What’s in Season?

Here’s a quick guide to growing, buying and storing local fruits and vegetables

By Paula Niño

Photos by Richard M. Brooks

Eating locally grown, seasonal food has many benefits. It helps local farmers and the economy, and rewards your palate with the freshness of recently picked produce. But all too often we forget the abundance of food grown around us — if we even know what grows around us or when.

“Vegetable season runs opposite of the rest of the country,” said Noel Ramos, board member of Slow Food Miami and a tropical fruit grower who lives in Coral Springs. “We plant our vegetables starting in October, and [the season] lasts through the winter until almost mid-April and May. A lot of people are unaware of that, especially the transplants and even some of the big box stores.”

The main fruit season runs from June to October, he said, and peaks at the height of the summer. Most fruit and vegetables can grow here.

“Some of the cold-weather stuff, like lettuce, needs a little more care, but it can still be planted,” said Ramos. “Unless we have an unusually warm winter.”

Here’s a guide to some of the fruits and vegetables now growing in South Florida, and others to look for during the summer.

Dragon fruit

Photo by Ian Maguire

Available from June through November, this striking fruit is sweet and almost crunchy. Pinkish red on the outside, and white with black seeds inside, it can be scooped out of its skin and eaten. Note: The skin is not edible. Dragon fruit also makes a wonderful addition to fruit salads. Keep your eye out for yellow dragon fruit, or pitaya, which is now being grown here. How to buy: Look for even-colored skin. Fruit should give in a little to the touch, but shouldn’t be too soft or mushy. How to store: Dragon fruit is best eaten when you buy it, but it will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. 

Star apple (caimito)

Native to the Caribbean and Central America, this fruit comes in two varieties: green skin with a white inside, or purple inside with dark purple skin. The skin is glossy and leathery, the inside soft and juicy. Best eaten by scooping it out of the skin, which is not edible. You must eat star apples ripe. How to buy: If ready to eat, it will be soft to the touch. How to store: Allow the fruit to ripen at room temperature, then store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator if not consuming immediately.

Sapote

There are many varieties of sapote. Common ones include white, black and mamey. Black sapote, also known as black pudding fruit, grows from December to March. Though it looks a little scary on the inside, it’s a great substitute for dessert. White sapote and mamey grow in the summer from May to July and May to August, respectively. They’re both great in shakes, desserts and fruit salads. How to buy: Buy firm and allow to ripen at room temperature. How to store: Sapote is better eaten fresh. Black sapote can be refrigerated one to two days, mamey one to three days and white sapote up to seven days.

Avocados

Many people are used to seeing Haas avocadoes, the small, dark- and rough-skinned variety. Florida avocadoes are larger, with a smooth, almost shiny, bright green skin. Harvested almost year-round, from June through March, the interior is light yellow and creamy, and the flavor is a little nutty. Try them in sandwiches, guacamole or alone sprinkled with salt. How to buy: Choose fruit free of blemishes or wrinkles. Avocados start ripening only after they’re picked. Don’t squeeze them as that will bruise them inside. A ripe avocado should yield to pressure, but still be firm. It’s best to buy a firm avocado and let it ripen at room temperature at home. How to store: A ripe avocado will last a few days in the refrigerator, but it’s best eaten fresh.

Radishes

Florida is one of the nation’s largest growers of radishes. Most are available year-round. Try the Daikon variety, which looks a little like a white carrot. It has a mild spicy flavor and is packed with nutritional value. It’s good in salads, stir-fries or soups, and peaks in the fall and winter. How to buy: Leaves, if attached, should be crisp and green. Roots should be solid with an unblemished surface. Don’t buy soft radishes. Daikons, like others, should be firm. How to store: Most radishes will last two weeks stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. If bought with the leaves attached, remove them before storing.

Mangos

Here’s a good reason to buy Florida mangos, which grow from June to September: Most mangos you see at the grocery store are brought from other countries and ripened with a hot water treatment, according to Ramos. Basically, they boil them, he said, which kills the flavor. Mangos are great in desserts, fruit salads, salsas and eaten alone with their juice rolling down your forearms. How to buy: Mangos should give a little, but should be firm with unblemished skin. Let your smell guide you on the ripeness. How to store: Mangos continue to ripen after they’re picked. They’re better kept at room temperature until ripe and then can be kept in the refrigerator.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers grow in Florida in the winter, spring and fall. Juicy and refreshing, they’re great in salads, salsas or pickled. Best of all, they’re low in calories since they are 95 percent water. How to buy: Cucumbers must be firm with no soft spots or bulges. How to store: Keep in the refrigerator crisper. Cucumbers last between two or three days.

Bell peppers

Florida’s bell pepper season runs from October to July. Cooked or raw peppers add crunch, color and flavor to salads, stir-fries, pizzas and sauces. Find red, yellow, green, purple and white varieties. How to buy: Look for firm, relatively heavy peppers with shiny skin. Stay away from blemished or bruised skin. How to buy: Store peppers in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to five days refrigerated. Green peppers will typically last longer than red peppers.