With Thanksgiving and Christmas lunches just around the corner, it is a great time of year for hearty root veg, including Carrots, Parsnips, Swede and Brassicas.

Brassicas include a wide range of common vegetables, such as Cabbages, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Kale, Cauliflowers. Less common items such as Kohl Rabbi, Bok Choi and Kalettes are also part of the brassica family.

They are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and are genuine nutritional powerhouses. Brussels Tops have become far more appreciated in recent years, as they are extremely nutritional and have a really good flavour. Along with British Brussels Sprouts, the Sprout Stalks or trees [above] are also available.         

Kalettes ®(left) should also start shortly, which are a cross between Kale and Brussels Sprouts. They are highly nutritious  with a sweet, nutty flavor and can be grilled, sautéed or even used in salads.

UK Jerusalem Artichokes from Worcs. (left) are now available and well worth the effort of peeling these alien-looking beauties!

UK Chantenay Carrots from Notts (below) are also in full flow now and you can have orange or mixed colours. 

These English Comice Pears (left) from Kent, are exceptional in flavour and huge in size (almost twice the size of an apple). You don’t get many to the kilo, but the amount of juice they contain when eaten ripe is incredible. English Conference Pears are also extremely good currently.

UK Apples are still going strong with Gala and Braeburns probably the pick of the bunch

Still plenty of Winter Squash around along with Rainbow Chard, Romanesque, Spring Greens, Savoy Cabbage and Cavolonero, which are all UK grown.

It’s that time of year when just the aroma of Leafy Clementines is enough. These sweet, Spanish ones are now readily available.

Blood Oranges should start to
appear in December through to
the New Year, although the first
batches usually lack the red
streaks inside.

Providing they are eaten when very ripe, these Kaki (persimmon) below, have an incredible flavour.

Figs are now from South America and although melons have been problematic recently Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Galia and Watermelons should all have decent availability for the remainder of 2018.