What foods are in season in spring?
There’s no excuse not to enjoy in-season produce
Wherever you are in Australia, spring is a great season to appreciate our beautiful country – the wildflowers are in bloom, the temperature is moderate and there’s an abundance of fresh fruit and veg.
When using spring produce, you can expect a colourful array of sweet, flavoursome fruits – from cherries to mulberries – and crunchy, crispy greens like fennel, green beans and bok choy.
With so many options, there’s no excuse not to enjoy in-season produce, because not only is eating locally-sourced seasonal produce a great way to help the environment, it’s also often cheaper!
Not sure how to combine the strong flavours of spring produce? We’ve partnered with medical doctor and author of The Doctor’s Diet cookbook, Dr Sandro Demaio, to get the lowdown on what you should add to your spring shopping list and simple ways to use these ingredients.
Spring vegetable shopping list
| Artichoke | Fennel |
| Asian greens | Lettuce |
| Avocado | Mushroom |
| Beans | Onion |
| Beetroot | Peas |
| Broccoli | Potato |
| Cabbage | Spinach |
| Carrot | Sweet potato |
| Cauliflower | Tomato |
| Corn | Turnip |
| Eggplant | Zucchini |
With the weather heating up, it’s the perfect time to use this fresh produce to create a zesty salad. Sandro suggests combining a base vegetable with a citrus fruit, like grapefruit or orange to really bring out the best of the flavours.
“This simple salad uses a couple of springtime ingredients, it’s ready in a couple of minutes and feeds an entire crowd.”
“Chop half a fennel into long, thin-shaped shavings. Then peel an orange and a grapefruit. Slice these into thin rings as well.”
"Layer the chopped fennel, orange and grapefruit on a platter."
“Top it off with a generous amount of green fresh olive oil, and of course a little sea salt.”
Spring fruit shopping list
| Apple | Orange |
| Banana | Papaya |
| Cherry | Pineapple |
| Grapefruit | Rhubarb |
| Honeydew | Strawberries |
| Lychee | Starfruit |
| Mango | Watermelon |
| Mulberries |
When it comes to spring fruits, the flavours truly speak for themselves – give them a rinse and you can eat them straight away! Alternatively, check out this apple & cinnamon lunchbox bar recipe or this yummy tropical upside-down pineapple cake to get some tips on baking with spring fruits.
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Dr Sandro Demaio
Dr Sandro Demaio
Co-host of the ABC TV series ‘Ask the Doctor’, author of 30 scientific papers and ‘The Doctor’s Diet’ (a cookbook based on science), Dr Sandro Demaio is an Aussie medical doctor and global expert on non-communicable diseases.
For more articles by Dr Sandro Demaio, check out The Check Up’s dedicated section.