What fruits and vegetables are only offered seasonally vs year round on US grocery stores

[thorny_locust]

There are a few varieties of pumpkin that have hull-less seeds; much easier to eat.

Some of those varieties – not all – also have good pie-pumpkin flesh.

What’s in the supermarkets is IME generally only jack o lantern types; but you could try farmers’ markets.

[jz78817]

@Periwinkle

Concord grapes. I always keep an eye out for them in the fall.

this. I always grab a container when I see them at the store.

[Isamu]

I love reading these types of threads. Interesting to hear about different versions of the fruits you know, or even fruits/vegies you’ve never had before.

[jnglmassiv]

A lot of these are available all year, though you might have to visit more than one store to find, say, a watermelon for New Years Day. Plums, strawberries, peaches, zucchini (especially).

For pumpkin, check your Korean supermarket.

I only see Brussels sprouts on the stalk during November-December-ish.

[kitap]

@thorny_locust

There are a few varieties of pumpkin that have hull-less seeds; much easier to eat.

Some of those varieties – not all – also have good pie-pumpkin flesh.

What’s in the supermarkets is IME generally only jack o lantern types; but you could try farmers’ markets.

The Amish store near where I used to live in Wisconsin sold pie pumpkins.

[Shmendrik]

@Alessan

In my experience, all American fruits and vegetables taste like they were carved out of balsa wood.

Oddly, that’s how I felt about the fruits and vegetables at my local makolet when I lived in your part of the world.

[Baker]

@puzzlegal

Rhubarb

My cousin in Nebraska brings me a huge lot of rhubarb each year and I work it into pies for the cafe where I work. It is mostly older folks that buy them, and they are forlorn when the pies get sold out.

@Periwinkle

Concord grapes. I always keep an eye out for them in the fall.

I almost never find them for sale around here. I am so sad, as I have a pie recipe for them that came from my great grandmother. I have made it and it is simply heaven on earth.

Gooseberries are definitely seasonal, and mulberries are not even sold, but I have a big tree in a lot north of my house that I pick from each year.

[typoink]

@Ambivalid

There is this company that grows cotton candy grapes (fucking amazing) and they are only available for one month (aug-sept) each year.

Came to mention these. They fly off the shelves, but are just SO. DARN. GOOD.

There’s a second Mexican grower now, so they’re actually available right now as well. IIRC, the Mexican ones are available June-July, so you actually have a chance of finding them June to September now. I actually got a package in mid-May this year.

There’s another grape whose name I always forget that’s excellent as well. They’re a seedless Concord variants that’s super jammy and easy to eat. The company that sells them here puts an inexplicable picture of a dinosaur on the container.

[puzzlegal]

I don’t love the cotton candy grapes, but I do love muscats, and they are seasonal, too.

[pulykamell]

@puzzlegal

I don’t love the cotton candy grapes, but I do love muscats, and they are seasonal, too.

I had the cotton candy grapes for the first time last week. Apparently, that’s all they had left at the Walmart my friends went to to pick up supplies for a cookout. They were … interesting. I could see how people like them, but I wasn’t sure what to make of them. There was a base grape flavor, and then some unusual flavor over it, which I guess is the cotton candy part, but not really reminiscent of cotton candy to me. Just some sweet, candy overtone. Still, worth checking out for the different flavor, though not one I am likely to return to.

[Chefguy]

@SmartAleq

Good strawberries are always going to be local because good strawberries are ripened in the field until they’re soft and sweet and as such they don’t transport worth a damn. Here in Oregon we have the Hood variety–they’re an early bearing plant that starts producing in mid to late May and the season for them is over sometime in June but while they’re available they’re amazing. I buy half flats at minimum (six pints) at farm stands and basically live on the things for a month or so.

We also have Rainier cherries, which have started to become more common in other areas as people figure out how good they are and plant trees. Rainier cherries are awesome for the same reason as Hood strawberries–they’re very sweet and bruise easily and because they’re a yellow/blush variety the bruises really show so transporting them more than a couple hundred miles maximum is going to be a logistical nightmare.

To find the best fruits in your area, find local farmer’s markets or roadside fruit stands where fresh picked produce is sold hours after it left the field. You’ll pay a little more but you’re paying the grower directly and giving them all the love for doing the hard work.

Peaches are now on the market. Bought a flat at last Wednesday’s farmers’ market; sweet and juicy.