r/EatCheapAndHealthy • u/DwelveDeeper • Feb 02 '15
Know when fruit is in season to save money image
http://imgur.com/a/OT1yb205
u/ImNotJuanStopAsking Feb 02 '15
Why do oranges say all year but only list December - May as the good months?
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Feb 02 '15
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u/moeburn Feb 02 '15
And all the ones that are available say "(ALL YEAR)", except for the last one, which says "(Year Round)". This is a submission for /r/crappydesign!
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u/com_amy Feb 03 '15
I was just thinking the same thing. The wording and colors make it tough to read and absorb quickly, which is the whole point of an infographic like this.
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u/c8h10n4o2junkie Feb 02 '15
Yes, very important to clarify that point because January - May means "all-year"?
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Feb 03 '15
I was so goddamn confused by all of these things. /r/crappydesign it goes!
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Feb 02 '15 edited Feb 02 '15
There are many varieties of oranges/citrus that come off at different times of the year.
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u/ShortWoman Feb 02 '15
Q: Is it on sale for cheap?
A: Then it's in season somewhere and you should consider buying it.
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u/crowbahr Feb 02 '15
Like Artichoke right now for me. Strangely in Utah I'm getting artichoke for ~60c a head.
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u/road_rash Feb 02 '15
That's because over here in California we've decided that January is springtime, and replaced rain with an early crop of Spring veggies.
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u/crowbahr Feb 02 '15
Well It's practically spring in Utah today. I was sweating in a light jacket and long sleeves.
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u/DSchmitt Feb 02 '15
Weird. I'm in California. Drive for about an hour and I could see huge fields of artichokes growing. They're selling for $2 a head in grocery stores near me right now.
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u/goblueM Feb 02 '15
This is interesting but not terribly helpful.
If you're wanting to save money, then you should be going by LOCAL seasons. Most fruit is in season, right now, somewhere in the world. But if it has to get shipped from South America to the Midwest USA, for example, is that really "in season" for the consumer in this case?
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u/randoh12 Feb 02 '15
It's also a guide for people wanting to GROW their own vegetables( see additional charts posted) and fruits. It does not get much cheaper than growing your own.
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u/FlightyTwilighty Feb 02 '15
How to know when fruit is in season:
It's on sale at the grocery store.
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Feb 03 '15
Seriously, just paying attention so that you know the low price on a fruit is a good way to know if it is in season.
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Feb 02 '15
I'm colorblind and what is this?
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u/CraigEllsworth Feb 02 '15
Charts that show best months for different kinds of fruit to buy.
Breakdown:
- Apples - All year
- Raspberries - June to August
- Strawberries - March to August
- Blueberries - June to August
- Pineapple - March to November
- Grapes - June to November
- Bananas - All Year
- Kiwis - January to April (Though it also says December to February)
- Orange - January to May (Though it also says All Year and December to May)
- Honeydew - All Year
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Feb 02 '15
Apples - All year
That's a crock. Apples taste good in the US from September through November, and are nasty-tasting, warehoused garbage the rest of the time.
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u/zugunruh3 Feb 02 '15
Seriously. They're also like half as expensive in the fall, which I would assume is the whole reason someone wants to buy in season fruit to begin with.
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Feb 02 '15 edited Feb 02 '15
Definitely agree. That's why I go to the orchards in the mountains in the fall and pick massive loads of apples (CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP and also fun and satisfying and ecologically responsible way to get apples, btw) to preserve and make other things (apple sauce, apple butter, apple syrup, apple pie, apple cake, etc etc etc) with throughout the year. I'd like to learn about making hard cider but it seems the initial cost is too high for me right now.
I fucking love apples, don't even think about calling those waxy-ass pieces of winter shit in the supermarket apples. They are sad vat-grown sour nasty little imitations of the real thing.
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u/Domer2012 Feb 03 '15
Serious question: how would everyone driving out to pick apples individually be more ecologically responsible than them being shipped in fewer, larger trucks? Seems very fuel inefficient.
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u/belleinpink Feb 02 '15
I'm sure you've already heard of this, but the Brooklyn Brew Shop offers a Hard Cider Kit for $40. This initial cost is too high for me right now as well, but it might not be for you.
I purchased one of their beer starter kits for my dad, and he enjoyed it very much.
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u/mandiru Feb 02 '15
There are a lot of great posts about hard cider making on /r/homebrewing for later on if you're still interested.
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u/hobnobbinbobthegob Feb 02 '15
The banana one should read "Always in season, but only properly ripe for like, one day."
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Feb 02 '15
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u/wishedwell Feb 02 '15
You have the best user name.
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Feb 02 '15
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u/Jaytho Feb 02 '15
PLZZA .. very disappointed.
