suggested recipes. Sign up for the weekly newsletter and you'll never miss out.

Big Barn is a great resource allowing you to find local producers and suppliers in your area. Just enter your postcode and the map will show you exactly what and where local produce is available within ten, fifteen, twenty and up to fifty miles from your doorstep. If food is being produced and sold in the same area then it has to be in season!

There's a bunch of interesting articles on seasonal food on the Food Standards Agency eat well web site. As you'll see, eating the seasons is nothing new and in fact seasonal food was virtually the only food available before supermarkets made it commercially viable to import food from abroad.

caldini