Humphries - A Taste For All Seasons

Remember the days when we could only buy oranges in winter, apples in the autumn and soft fruits in summer? When brussels sprouts and swedes were winter vegetables and you could only find runner beans from July to September? Now were so used to being able to buy just about any food at any time of year, imported from all over the world, we forget that every food has a proper season when the flavour, texture, colour and nutritional values are at their peak. For instance, youll find the best English strawberries in June but parsnips are really not good until the frost has touched them from November to February and if you want to taste salmon the way it always used to taste, buy fresh, pale pink wild salmon in the spring rather than the farmed reddish-pink varieties. Buying British With modern transportation, we can have food delivered from anywhere in the world any time.

The trouble is, in order for us to have it looking just right in our shops, it has often been harvested before its ready. Compare the taste of a tomato picked green, packed in a box and sent to us from, say, southern Spain, thats just turning from orange to red when it reaches the supermarket, to one thats been ripened on the vine right here. You can smell the difference before you even sink your teeth into its rosy flesh. Think of a king scallop, sitting amongst a pile of its friends, devoid of shell, probably still half-frozen. Cook it and itll taste nice. But go to your local fishmonger in the late summer and you may be lucky enough to buy native ones, still sitting in their half shells, their bright orange corals looking as fresh as when they left the sea.

Cook them and theyll taste heavenly. We have a battle to buy British sometimes. We produce fabulous eating apples in the UK but only 20 per cent of apples sold are home grown. Producers are trying to fight back and some are even buying apple-polishing machines in an attempt to make their fruit look more alluring to customers! Food miles There are nutritional implications, too. Did you know, for instance, that broccoli from Spain is transported nearly 1,000 miles under refrigerated conditions to get to the UK? This has such an impact on nutrients that experts claim that the broccoli has lost so much goodness that, like peas, the frozen version is healthier! The daft thing is we grow plenty of it in Britain anyway! Vast quantities of the food we buy have been transported half way round the world to reach us. These food miles have a big impact on climate change because of the pollution the fuel for the transport creates.

This is even true of some UK produce, because supermarket chains ferry produce right across the country to a central sorting and packing depot and then transport it again to distribute it to their various stores nationwide (this also creates another environmental issue huge packaging waste but thats another story!). There are, of course, some foods that are not grown commercially or found in the UK like citrus and tropical fruits and various species of fish but they, too, have seasons and youll see in the book when is the best time to buy a whole selection of them. When you can buy home grown, however, not only will the flavour be better than a much-travelled counterpart but youll be doing your bit for the economy and the environment. Naturally, there are some basic things that youll want to eat all year round like onions or apples, for instance. Thats fine but its still good to know when you can buy British and enjoy them at their best. Buy local So if you love food, and care about the planet, its worth taking the trouble to consider not only whats in season but also what you can buy thats local to you.

Look out for farmers markets (see more information below) theyre springing up all over the place and the foods sold will have been produced in the vicinity and travelled only a short distance, so will be at their peak in every way. You can also investigate local produce box schemes, where you get a selection of the best fruit and vegetables available for that week at a fixed price. Its a bit of a lottery you may not like or want three aubergines or six turnips or whatever, but you will get an interesting variety, which is good for creative cookery! When supermarket shopping, read the labels to see where the produce originated a lot of British-produced foods will have the Union Jack on them for quick reference. Going organic If you want to go the whole hog, then choose organic as well. Nutritionally, there is still much debate as to whether organic food has any added value but theres no denying that avoiding chemical fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides is probably a very good thing both for our well-being and the world in general. If you think organic food is just too expensive, remember that the more people demand it, the more will be produced and the cheaper it will become.

Go to www.soilassociation.org for more information.

This book is divided into the months of the year. Each chapter will tell you what is likely to be in season and what is at its absolute best from the UK. Of course, the seasons arent etched in stone (except for closed fishing and game). Weather conditions play a part so you may find local produce slightly earlier or later than Ive said (though lots of produce is grown in hothouses or polytunnels to protect it from the elements and extend its season). But the lists will give you a good idea of what time of year to look out for the pick of the crop.

As far as meat is concerned, you can buy excellent British beef, pork, bacon and poultry all year round, so I havent included these in the lists (though there are some great recipes using them, of course!). I have included British lamb, though. Buy free-range or outdoor-reared meat and poultry whenever you can for the best flavour and quality. The animals diets make a difference, too. Beef, for instance, is considered at its best from late spring through until autumn, when the cattle are eating fresh grass rather than the silage of the winter. The golden, corn-fed, free-range chickens have, in my opinion, a superior flavour, too.

But, be careful, just because a chicken is labelled corn-fed doesnt mean its free-range so check before you buy. In the book, for each month youll find sumptuous recipes using the wonderful variety of foods that are in season: two recipes each for soups, starters and snacks; seafood; meat, game and poultry; vegetables; and desserts. They are all here to start you off on a whole new gourmet journey.

Its not difficult to make a few changes to your shopping and buying habits in order to make a big change to the quality of your eating. Here are a few simple tips to remember when youre shopping.