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Spring is in full swing, so quite a lot of fruit and vegetable delicacies have already appeared on sale, and with them, a load of health in the form of vitamins and minerals. On store shelves and in bazaars, we can find fresh ones:
- spring onion that will add flavor to many dishes
- radish: an excellent addition to sandwiches, salads or … yourself, because you can also eat it as a snack
- the first tomatoes ripening under the Polish sun – although the tastiest varieties are still ahead of us
- lettuce, whose fresh deliveries will accompany us until autumn
- rhubarb
- the asparagus many of us were waiting for with the same impatience as strawberries
In the coming days (well, maybe rather weeks) we can also count on:
- the first heads of white cabbage and Chinese cabbage
- strawberries, fruits that always appear too late and disappear too early!
- strawberries
- gooseberry – which will initially be suitable for preserves, but in a month or two it will be easy to eat raw
- beetroot, from which we can make not only delicious borscht, salad for dinner, but even delicious vegetarian carpaccio
- onions
- green and sugar peas, which are an excellent source of protein and vitamins
- cauliflowers – maybe still not the biggest, but already fresh
- cucumbers
- even more tomatoes 😉
- by
- spinach
- cherries
- eggplant (which in Poland is grown almost exclusively in greenhouses, but if we think about ecology, it is worth reaching for local production)
- broccoli – a symbol of real, healthy cuisine
- chanterelles, which many mushroom lovers probably long for
Even later – there will be fruit from Polish orchards: apples, pears, plums, as well as new potatoes and carrots. Nothing but throw yourself into this vitamin feast and eat? Unfortunately, not necessarily.
A diet that takes into account seasonality
Some vegetables and fruits appear seasonally in menus. Thanks to this, we can benefit from their numerous advantages and benefits. In addition, as part of one menu, we get access to 5 types of diet: classic, veg, veg + fish, gluten-free and dairy-free. A convenient shopping list, exchanging recipes for your favorites, the category of ready meals and unlimited contact with a dietitian are just a few of the benefits that you get with the Tasty Tailored diet menu. The whole offer: https://.pl/dieta/online-5w1.
Controversial early vegetables
Although fresh vegetables and fruits are tempting with their appearance and contrast with those from last season that spent the winter in cold stores and warehouses,… not all that glitters is gold.
The first disappointment may be the taste, which does not necessarily match the appearance. The first spring vegetables mature in greenhouses, where they have the right temperature and protection against pests, but… there is little sun. No wonder, as our cultivation techniques cannot get over this yet: the days in spring are still short and the sun at its zenith is still quite low. Meanwhile, the taste also depends on sunlight, it is largely under the influence of light that plants synthesize sugars and aromatic substances.
The bigger problem is that fertilizers with nitrogen compounds are used too intensively in the cultivation of spring vegetables. As a result, plants grow quickly, but accumulate – especially in the roots and leaves – an excessive amount of nitrates, which in turn are converted in our body into harmful compounds, nitrosamines.
Therefore, the first spring vegetables, unless we have a trusted source, should not be our primary source of vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, we shouldn’t have too many concerns either: from one head of lettuce every now and then, even if it comes from a greenhouse where the grower has overdosed fertilizer, nothing bad should happen.
We won’t have such problems with organic food, unfortunately – this one can be much more expensive.
| If you find – for example, because you don’t have a trusted source of fruit and vegetables – that spring vegetables aren’t for you, don’t worry too much. Fruits and vegetables from the previous season, stored in cold stores and warehouses, lose very little nutrients. The only exceptions are vitamin C and B vitamins, the content of which decreases significantly with storage time. Frozen foods are also a valuable source of nutrients. It is true that after defrosting these products will be as firm as fresh, but when it comes to the content of vitamins and minerals, frozen foods have nothing to be ashamed of. 🙂 That is why it is definitely worth reaching for them to diversify the autumn-winter menu. |
Fortunately, soon the problem will solve itself, because as the temperature rises, fruit and vegetables will appear on our tables from under the cloud 😉 And then you should have no qualms about eating them – especially vegetables – in almost any quantity. Especially those from local suppliers, which is important for several reasons.
Advantages of vegetables and fruits from local suppliers
More natural
Traditionally grown vegetables and fruits usually need less “support” in the form of fertilizers, as they grow in conditions very similar (or even identical) to those they would grow in nature. This also applies to insolation, which, as you already know, is a problem for greenhouse plants in early spring.
However, there is no rose without thorns: plants grown in this way are more vulnerable to attacks by pests, against which farmers often defend themselves with pesticides. Organic products are free from them, but again – these can, unfortunately, cost more.
More ecological
Products purchased from local suppliers are also greener, even if … they do not come from organic farming. There are two reasons: shorter transport and most often – less foil or plastic packaging. The smaller distance that the product travels from the farmer to the store, the less fuel is burnt, in particular – carbon dioxide, which has a warming effect on the climate. The products of local suppliers are also less often packed in plastic cuvettes or foil.
Richer in vitamins
As we mentioned, long storage (including those related to long transport, for example by sea) has a negative impact on the content of vitamin C and B, sensitive to oxidation. Products “straight from the bush” much faster on your plate, so they lose less nutritional value.
| How to buy seasonal products? buy from trusted suppliers or organic / bio food stores check the country of origin – in stores you will find it next to the price or on the product packaging; if in doubt, ask your dealer if you are unsure of the source, do not buy vegetables as soon as they appear – they will likely be greenhouse vegetables |
Richer flavor
You can literally feel the sun in vegetables and fruits grown in the fields 😉 It is true that the taste of the sun is largely due to the presence of carbohydrates, but do not let it deter you. Firstly, they are complex carbohydrates, which are much healthier for us than simple sugars, and secondly – their presence is to some extent “balanced” by the content of dietary fiber.
First a pandemic and now a drought …
Fruit and vegetables grown outdoors are also usually cheaper than their greenhouse or imported counterparts, but this time, unfortunately, the difference may be blurred. The year 2020 apparently does not want to let us go: apart from the pandemic, it has also brought us a drought, which may unfortunately turn out to be record-breaking. Its reasons are mainly the lack of snowfall in winter, and the effect was additionally intensified by the extremely dry spring so far.
| Why does a lack of snow mean drought? Snow is one of the most important factors in soil moistening in early spring. Contrary to rainfall (especially violent rainfall), water does not drain quickly into rivers, but slowly and gradually releases into the soil, moisturizing it. Thanks to this, the plants have better conditions for vegetation afterwards. This year, however, we had exceptionally little snow in the lowlands – there was practically no snow in a large area of Poland. |
This means that all these early fruits and vegetables that could already slowly ripen now have difficult conditions to grow. Unfortunately, this will certainly translate into prices, the more expensive are also imported products, among others because the south of Europe, from where we receive a lot of vegetables and fruits, has been strongly affected by the coronavirus epidemic.
However, we hope that the following months will bring as much rain as needed and that we will be able to make up for some of the losses for agriculture. And if not – we will keep our finger on the pulse and help replace overly expensive or unavailable products! Vegetables and seasonal fruits have many advantages, but also imported products or frozen food can also be the basis of valuable, healthy dishes. We’ll manage!
Meanwhile, we have a calendar of fruit and vegetable seasonality for you and a few recipes – so delicious that they will surely bring you a lot of optimism 🙂