No such thing as out of season

Hardly a day goes by it seems, without fruit and vegetables being in the news.

Great, you might think, but there have been continuing references this week to produce being “out of season” - giving the impression that it must therefore be inferior in some way and not worthy of consideration.

The reality of course is that whether it be from Tunbridge Wells or Timbuktu, whatever arrives on retail shelves is in season at source. And if growers and distributors have got it right, then it should arrive in excellent condition and be a joy to eat.

Certainly with today’s temperature-control regimes starting as soon as produce is picked, enhanced by sophisticated packaging, there should be no excuse (although it is still possible to find) for rock-hard stonefruit or avocados which will never mature even if they are marketed as produce which can be ripened at home.

That aside, if I have a secret wish it is that retailers would do more to extol the benefits of seasonality across the world as a way of increasing knowledge and satisfaction on one hand, and reducing ignorance on the other.

Extraordinarily there are few crops that enjoy a natural reputation among consumers. In my experience it is hard to identify anything else in produce that beats the excitement associated with the first UK asparagus, soft fruit or Jersey Royal potatoes.

There is little appreciation of the fact that southern hemisphere apples or US strawberries - often viewed as little more than commodity products - can taste as good as anything else on offer, and that they are merely available at a different time of the year.

And before anyone reaches for the phone to argue the case patriotically that Cox, for example is the best eating apple in the world, let me clarify the second element of my argument.

Taste and texture are probably the most subjective aspects in the evaluation of any food and they open up wide differences of opinion. But in themselves they add a further sparkle to the eating experience.

Take for example the fact that some consumers like hard, crunchy pears while others are more than happy to agree with the old trade adage that the best place to eat pears is in the bath. The good news is that some multiples are actually identifying these differences on their packaging.

Additionally, the emergence of ready-to-eat selections of fruit on retail shelves reflects that maturity has at last been recognised as playing an important role in getting consumers to enjoy maintaining and even surpassing the 5 A DAY target.

Now that the UK has become a nation of wine-drinkers there is much which could be applied to both sectors. Tipplers who prefer Burgundy to Claret, are not regarded as Philistines, anymore so than those who prefer sparkling wine to Champagne.

As with the produce industry the choice on offer is almost endless and when it comes to wine, a good year is only a longer season.