We’ve all heard it a million times: eat in-season! It’s healthy and good for the environment! But is that really true? Are there actually serious benefits to eating with the seasons, and does it have a noticeable impact on the environment?
As it turns out, there are. Eating with the seasons has quite a few benefits – for both your health and the environment. Here’s a few of the benefits to eating with the seasons, and why it’s probably not a great idea to buy tomatoes in bulk during February.
Eating with the Seasons Cuts Your Grocery Bill Down!
It’s basic economics – when there’s more of something, there’s increased competition, and the cost goes down. Buying food in season means that local farmers and even local grocery stores will have a surplus of those food items, and they’ll be more competitively priced. If you head to a farmer’s market to pick up produce, you’ll likely see even more cost savings. Likewise, many restaurants will have deals on meals that are cooked with seasonal ingredients, saving you some of your hard-earned cash.
Not eating with the seasons means that your food is either shipped in from a location that’s far away and decreased competition (since few or none of your local farmers will have a crop). Both of these things mean you’ll be paying a premium for your produce.
More and Better Flavors
Have you ever noticed that produce locally grown and in-season produce always somehow tastes better? Well, there’s a reason for that. When produce isn’t grown locally or is grown in a greenhouse out-of-season, it has to be harvested earlier than it normally would be to allow for enough time to ship. Because of this, fruits and vegetables don’t fully mature the way they need to, and the result is a lack of flavor that you would normally get.
Eating with the seasons, however, basically ensures that you constantly have a stream of fresh and flavorful ingredients year round. And whether you’re a newbie just starting out in the kitchen or an experienced chef, good ingredients can really make or break a dish.
It Helps You Get Creative in the Kitchen
Let’s face it: when there’s a deal to be had on local produce, there’s no reason not to stock up on it. But what do you do if you have five pounds of cucumber sitting in your fridge? You get creative, of course! One of the best results of eating with the seasons is seeing what types of creative dishes people come up with to get rid of produce (or to avoid eating the same boring dinner every night). For instance, we found out that cucumbers can transition pretty seamlessly from side salad and summer pasta into a pretty amazing ice cream or frozen ice dessert.
Do you always eat in season? Or do you crave certain foods when they’re out of season and pay extra for them? Let us know in the comments!