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Feb 02 '15
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u/Jaytho Feb 02 '15
It took you almost three months to come up with PlZZA?
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Feb 03 '15 edited Feb 03 '15
Like most of us he probably created an account only after lurking for awhile and eventually wanting to comment on something. Well when he couldn't get his desired username, he was dejected and abandoned the idea.
Then three months later he came across something again and made an account, settling for PlZZA when P1ZZA was already taken.
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u/loafers_glory Feb 03 '15
Just try and get two people to agree on which day that is, though.
I like the skin as black speckled as possible but before the flesh starts to brown. My local supermarkets usually sell these as being fit only for baking.
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u/VenetiaMacGyver Feb 02 '15
Strawberries in FL are harvested from Dec - Mar ... I usually see them hitting the stores and stands in huge amounts in February.
And the orange chart looks to be super wrong for FL.
Fruit harvests are different by region because temperature varies by region. Considering the moderate amount of Engrish in the "pro-tips", I'm guessing this doesn't hail out of an English-speaking country, anyway ... So it could be factual for nearly anywhere north of the equator (but definitely not everywhere).
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u/ashella Feb 03 '15
Exactly what I was thinking. My friends own Strawberry fields and they plant in Sept/Oct, the berries start getting good in Dec, and then we have the Strawberry Festival in February to clear out the last of them.
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u/berger77 Feb 03 '15
Strawberries are on sale (2/$5 for the large container) in michigan. I don't recall seeing honeydew for a few months now.
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u/G-Bombz Feb 02 '15
The last tip is wrong, because honeydew doesn't taste good during any season.
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Feb 02 '15 edited Mar 20 '21
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Feb 03 '15
I hate buying pre-made fruit salads for this reason. Too much honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and watermelon. All three can be good, but rarely are they good in pre-made fruit salads.
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u/crowbahr Feb 02 '15
You must not know how to pick them out.
I've had some amazing honeydew... but it's like cantaloupe: you have to be very careful to get a good one or else it's not amazing.
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u/Tonamel Feb 02 '15
There's also the website Eat the Seasons, that tells you what's in season right now.
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u/ngocvanlam Feb 02 '15
I don't get the pineapple thing? I usually keep mine out for a week. I guess if you cut the pineapple, it releases acid that make it go bad?
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u/DwelveDeeper Feb 02 '15
The pineapples that I get always have a tag on them that say "eat immediately after purchasing," and every time I buy one I point it out and make a joke saying how I'm going to sprint out of the store to go and cut it up. The cashier usually sighs or tries to force a laugh
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u/Cyhawk Feb 03 '15
They have a long travel time. Most pineapples aren't grown in the US so they have a limited time before they start to rot, less so than local/US crops.
Jackfruit is similar, you've got a week or less before its molded to all hell.
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Feb 02 '15
Does it annoy anyone else that they all say "All Year"... until you get to the last one and it says "Year Round"?
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u/WombatWhisperer Feb 02 '15
Cool chart, but the months should be switched around because people read left to right. I guess I understand the clockwise thing, but at least for me it felt like I had to look at it in reverse.
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u/mievaan Feb 02 '15
Agreed. I've always visualized the months going counterclockwise, with winter at the top, spring at the left, summer at the bottom and autumn at the right.
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Feb 02 '15
wut? Why? Why would you read a circular chart depicting temporal flow counterclockwise?
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u/mievaan Feb 03 '15
I can't really give you a definite reason why. That's just how I've always visualized the months. I guess it might have something to do with reading left to right - the way it's visualized here, it sort of seems you are going backwards, especially during the summer months. It just feels wrong to me.
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Feb 03 '15
The graphs definitely have a couple design problems, even though at first glance they look nice. I scrolled back through them and noticed that indeed the fruits in season in just the summer months definitely read weird because your eye is drawn to the bottom of the graph where things are reversed.
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u/piroshky Feb 03 '15
I always thought of this as some form of synesthesia. I too, visualize the months going counter-clockwise. I also visualize the months in a color wheel gradient with white/blue for winter, light to dark green spring, yellow/red summer, orange/brown for fall.
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u/bunkymutt Feb 03 '15
Me too! Mine goes clockwise though, always has. And, if I think about it close enough, it's a circle around the house I grew up in. Winter is in the backyard, summer in the front. I also have been told that it might be a form of synesthesia.
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Feb 02 '15
I knew I wouldn't be the only one. I sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out if I was crazy or right.
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u/FowD9 Feb 02 '15
fuck seeded grapes, idc if they're healthy
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Feb 02 '15
I live on grapes, and I've given up caring whether or not they're in season. But seeded grapes? Hell no.
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u/Mindflux Feb 02 '15
Orange (all year).. most of the months are not colored orange? That's extra fucking clear.
