“Tis the Season for Seasonality?

4 years ago

I was watching one of those holiday baking shows on Food and a contestant was dinged for making little turkeys as decorations out of strawberries because strawberries are for the wrong time of year. ???? I think I missed something. Maybe they're not for November in Michigan (North state famous for great produce), but even when I was a kid, before all the long distance growing seasons, we had strawberries in Nov. and Dec. as holiday treats. I think they may have been hot house grown, and relatively expensive, but good. Yeah, this is Southern California, and our growing seasons are longer and at different times than the snowy North, even with the hot houses, but if they were so out of season, why did the person who made the turkeys even have them available on set? Was this a trap?

I was in Germany in Dec. when I was young and they had pineapples for a Christmas treat. I assume they were flown in, given the price, but people were buying them. Then there's the tradition of the oh, so valuable orange in the stockings because they were such treats (and travelled and stored well, as do pineapples).

I posit that out of season And exotic fruits are themselves a holiday tradition! What do you think?

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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

4 years ago

Once upon a time produce used to be very seasonal. Not so much now when imports provide just about any produce at any time of year. And relatively inexpensively as well.

About the only berries with any holiday seasonality are fresh cranberries.....I can get fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and even blackberries at any time of year.

I much prefer locally grown produce and that is determined by season. But to dun someone because they used strawberries in a holiday cooking competition is ridiculous when they are available in every grocery store around at ALL times of the year!!

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Comments (10)

CA Kate z9
4 years ago
Strawbewrries are out-of-season in CA too… I think. The strawberries I’m seeing in the stores are all from Mexico.

I was hoping for kumquats, but I think I’m a little early.

I remember pineapple being available in Nebraska for Christmas. Surely not grown there, but a holiday thing none-the-less.

Oranges and and nuts in the stockings, and maybe some chocolates too. Different world.
nancyjane_gardener
4 years ago
It seems if they offer them as an ingredient, they shouldn't be dinged for using them!
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Ollie Jane, that's exactly what I've experienced too. If a school or whatever wants or needs money, asking for money is most direct and more productive than asking for hundreds of boxes of brownies. Sense of community? Meh. I think this comment above is coming from two people who may not themselves have raised children of their own. Our experience with our children (more than two) and many schools through the years was that a shocking number of parents couldn't care less about their kids' schools, the teachers and admin, their fellow parents, etc. Those that do have involvement often do so as a social activity without having much real interest or concern about the accomplishments of the school, without much or any value-added ideas to contribute, and with few thoughts generally about how to help the schools do better. Edit to add: My point was, "sense of community" sounds warm and fuzzy and may apply in some cases. But in my experience, that was uncommon in our experience but there were one or two exceptions. One school that was not an exception was a charter school. For a reason that doesn't matter, one of our kids spent two years at a charter school. At the beginning of the year, the school requested parents attend an evening meeting. It was announced in advance but about 50% were no-shows. They reviewed plans of operation and funding. The principal said that while the school, as a public charter school, got some public funding, it was really in the nature of a private school and the public funding wasn't enough to cover expected expenses. It was astounding to me to hear parents talking at the break about how the charter school was publicly funded, their kids were entitled to attend for free, and they wouldn't comply with the cash request. I asked one why they thought that was the right thing to do in the face of the principal stating that public funding wouldn't be enough. The response - "That's her problem". A good example of the absence of a "sense of community". This was the example I mentioned before where the school asked each family for cash - they hoped for a $50 per student average and they ultimately got it after just a few months. You can't expect to raise tends of thousands of dollars selling cupcakes or raffle tickets.
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amylou321
4 years ago
Oh those shows......

That is a ridiculous whine. They are in season SOMEWHERE. And they were likely sourced from that somewhere. The magic of modern trade.

I think things like that are food snobs looking for reasons to sniff and snark. I cannot watch shows like that anymore. Can we just appreciate that they made a turkey out of a strawberry without going all righteous foodie indignation? I can. I guess the "Expert" judges cannot.

So sorry I did not grow and harvest the sugarcane for this cake myself. No, I did not mill my own wheat for it either......so sorry. No, I did not climb a tree in Madagascar to get the vanilla.......sorry, I am useless and cant cook.....The eggs? No, I cannot tell you the maiden name of the chicken that laid them......and I did not churn the butter either.....
plllog
Original Author
4 years ago
LOL, I do often mill flour for bread, but I sure don't grow the grain!
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I can still buy strawberries in stores here too. They're definitely pricier than during peak season, and not as nice either, so just because I can buy them doesn't mean I will.

And as for citrus, harvest season is usually fall and winter, so it's in season now.

Was there a stipulation for in season foods for the contest?
plllog
Original Author
4 years ago
It's a seasonal themed show, though I can't remember which one. i'm pretty csure they were making Thanksgiving pies. The strawberry turkeys were adoresble. The only knock were that they were too Springy. I wouldn't do strawberry pie for T’day, but why not decor? For many years, we made tons of cookies for Chanukah, but for the mobs my mother bought Swiss fruit torte. December. That's puff filled with pastry custard, and, under the requisite glaze, covered densely with fresh fruit, inc. pineapple, grapes, bananas and kiwi, though I don't for sure remember if it had strawberries. I'm pretty sure there were blueberries, but could be wrong on that. There were all kinds of beatiful fruit.
Lars
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I think of citrus as a winter crop. I always have more oranges, lemons, and limes in the winter than I do in the summer.

I'm not a huge fan of strawberries, but I think that they are always in season in Costa Rica. I was surprised at how ubiquitous they were there.
Islay Corbel
4 years ago
On a day to day basis, we try to eat locally as much as possible but of course, if we want bananas of pineapples, then we have to buy imports. Christmas here is a time to eat lots of exotics like dates and others. So, yes. I agree.
plllog thanked Islay Corbel
bragu_DSM 5
4 years ago
Durian ...

“Tis the Season for Seasonality?

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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