BROCCOLI - Tastes better when harvested in the cooler temperatures of fall in most climates.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS - grow on a stalk, and if you see them for sale that way snap them up - they'll last quite a bit longer than once they're cut.
CABBAGE - is bright and crisp when raw and mellows and sweetens the longer it's cooked
CARDOONS - taste a lot like artichokes; look for firm, heavy-feeling specimens.
CARROTS - are available from winter storage from local growers
CAULIFLOWER - may be grown, harvested, and sold year-round, but it is by nature a cool weather crop and at its best in fall and winter and into early spring.
CHICORIES - are cool weather crops that come into season in late fall (and last in temperate climates through early spring). ESCAROLE - is another bitter chicory in season fall and winter.
FENNEL - has a natural season from fall through early spring. HORSERADISH - is at its best in fall and winter. Like so many other root vegetables, however, it stores well and is often available in decent shape well into spring.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES/SUNCHOKES - are brown nubs, that look a bit like small pieces of fresh ginger. Look for firm tubers with smooth, tan skins in fall and winter.
KALE - is like all hearty cooking greens - cooler weather keeps it sweet KOHLRABI -comes into season by the end of fall, but stays at its sweet best into winter.
LEEKS - more than about 1 1/2 inches wide tend to have tough inner cores. The top green leaves should look fresh - avoid leeks with wilted tops. ONIONS - From storage PARSNIPS - look like white carrots and have a great nutty flavor. Look for thinner parsnips, since fatter ones tend to have a thick, woody core you need to cut out. POTATOES - From storage
RADICCHIO - like all chicories, radicchio is more sweet and less bitter when the weather is cool.
RADISHES - (large varieties)
RUTABAGAS - also known as "yellow turnips" and "Swedes" are a sweet, nutty root vegetables perfect in stews, roasted, or mashed with plenty of butter.
SATSUMAS - have loose skins and super-sweet tangerine flavor.
SHALLOTS - From storage
SWEET POTATOES - are often sold as "yams." They store very well and so are available from local sources year-round in warmer areas and otherwise from late summer through winter. TREVISO - is the longer, slimmer, more elegant version of radicchio.
TURNIPS - have a bad rap they don't deserve. Fresh turnips have a sharp but bright and sweet flavor. Look for turnips that feel heavy for their size.
WINTER SQUASH - of all sorts comes into season in early fall and usually last well into winter.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS - grow on a stalk, and if you see them for sale that way snap them up - they'll last quite a bit longer than once they're cut.
CABBAGE - is bright and crisp when raw and mellows and sweetens the longer it's cooked
CARDOONS - taste a lot like artichokes; look for firm, heavy-feeling specimens.
CARROTS - are available from winter storage from local growers
CAULIFLOWER - may be grown, harvested, and sold year-round, but it is by nature a cool weather crop and at its best in fall and winter and into early spring.
CHICORIES - are cool weather crops that come into season in late fall (and last in temperate climates through early spring). ESCAROLE - is another bitter chicory in season fall and winter.
FENNEL - has a natural season from fall through early spring. HORSERADISH - is at its best in fall and winter. Like so many other root vegetables, however, it stores well and is often available in decent shape well into spring.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES/SUNCHOKES - are brown nubs, that look a bit like small pieces of fresh ginger. Look for firm tubers with smooth, tan skins in fall and winter.
KALE - is like all hearty cooking greens - cooler weather keeps it sweet KOHLRABI -comes into season by the end of fall, but stays at its sweet best into winter.
LEEKS - more than about 1 1/2 inches wide tend to have tough inner cores. The top green leaves should look fresh - avoid leeks with wilted tops. ONIONS - From storage PARSNIPS - look like white carrots and have a great nutty flavor. Look for thinner parsnips, since fatter ones tend to have a thick, woody core you need to cut out. POTATOES - From storage
RADICCHIO - like all chicories, radicchio is more sweet and less bitter when the weather is cool.
RADISHES - (large varieties)
RUTABAGAS - also known as "yellow turnips" and "Swedes" are a sweet, nutty root vegetables perfect in stews, roasted, or mashed with plenty of butter.
SATSUMAS - have loose skins and super-sweet tangerine flavor.
SHALLOTS - From storage
SWEET POTATOES - are often sold as "yams." They store very well and so are available from local sources year-round in warmer areas and otherwise from late summer through winter. TREVISO - is the longer, slimmer, more elegant version of radicchio.
TURNIPS - have a bad rap they don't deserve. Fresh turnips have a sharp but bright and sweet flavor. Look for turnips that feel heavy for their size.
WINTER SQUASH - of all sorts comes into season in early fall and usually last well into winter.
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