What’s in Season? October Produce Guide
In this month’s October produce guide, you will find seasonal fruit and vegetables that are perfectly ripe and at peak freshness this month! Enjoy!
October is the first full month of autumn, which is called harvest season for good reason! The weather is cooling down by now in most areas, which might make you wonder what exactly is best for picking at your local grocery shop or market. Having an October Produce Guide to refer to is a great way to know what fruits and veggies are at their freshest this month, so you can plan your snacks and recipes accordingly.
Knowing what produce is in season each month is a great way to solve the question of “hmmmm, what should I get?” as you wander around your grocery stores’ produce section. Meal planning becomes a snap, and snacks for all is easy! Each season and month has new and exciting options when it comes to fresh produce that is ripe, and October is one of my favorites!
What’s in Season: October Produce Guide
Use this October produce guide as a way to know exactly what delicious fruits and ripe vegetables to buy. The flavors of in season produce will fill you up with tasty snacks and warm meals, also inspiring you to eat more healthy and naturally grown foods!
October Seasonal Fruit
These are the fruits you’ll find at peak freshness in October, so they make a wonderful and healthful addition to your diet this time of year, with their taste reflecting the beauty of this season!
Persimmon
When persimmons are ripe they have a sweet, mild, and rich, almost honey-like taste. They look almost like an orange tomato, and their texture is more like an apricot. A persimmon can be cut in half to spoon the flesh out for eating on it’s own, and they also make a wonderful jam or compote.
Persimmons have antioxidant properties as well as a good amount of vitamins C and A, making them a healthy addition to your autumn diet. They have a unique taste that can be used in a variety of recipes for an authentic fall flavor.
Persimmon Recipes:
Kiwi
Kiwis are ripe beginning in October, and you will know they are ready when they are soft to touch. Kiwi can be eaten on it’s own, either peeled and sliced, or cut in half with the flesh scooped out. If you don’t mind the fuzz and prefer to eat the skin, it’s also a healthy addition to your diet!
Kiwi fruit is high in vitamin C and fiber, and is considered a nutritious superfood. Perfectly sized for a small hand held snack, sliced and topped on yogurt, crackers, in smoothies, or holding their own on a charcuterie board, kiwi is a tasty and wonderful fruit!
Kiwi Recipes:
Gluten Free Vegan Mini Blackberry Kiwi Pies
Pomegranate
Popular throughout the holiday season, pomegranates achieve ripeness in October and store well for several months. You’ll know you’ve found a lovely ripe pomegranate when it is slightly soft and rough on the outside. A smooth and hard pomegranate is not quite ready! While the skins are thick and inedible, the juicy garnet colored seeds inside are tasty, versatile, and uniquely flavored.
Cutting the fruit in half and spooning out the seeds, they can be added to salads, yogurt, oatmeal, in a cocktail drink, or juiced. With their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, these are a festive seed that adds a bit of beauty and flavor to anything you add it to!
Pomegranate Recipes:
Honey Pomegranate Chia Seed Pudding
Winter Salad with Apple and Pomegranate
Banana
Ever popular for toddler snacks, perfect for on the go, sliced, in a pie, dehydrated, thrown into a smoothie, and even used in baking as an egg replacer, bananas are never out of style!
Bananas are a good source of vitamins and minerals, notably potassium, vitamins B6 and C. Most of you likely know that a green hard banana is not yet ripe, while the brown mushy ones that make their way to our freezers for bread making are over-ripe. Yellow with a thin peel is what you want for perfect seasonal ripeness.
Banana Recipes:
Gluten Free Coconut Banana Bread
Pineapple
Pineapple is a juicy, sweet, tart, and delicious fruit that is wonderful on top of yogurt, in a smoothie, in salsa, and grilled. Naturally delicious, it can stand on its own. If the acidity is too much for some, adding to dairy such as yogurt or cottage cheese should help.
