Is eating fruit out of season in your country bad?!


Question: Is eating fruit out of season in your country bad?
Hello, since I live in England, and compared to other countries fruits seem to be "in season" less. I'm trying to eat healthier but I've heard that if I eat fruit from abroad or "out of season", they don't taste as good and have less nutritional benefits, is this true? I'd hate to wait till summer to eat strawberries etc.

Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Obviously if you are eating tropical fruits or fruit that is not grown anywhere close to England then it will not be as fresh as if you had English Strawberries in the summer. In terms of 'is it bad?'. No it's not and the fruit is still good for you. People who tell you it is bad are most likely making reference to the fact that they feel people should eat local seasonal fruit and veg to help out local farmers instead of giving your money to huge international farming companies.



I'm a British chef and this is 'my thing'...eating food within season.

British fruit you should be eating/buying/supporting now is: apples and forced rhubarb is just coming into the shops now. You should also consider frozen British fruits such as currents, blackberries, blueberries and cranberries--have a look in the frozen section and grab a bargain it was likely harvested within the last 8 months and flash frozen! Most British softfruit producers specialise in the frozen market because 'the season' is so short and the packaging so delicate and shelf-life so short.

Several people have already mentioned exotic fruit. Yes, it's also in season...pineapples, citrus fruits and all the usual soft fruits like kiwis, bananas, grapes etc.

Britain might be ligth on fruit at this time of year but really excels in winter vegetables: celeriac, sprouting brocolli, brussel sprouts (still!), parsnips, leeks, swede and beetroot.



It's clearly better to eat fruit and get all the benefits of the vitamins and the fibre etc than to not eat it at all but at this time of year there's not going to be a lot of choice of fresh fruit in England. Maybe a few apples from the autumn if they have been carefully stored but not much else. So , even English fruit is going to be coming out of some sort of chilled storage at this time of year.
Now that we have such enormous variety it would be a shame to restrict ourselves that much so we can enjoy oranges, bananas etc all year round BUT there is still something very special about the sight and the scent of the first truly local strawberries, raspberries, cherries and personally I think they are well worth waiting for.



imported foods are more likely to have preservatives in them, for them to make the journey without rotting. however, it takes just as much nutrients and sunlight for a strawberry in one country to form as it does in our own, so as for nutritional benefits, i shouldn't worry to much. if your bothered about the amount of preservatives you are consuming, i advise you look along the organic range.

[strawberry being an example]



No its not bad. How bad can eating a strawberry be?
If it's flown in from Spain it'll be more summery there, and the fruit will be more in season.

They might not taste as good- fruit needs to ripen on the vine/tree and often it isn't, but that barely dents the nutritional values, just the taste.



It isnt "bad" in terms of your health, but ethically speaking it could be viewed as bad for the reason that you would not be supporting local producers, and contributing to CO2 emissions, in the importation of fruit or veg from abroad.




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