Someone remind me. At a supermarket in the US, is the produce section really stocked with whats in season?
I made my weekly trip to the grocery here and was really struck by the selection. I dont remember it being like this at home.
There were the staples: bananas, apples, lettuce, potatoes.
There were also two kinds of raspberries, 3 kinds of peaches, 2 varieties of nectarines, 2 kinds of canteloupe and an assortment of melons I have no idea what they are. Something labelled as fresh almonds which looked completely mysterious (and inedible) to me. There was even a big bin of okra. Okra! Even the potatoes and onions change with the seasons. So does the kind of artichoke you can get.
Its amazing. No wonder people here eat fresh, seasonal food. Thats whats for sale in the store!
I read somewhere sometime that US groceries stockpile foods out of season in freezers to bring out all thru the year.
Grocery stores here “truck” everything! It’s in season somewhere but not locally! Some things are chilled and kept through the season (like potatoes that are harvested in the fall are kept in cold storage in the far northern reaches of the US and then packed as groceries purchase them through the winter and spring… new crop is harvested in summer in the south and then fall in the north… But WAY too much of the food here is being grown in other countries and shipped to the US while it is in season in those other places…. I am trying to teach myself to eat seasonally and purchase food from local farmers–
I guess I’m getting a little spoiled here. When we return, I definately want to seek out farmers markets to try to get at least some fresh, local, seasonal foods! I do confess, though, I miss having a regular ol’ Idaho potato any day of the year.
This week I noticed that the sweet potatoes were imported from the United States. Gee… wonder how fresh they are? Now that I think about it… this isn’t sweet potato season! (They still tasted good)