# Remember seasonal fruit? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 19, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365 "2018-12-19T13:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/1 "2018-12-19T13:41:33Z")
Started the day off with a nice warm slice of blueberry cobbler a la mode! (One of my wife’s specialties. You KNOW the ENTIRE day can’t suck when it starts off like THAT!) I remember when blueberries were an early summer fruit - June. But I guess it is “June” right now down in Chile where they’ve become big in blueberries. The blueberries were only $.99 a pint! :eek: Seems like pears and clementines were always winter fruits. But now, given the wonders of cheap shipping, you can get all manner of fruits and veggies throughout the year. Do you remember any produce that was only available at a certain time, but you can now get throughout the year? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/2 "2018-12-19T15:10:26Z")
Sure- peaches are still mostly a summer fruit, even today. Same with watermelons, cantaloupes and honeydew melons, along with cherries. Having small kids, I’ve become much more in tune with the grocery stores’ fruit selections, and they’re still seasonal, although some fruits either store well (apples and oranges/citrus in particular) or they’re grown in tropical areas without real seasons (bananas, pineapples). ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/3 "2018-12-19T15:15:36Z")
Peaches in the summer time, apples in the fall, if I can’t have my Shady Grove I won’t have any at all. I avoid non-local produce, and that means I eat with the seasons. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/4 "2018-12-19T15:27:40Z")
There’s definitely a seasonal flow to our fruit; we don’t go out of our way to eat locally, but some things are still much cheaper some times of the year than others. It’s true that you will sometimes find cheap blueberries in December, and we buy them when we see them, but it’s still not to the point that blueberries are $1/lb year-round. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/5 "2018-12-19T15:32:47Z")
I’m with **Ulfreida**. We have vigorous local produce, grain, dairy and beef/pork producers. We do have the southern hemisphere imports, and I purchase them, but I stick with local stuff that I only get seasonally. No basil for my pesto after July. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/6 "2018-12-19T15:33:40Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure- peaches are still mostly a summer fruit, even today. Same with watermelons, cantaloupes and honeydew melons, along with cherries. > … I play music at a local farmer’s market, and talk w/ some of the vendors. This fall, I recall one older farmer expressing his surprise at folk who were buying apples, when peaches were at their ripest. As he said, you can get decent apples most of the year, but when the peaches are gone, they’re gone. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/7 "2018-12-19T15:40:01Z")
I vaguely remember reading a while back that Gordon Ramsay wanted the British government to ban non-seasonal produce. I guess he believed that he knew best what British palates wanted, and off-season Nigerian strawberries weren’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/8 "2018-12-19T15:48:45Z")
> [@ASGuy](#): > > We do have the southern hemisphere imports, and I purchase them, but I stick with local stuff that I only get seasonally. No basil for my pesto after July. I’ve noticed that the supermarkets have Chilean peaches, plums and cherries in the winter here in the US but I’ve been disappointed at how bad they taste, so I’ve given up on eating them and instead waiting for the stuff from the US even if that means waiting until summer. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/9 "2018-12-19T15:53:44Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I play music at a local farmer’s market, and talk w/ some of the vendors. This fall, I recall one older farmer expressing his surprise at folk who were buying apples, when peaches were at their ripest. As he said, you can get decent apples most of the year, but when the peaches are gone, they’re gone. I think most people no longer understand this, and only find out when they go looking for a fruit out of season. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/10 "2018-12-19T16:07:25Z")
Peaches are one of the fruits that get sliced, sugared and frozen for winter use around here. Between local stuff and cheap fruit from Mexico and Chile there really aren’t “seasonal” fruits much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/11 "2018-12-19T16:54:14Z")
For me it’s corn. I can still buy ears of corn but it was picked days ago and has been shipped and stored somewhere. It doesn’t compare to fresh local corn that was still attached to a stalk yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/12 "2018-12-19T18:20:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’ve noticed that the supermarkets have Chilean peaches, plums and cherries in the winter here in the US but I’ve been disappointed at how bad they taste, so I’ve given up on eating them and instead waiting for the stuff from the US even if that means waiting until summer. There’s also the fact that some fruits have no flavor whatsoever when they’re not in their traditional season. Now is definitely not a good time to find strawberries that actually taste like strawberries. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/13 "2018-12-19T18:24:12Z")
Well, the stone fruit that I was referring to was grown in Chile, where it is the traditional season for them in a North American winter. So perhaps if you’re local to Lima, the stone fruit tastes good, but by the time it gets to an American supermarket, it’s not great. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/14 "2018-12-19T18:53:11Z")
Even though I can buy just about any fruit throughout the winter, there are a lot of fruits I won’t buy until summer. I’d never buy any kind of melon for sure. Cripes I have a hard enough time getting a good watermelon in the middle of summer! Same with peaches and nectarines. Berries are so-so - I don’t buy them often in the winter. Pretty much stick to apples, oranges, mandarins, bananas and pears. The only one I can really count on is bananas. Mandarins are usually pretty good. I’ve run into some pretty bland apples this year. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/15 "2018-12-19T20:03:14Z")
Supermarkets and global transportation networks are to food as cable and streaming television are to entertainment. The sense of anticipation adds to the pleasure of seasonal produce…remember thinking _oh boy, only eight more weeks and fresh asparagus will be available!_ Locally grown asparagus was certainly special (well it still is, but you know what I mean). Just like when ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was on network tv once a year only around Halloween, and ‘Rudolph’ around Christmas. I remember looking forward to these shows as a child. They were an event at the time. Now you can see them pretty much any time you want. Scarcity makes a commodity more precious. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/16 "2018-12-19T20:23:29Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Supermarkets and global transportation networks are to food as cable and streaming television are to entertainment. The sense of anticipation adds to the pleasure of seasonal produce…remember thinking _oh boy, only eight more weeks and fresh asparagus will be available!_ … Yeah - asparagus is one that seems to be available pretty much year around. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/17 "2018-12-19T20:37:48Z")
What I miss most was those few weeks each year when one could buy fresh, ripe, ready-to-eat pears at the grocery store. Now no matter what time of year it is there are 3-4 varieties of hard, unyielding, pear-like sculptures which never fully ripen no matter what “lifehacks” you try on them. Then one morning you wake up and they are brown fuzzy mush, never having developed an edible texture. Pears these days are only good for pickling. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/18 "2018-12-19T21:07:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well, the stone fruit that I was referring to was grown in Chile, where it is the traditional season for them in a North American winter. So perhaps if you’re local to Lima, the stone fruit tastes good, but by the time it gets to an American supermarket, it’s not great. Honestly, mass market stone fruits aren’t that great in the US either; they pick them too unripe for shipping durability. Problem is, peaches don’t get sweeter after they’re picked, only softer. So I suspect there must be a “sweet” spot that growers are aiming at, where they’re still hard, but fully sweet. They don’t hit that often enough, unfortunately. Or maybe I’m spoiled by the local peaches we can get around here. I know growing up with a Bartlett pear tree as a kid kind of ruined me for grocery store pears. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/19 "2018-12-19T21:21:43Z")
Melons are never good except in the summer. I have been having a problem with bananas. Of course they are never locally grown here. The ones I can get are hard and sour at the moment. I don’t understand it. Sometimes during the year they are good. ETA I think I was ninja-ed in post 14. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Ducky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrs_ducky/32/6227_2.png) [@Mrs\_Ducky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Ducky)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365/20 "2018-12-19T22:09:12Z")
I keep looking for tangerines. I don’t want mandarins or navel oranges, I want tangerines! I only found them once last winter. I think they have a better taste. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-seasonal-fruit/826365.md?page=2)