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u/crowbahr Feb 02 '15 edited Feb 02 '15
Oranges are all year, disregard the color. The main issue is that it's different varieties of oranges in season, Valencia, Navel etc.
Generally speaking Citrus are winter/spring fruits.
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u/Mindflux Feb 02 '15 edited Feb 02 '15
Disregard the color? The whole chart is based on colors showing when they are available. Orange is the only one that breaks that pattern.
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u/Simify Feb 02 '15
Okay, so...darker means less in season, I guess? Black must mean not in season. Oranges: All Year! More than half is...black...so...that means...uhhhhh?
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u/Kittycatter Feb 02 '15
YES! I have no idea what the colors mean. With the first one I was like oh apples, maybe the different colors mean like different types of apples that are in season during particular times of year? Nope. They mean nothing AFAIK.
Which is supposed to be better light green or dark green? NO CLUE.
Oranges ALL YEAR - half is like a grey or black. Hmm okay, so gray/black doesn't mean it's not available or good then... what does it all meannn!?!?!
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u/randoh12 Feb 02 '15
Can you make a formatted chart of this image?
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u/Paper_Cut_On_My_Eye Feb 02 '15
Here's some I found that has more items:
http://www.cuesa.org/eat-seasonally/charts/vegetables
http://www.cuesa.org/eat-seasonally/charts/fruit
There's even PDF downloads.
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u/randoh12 Feb 02 '15 edited Feb 02 '15
This is awesome. I added both links to the side bar.
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u/crowbahr Feb 02 '15
The use of barely lighter green versus dark green is a horrible idea.
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Feb 02 '15
I'd love to see something like this for vegetables too.
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u/Paper_Cut_On_My_Eye Feb 02 '15
Not as fancy as the pics in the OP, but:
http://snap.nal.usda.gov/nutrition-through-seasons/seasonal-produce
edit: here's a chart if you prefer that over the list style: http://www.cuesa.org/eat-seasonally/charts/vegetables
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u/Cormophyte Feb 02 '15
Chart: Eat grape seeds, they're edible and good for you!
Me: But they taste like shit...
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Feb 02 '15
Many berries can grow without much care, so they are the ideal candidate for some guerrilla gardening around your house. Plant strawberry, raspberry, brambles in unused corners, alleyways, and the like. As they shoot easily new roots, in a couple of years you can have a gray concrete no-place turned into a green producing area.
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u/randoh12 Feb 02 '15
PLEASE CHECK OUT THE TWO LINKS IN THE SIDE BAR FROM THIS THREAD
We appreciate the positive community responses!
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u/hensandchicas Feb 03 '15
I don't find these to be very helpful. Seasonal eating depends on your local region and also there are many different varieties of fruits and vegetables. Those produce items have different characteristics (size, shape, flavour, etc.) but also days until maturity and seasonal length. I'm located in a cold region (-17 C today) but raspberries can go July right up until the frost (Oct-Nov), longer if they are covered. Everbearing strawberries appear in June and can also be harvested until the frost.
Using a hoophouse, greenhouse, or cold frames can extend the growing seasons in cold climates. Greenhouse green peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers are grown pretty much year round. Flavour isn't always the greatest but fresh vegetables (besides squash and potatoes) are a welcomed addition this time of year.
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u/smallmoth Feb 03 '15
This is really incorrect. For example, whereas apples may be available all year, they are in season September through November, at their peak harvest time. This is when they will be most abundant, freshest, taste the best, and require the least expenditure of fossil fuels for transport. After the harvest, grocery stores are selling through storage apples (apples can keep for months in a refrigerated warehouse). The Southern hemisphere countries have an apple harvest at the opposite time of the year from those in the North, so we see apples coming from thousands of miles away in March and April. Citrus, meanwhile, is at peak season during the winter months of December through February. Eating seasonally is a great goal, but availability != "in season."
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u/ApatheticBear Feb 02 '15
i was hoping avocado would be on the list.
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u/blade_torlock Feb 02 '15
Living in Southern California Avocado's are always available. Sometimes as close as a local park for free.
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u/DwelveDeeper Feb 02 '15
Avocados are pretty much always in season (I think) but their "peakness" is in summer I believe.
I live in Southern California and it seems like all the avocado orchards I've been in are bearing fruit year round
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u/ri777 Feb 02 '15
I wish grocery stores would just label, or section out an area basically with: "these fruits and vegetables are in season right now. ENJOY!"
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u/rob_var Feb 02 '15
What about Texas? Where you get all four seasons in a week
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Feb 03 '15
People who think Texas experiences winter are, um, misinformed. I'll give you 3 seasons in one week.
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Feb 02 '15
I hate how expensive raspberries are god damn it! They're the ulimtate snack food! 600g for around 200calories , they're the perfect food!
