QUICK TOUR QUICK TOUR FEN FOOD
Originally, this master page linked to both our collection of recipes and our growing 'vegetable of the month' catalogue; from April 2006, we have separated these. You can reach the recipe section under its new title Fen Cooking.
Although we may all be used to year-round avocados, tomatoes and dates in our supermarkets, one of the delights of living in the Fens is the appearance of seasonal food.
This section of our website is an aid to exploring this wealth. Month by month we are adding not only a description of how to grow, cook and enjoy these riches of our landscape, but also pointers to what is in season when
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What's in season?
This is the month for kale, leeks, swedes and sprouting broccoli in both the purple and white varieties. Towards the end of the month, the first forced rhubarb will be coming in. This seems a poor collection, and the winter months certainly remind us how short the Fen fruit season is. But most of the vegetables from before Christmas will still be around, even if this is not their prime time.
February
Another month where the pickings seem lean and we rely on the modern methods of keeping vegetables fit for sale. Onions and chicory are among the true seasonal crop, and it will not be long now until the true spring greens appear -- this month you can expect savoy cabbage. For the carnivores, this is the time to pick up the last of the pheasants and partridges -- perhaps to freeze for a treat later in the year.
March
This is the last month of the season for sprouts, for leeks and for parsnips. Sprouting broccoli is with us for this month and garlic (although available year-round) is available wild and from England. Some early salad vegetables -- radishes and spring onions, for example -- are with us.
:
This is the time of year for spring greens and outdoor rhubarb. Just getting past their best are purple sprouting broccoli and wild garlic.
It's also a time for the early potatoes -- Arran Pilot, Jersey Royals, Maris Bard (not Maris Piper: they're maincrop and are best in the autumn) and Pentland Javelin. For game eaters, wood pigeon is indicated this month, as is wild salmon.
May:
This is the start of the all-too-brief English asparagus season: it won't be with us beyond the end of June, so enjoy while you can. Radishes are also good now, and the first broad beans, beetroot and garden peas are evident. Away from vegetables, spring lamb and and crab are good. Crab is not especially seasonal, but the expectation of good weather, and the life-cycle of the crustacean suggest spring and early summer as good times.
June:
Asparagus should be with us for the better part of the month. But the wide range of seasonal food available now does at last begin to make things feel summery. Beetroot, broad beans and garden peas are all prolific, at least towards the end of the month. Gooseberries and raspberries make their first appearance, but the strawberries you'll be offered aren't at their best until next month. Carnivores are relishing the spring lamb, while piscivores are delighting in mackerel and sea trout. Towards the end of the month, that uniquely Norfolk delicacy samphire will appear.
July:
Now at last the berries and the currants: blackcurrants, redcurrants, blueberries, strawberries, cherries -- now is the month to get them fresh and local. Among the vegetables, artichokes appear, and broad beans will be with us for a month longer, but as the season progresses they get tougher. We're told that they were traditionally eaten as an accompaniement to young duck. Runner beans and French beans are evident, and we see the beginnings of fennel, kohl rabi and shallots. And summer is the best of times for lobster (more accurately, for lobster-eaters: it's a pretty dismal time for the lobsters themselves!)
August
We still have samphire with us, but August is most noted for its home grown beans -- both French beans and runner beans, which we first saw last month. Peas, broccoli, courgettes and fennel are also evident. Some of the salad vegetables, notably radish, are now on their way out and are often soft and spongy, rather than their original crispness. Shallots too are bidding farewell. Sweet corn (maize) makes its first appearance, rather too late for the barbecues. Leeks and tomatoes are also new arrivals at the end of the month. And were the market not so completely focussed on Hallowe'en, you would find the first pumpkins and other squashes.
September
Your last chance now for French beans, peas and samphire. September is the time for fruit. Although the currants (red, black and white) are on the way out, this is the month for blackberries, elderberries, raspberries, plums, damsons, greengages and sloes. You'll also see the first chestnuts. Kale and swedes complete the picture, but two 'social' matters add to our enjoyment of this month. There's an 'R' in it -- something we haven't had since April -- so English oysters are back on the menu. And the end of Summer brings game into the larder again -- rabbit, partridge and mallard most notably.
October
Apart from squashes (including pumpkins) this is not a great month for vegetables -- delights such as sprouts, parsnips, celery and celeriac and Jerusalen artichokes are just over the horizon, though. The berries from last month have outlived their short season and are on the way out, but the seasonal fruit treats now are apples and damsons, with quinces along later. The carnivores can enjoy the grouse, and anticipate next month's pheasants.
November
Brussels sprouts and cauliflower are at their best this month, and you will begin to see the signature vegetables of the Fens appearing -- the dirty carrots and parsnips, although these are at their best next month. Apples are past, whatever the supermarkets would have us believe, but this is the month for pears -- and also for sloes and quince. Pheasants have appeared, but as few of these are truly wild, the early ones are both more stupid (they got shot) and leaner. Eat by all means, but the best are yet to come. Mallard and partridge are also good, though. Chestnuts are better now than they will be at Christmas.
December
Savour the vegetables: the stalls are piled high with true Fen produce -- dirty carrots and parsnips, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes (nothing at all to do with the globe variety) and red cabbage, ideal for pickling.
Now is the month for good pheasant, plumper than the early bag. And it seems self-evident that Turkey is around.
Fruit and vegetables
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