Known for aiding digestion and boosting immunity, pineapple is a great food to add to your October rotation. It can be sweet in an upside down cake, added to a savory dish for a bit of tart sweetness, or spiced up in a homemade salsa.
Pineapple Recipes:
Basil Pineapple Ginger Smoothie
October Seasonal Vegetables
There are also vegetables that have their best flavors and tastes in October to keep your eye out for as well. Just like most fruits, you can buy many of these in the stores year-round, but during the month of October it’s important to keep these in your dietary rotation for optimum health!
Pumpkin
Pumpkins are a staple of fall, and seem to represent October in a variety of ways! While pumpkin is technically a fruit, in the culinary world it’s often seen as and used as a vegetable since it is not sweet. Famous for being made into a pie, pumpkin continues to gain popularity in the realm of cooking in the form of, well, everything!
From lattes to cookies, pancakes, breads, roll-ups, granolas, and soups, pumpkin is an all around sweet-or-savory delicious earthy flavor that is often accompanied by warming spices. Pumpkins are nutrient dense and rich in vitamins and folate, making it a welcome addition to any dish you can think of adding it to this season.
Butternut Squash
A gourd similar to pumpkin as it is also technically a fruit, but more often used as a vegetable since it lends itself to more savory flavors, butternut squash has a delicious October taste. Butternut squash can be cut in half and roasted simply to stand on its own, or it can be pureed, added to soups, curries, or even to healthy breakfast cookies.
Butternut squash is rich in vitamins, and is a nutritious and fiber filled way to enjoy the season. Pairing well with flavors like fresh sage, cinnamon, and garlic, this squash makes into a warm and filling meal or side. I like to roast it in cubes, drizzle it with garlic ginger butter, and add it on top of my favorite ramen soup!
Butternut Squash Recipes:
Butternut Squash Millet Fritters
Cheesy Butternut Squash Casserole
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are a brassica related to cabbage, that grows in tall stalks. They look like tiny bite sized cabbages, and are really fun if you can find them on a stalk when you buy them at the store or market. Brussels sprouts can be eaten steamed, roasted, or sauteed.
These tiny gems are healthy with cancer-fighting properties and ability to help regulate blood sugar. Super delicious no matter how they are prepared, brussels sprouts make a wonderful side dish for just about any autumn meal you are preparing!
Brussels Sprouts Recipes:
Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Chickpeas
Brussels Sprouts Salad with Red Cabbage and Sweet Chili Sauce
Broccoli
Packed with vitamins, minerals, and potent antioxidants, broccoli is one October vegetable you don’t want to miss! Broccoli can be eaten raw, simply steamed, or it can be roasted, added to stir fries, or creamed into a soup.
Nutritionally dense and low-calorie, broccoli has a reputation for being a superfood. It is rich in fiber, and supportive of blood sugar regulation as well. Health benefits aside, broccoli is delicious with a unique and mild taste that goes well with just about anything. You’ll know broccoli is ripe for eating when it has a deep green color with tightly packed buds on the head.
Broccoli Recipes:
Gluten Free Bake Garlic Parmesan Broccoli Bites
Cabbage
Cabbage is a brassica that you’ll find in either a leafy green, light green, or dark purple/red color. Known for providing a delectable crunch to anything you add it to, cabbage can be eaten fresh or cooked, and is quite popularly fermented as sauerkraut or kimchi.
Cabbage is packed with nutrients, heart healthy, and a good source of vitamin K. Delicious topping tacos, added to salads, soups, stews, and slaws, cabbage is a versatile fall veggie!
Cabbage Recipes:
October offers so many wonderful and flavorful fruits and veggies, even though the weather is cooling there is still an amazing variety of nutritious earth grown foods available! Being sure that we are utilizing what is ripe and in season gives us the power to claim our own health, while also being inspired by what is most fresh and best tasting for snack and recipe inspiration. No packages required!
In Conclusion
I hope this October Produce Guide inspires you to shop in-season, while also benefiting from the nutritious harvest that awaits us this month. There are so many tasty fruits and vegetables ready to feed you and your family!