In-season produce can cost up to 30% less than the same item out of season, and it almost always tastes better — a peak-summer tomato and a shipped-in January one are barely the same vegetable. Eating seasonally isn't a moral project; it's the lazy path to fresher flavor, lower grocery bills, and natural variety across the year. The catch is knowing what's actually in season where you are, which shifts constantly. Here's a rough northern-hemisphere map to cook by.
Spring (March-May)
The hungry-gap thaw: asparagus, peas, radishes, spring onions, artichokes, and tender greens. Cooking is light — quick blanches, simple sautés, bright vinaigrettes. It's the perfect moment to practice blanching and shocking, which keeps spring vegetables vivid and crisp-tender instead of grey.
Summer (June-August)
Peak abundance: tomatoes, zucchini, corn, peppers, stone fruit, berries, and herbs by the fistful. This is the season to cook the least — raw salads, quick grills, things that get out of the produce's way. A tomato at its peak needs little more than salt and good olive oil.
Autumn (September-November)
The pivot to heartier food: winter squash, apples, pears, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and the first root vegetables. Roasting comes into its own — high heat caramelizes the sugars in squash and sprouts beautifully. If your roasted vegetables ever come out soggy, our roasting guide is the fix.
Winter (December-February)
Storage crops and citrus carry the season: potatoes, carrots, cabbage, kale, leeks, beets, and bright winter citrus. This is braise-and-stew weather, when long, slow cooking turns cheap, tough cuts and sturdy roots into deeply savory comfort. Citrus does double duty, adding acid that lifts heavy winter plates.
Let your plan follow the calendar
Keeping a mental seasonal calendar is a lot to ask on a Tuesday. Mise's plans build the week around what's local and in season near you, so the produce in your plan is the produce that's fresh and affordable that week — no chart-checking required. Seasonal eating becomes the default rather than a project.
Cook with the calendar and you get better flavor and lower bills almost by accident. The seasons do the menu planning; you just have to follow along.