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Fruits and vegetables in season by month: April
Your April’s seasonal groceries should include spring vegetables like asparagus, peas and broad beans. Here’s the list of what’s in season this month.
The mild weather of April is favourable for the ripening of one of the most refined sprouts of this season: asparagus. There are three varieties of this cold resistant vegetable: green, white and purple. Its slightly bitter but scrumptious taste is predominant in many traditional recipes. Asparagus, as well as its wild varieties (wild asparagus and Ferny asparagus) are rich in iron, phosphorus, vitamin A, E, C and group B. They have diuretic properties and contain toxic substances (purines) and oxalic acid that aren’t recommended to those who suffer from kidney disorders. The more they’re fresh, the more they’re tasty. To tell if they are fresh, bend an asparagus spear, if it breaks, it isn’t fresh. Chefs suggest not to boil them too much and to tie them with a string before putting them upright in a pot half full of water, so that the tips stay out of the water and will cook by steaming. Asparagus are easy to digest if they are seasoned with extra virgin olive oil.
This month you can also find…
Beetroot
Sweet and rich in mineral salts, beetroots are highly recommended to nervous subjects and people who suffer from anemia, but they aren’t for people affected by diabetes. Excellent if served raw with salt and olive oil.
Celeriac
Celeriac leaves and sticks are employed in the same way as those of the celery; the root, instead, which is round in Verona celery and oblong in Praga celery can be served raw or steamed. It contains vitamins, iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium.
Rhubarb
Only red stalks are edible (the green parts of the leaf can be lethal!). It contains potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins B2, A and C, proteins and carbohydrates. Rhubarbs are laxative, vermifuge, tonic and stomachic plants and they should be consumed in moderation since they may cause heartburn and constipation.
Chicory
Vitamins, mineral salts and active ingredients are found mostly in wild chicory rather than in cultivated chicory. It contains vitamin A, C, calcium, phosphorus, iron and carbohydrates. It is a natural blood cleanser, effective dermatosis treatment, it lowers sugar levels in the blood and is recommended for people who suffer from anemia.
Fruits and vegetables in season in April
Vegetables
Asparagus, beetroots, opposite-leaved saltwort, broccoli, artichoke, catalogna chicory, carrot, cauliflower, white cabbage, Savoy cabbage, Brussels sprout, chicory, turnip top, spring onion, sauerkraut, watercress, beetroot tops, broad bean, fennel, endive, lettuce, hops, nettle, pea, leek, rhubarb, red radicchio, turnip, radish, rocket, spinach, dandelion, valerianella, pumpkin.
Fruits
Orange, lemon, cedar, apple, pear; at the end of the month early strawberries.
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