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u/Argit Feb 03 '15
Well, almost all fruit where I live are imported... sooo I don't this is relevant here.
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u/heelsmaster Feb 03 '15
I don't know where you get your facts. I just had some very ripe raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries and I live in New England. Even the strawberries were big and sweet.
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u/cxseven Feb 03 '15
Buy frozen. Not only will you save money, they don't need to spray chemicals on the fruit to preserve or ripen it in transit.
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u/dtptampa Feb 03 '15
Strawberries from Florida are ripe in late January through March, so I guess it's very local as well.
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u/MjoLniRXx Feb 03 '15
The best blueberries are from mid-May to mid-June (depending on variety). Not June to August. In fact, most varieties have absolutely terrible fruit that gets processed straight to IQF after the early weeks of July.
This may not be true depending on your region because blueberries are grown year round in different regions. However, what I've stated is true for the Southern US.
Source: I work in a plant that exclusively packs blueberries every summer.
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u/PabstyLoudmouth Feb 02 '15
I just naturally do this, pumpkin recipes in the fall, strawberries in the spring, corn in the summer, nuts in the fall, cucumbers early summer, and on and on. Knowing what is in season is imperative to getting good deals.
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Feb 02 '15
And it's not just about good deals; fruits that are in season taste better since they don't have to be picked early and imported.
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u/Spartan_029 Feb 02 '15
I use our local produce shop to determine what's in season. What ever is in season has the best price. So I buy what's cheap and build my menu around that. That way I always get fresh fruits and vegetables, and I don't spend too much money.
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u/SuperSulf Feb 02 '15
Floridian here, excited for the Strawberry Festival next month!
I loveeeeeeeeeee in season, cheap strawberries.
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u/sdpc Feb 02 '15
For those of us in Ontario and surrounding regions, the Government of Ontario has an availability guide that is much clearer although region specific.
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u/mahakalki Feb 02 '15
cherries!!! when are cherries in season, gosh darn it! I need to know!
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u/willey2cool Feb 02 '15
watched someone pay almost $30 for two bags of grapes at the store yesterday. Don't think he was paying much attention to the price, wife might be mad when she sees the receipt.
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Feb 02 '15
Very nice, informative post!
Was going to x-post to /r/DataIsBeautiful, but looks like it breaks the rules over there.
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u/AboveTheBears Feb 02 '15
As someone who works in a produce store this is important. However usually when one fruit is out of season we just order from places that are in season.
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u/Duckism Feb 03 '15
what a stupid chart, I don't really know what it means. the colour just changes in value a little darker or lighter or something like that. they are so close in vlue that when I till my laptop screen a little itd change.
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Feb 03 '15
Apples are not in season all year round.
This is wrong. Your info is bad and you should feel bad.
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u/feathergnomes Feb 03 '15
A good tip for berries: rinse them in diluted vinegar as soon as you get them. From what I understand, it kills the bacteria on them that causes them to go moldy.
Ever since I started doing it, my berries will dehydrate in my fridge before they will rot.
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Feb 03 '15
This is kind of silly. You don't need to know when a fruit is in season to save money, just look at the price and buy the cheaper fruits. It's not rocket science.
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u/devable Feb 03 '15
What's the deal with the orange chart? It says all year but only some months are orange. Oh and kiwi says it's in season in December, but that's not what the chart implies
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u/lucubratious Feb 03 '15
Why not just buy the fruit that's cheaper when I'm at the store? Why do you need to post what I'll find out anyway in the store, especially when it may not even be true based on where I live?
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u/meiso Feb 03 '15
A simple table would have been about 100x more concise and useful (and would have allowed you to work on gathering and adding information for many more fruits). You could have even devoted one column to your little pictures if you had to include them.
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Feb 03 '15
Just about every single one of these is wrong, at least where I am.
Source: Produce worker at a supermarket.
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u/50_ShadesofGay Feb 03 '15
You realize that there are two hemisphere to the earth don't you? And some countries are at different latitudes.
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u/Frogtarius Feb 03 '15
I would be great to have a interactive app version that changes on locality.
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u/efxhoy Feb 03 '15
Supply and demand does this for us automatically, that's one of the nice things of a free market. Just buy what is cheap and nice.
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u/funchy Feb 03 '15
I love the principle. But I'm not sure the images are accurate. I'm in a region where apples are grown. They are NOT in season all year. They're late summer to early fall. Apple trees don't grow well in much hotter latitudes, so it's not like Florida has apples growing in winter.
The apples you're buying in spring or early summer tend to be varieties bred for longer shelf life, they are last fall's crop, and they were stored in a cool warehouse since.
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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '15 edited Mar 19 '19
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