What’s in Season in December
‘Tis the season to jolly and merry! The holidays certainly help distract us from the beginning of the cold winter months, but a new month, and especially a new season, means a change of in season produce. With fall changing over to winter, we see some of those late summer/early fall fruits and veggies leaving and welcoming the winter squash, citrus fruits, and root vegetables. If you love keeping track of what’s in season then keep on reading to find out more of what’s in season in December!
What’s in Season in December: Fruits
- Apples – Check out all my apple bakes as we see the first few apples trees bearing fruit
- Asian pears
- Bananas
- Clementines
- Cranberries for my gluten free cranberry custard cake
- Grapefruit
- Kiwi
- Kumquats
- Lemons are great especially with lavender with my lemon lavender tart!
- Limes for my coconut lime cupcakes
- Mandarins
- Meyer Lemons
- Oranges along with every other citrus fruit!
- Pears – Enjoy an amazing breakfast with these caramelized pear crepes
- Persimmons
- Pomegranates top off my citrus pavlova
- Pomelos
- Prickly pear
- Quince
- Tangerines
What’s in Season in December: Vegetables
- Artichokes
- Beets
- Broccoli & broccoli rabe
- Brussel sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots – Try my unique saffron carrot cake
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chestnuts – Turn this into a dessert with my chocolate chestnut cake!
- Chicory
- Collard greens
- Endive
- Fennel
- Garlic – Use seasonal herbs and garlic for my garlic rosemary pull apart bread.
- Kale
- Leeks
- Mushrooms
- Mustard greens
- Olives – enjoy this easy, minimal effort, rosemary olive no knead bread
- Parsnips
- Potatoes
- Pumpkin – Enjoy all of my pumpkin recipes
- Radishes
- Rutabaga
- Shallots
- Sunchokes
- Sweet potatoes
- Turnips
- Winter squash
What sort of things are good to bake in December?
With cold weather here and the general excitement for so many delicious holidays, it’s great to jump head first into winter baking! With so few fruits in season with colder temperatures, it can be hard to find something to bake, but with pumpkin still here and citrus coming in to brighten everything up you can make some hearty or fruity pies and tarts. Also, with Christmas cookie season here, zesting some citrus fruits into your usual cookies will give your cookies a little pop. And since it’s colder, I tend to focus on heartier and cozier dessert recipes that I can curl up under a blanket with.
Why Bake and Cook Seasonally?
Seasonal produce has a tendency to inspire different types of bakes and cooks as weather can have a lot to do with what people are craving. Hot weather inspires lighter dishes and winter inspires cozier recipes. Seasonal produce is usually harvested at its peak ripeness which means it has higher nutrient levels. More importantly, when produce is picked at that level of peak ripeness during its natural harvest season, it will have a stronger, fresher flavor profile. Plus, it tends to be a more sustainable way of cooking and baking. Read more reasons why here!
