Seasons have a reason

I recently had my first British asparagus of the season, in an asparagus and hazelnut risotto served with roast chicken, Chantenay carrots and spinach.  (Anything tell you I like my food?)  Sadly, the season is short, lasting from now until the end of June so I will be stuffing my face with asparagus on every possible occasion!  In my humble opinion, British asparagus is the best around; certainly far superior to the white spears they favour in mainland Europe and don’t even talk about the stuff you can get from Peru all year round.

This got me to thinking about how much and why I look forward to the start of the asparagus season.

A few years ago I really started to buy into the concept of buying locally produced food.  Now, my definition of ‘local’ starts at ‘food produced in the UK’ and extends to ‘food produced in Europe or even North Africa’ when pushed but let’s not labour the point.

One of the drivers was the desire to reduce the food miles in my shopping basket, another was to provide more support for the local economy and another was to get back to the idea of seasonality in my eating habits.

Of the three, it’s the seasonality that has sustained me the longest because it is something tangible.  It’s very difficult to see the impact of reducing food miles or buying locally, at least in the short term.  The rewards of eating seasonally are immediate and right there on the plate in front of you.

It’s not just the anticipation I like, it’s also the variety of food that passes across my plate throughout the year.  Asparagus and hot cross buns now, strawberries in a couple of months, apples and pears in the Autumn, the first frosted parsnips in the winter…  I could go on and on but I won’t as I’m starting to feel hungry.

It’s also a challenge in the kitchen when you have to find new and interesting ways to cook the same half dozen root vegetables you have been eating all winter.  I’m afraid British winter vegetables can leave a lot to be desired.

Before anyone shouts, I also recognise that the argument for buying locally is only one side of the coin.  It’s the western world that has encouraged African and South American countries to pander to our desires to eat whatever we want whenever we want it – surely we have a moral obligation to continue to support them?  Well, yes to an extent.  But I would far rather support them by buying something indigenous to them, not some imported fruit that doesn’t belong there.