You ever bite into a stunning vine-ripened tomato only to have your expectations horribly shattered? Why is that that even Extra Fancy produce, the highest grade ranking, can look so good but taste like, well, I’m sure you can guess.

The reason? A whole lot of deception.

Curious how frequent the words “lies” and “deception” come up when talking about modern food stuffs. 

Q. What month of the year do tomatoes grow in the U.S.?

If you’re like 99% of your peers you’re probably in the middle of asking Siri right now. The answer is July by the way. Curiouser and curiouser.

Why is it that so few of us know when these fruits and vegetables are actually grown? We hibernate them!

Well, sort of. The method used nowadays brings unripe fruits and vegetables down to just above freezing, and then starves them of oxygen. By pumping in huge amounts of nitrogen, overripe fruit no longer turns rancid from oxidation. Pretty cool actually! However, there’s still about 2% oxygen in these high-tech chillers so the fruits picked in July and sold in, let’s say February, have a characteristic staleness.

Red delicious apples are particularly bad about this, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. That “mealy” sponge-like texture that completely ruins the enjoyment of an otherwise perfect apple is a true sign of age.

Now that you do know, you’ll probably start looking for things in season. Easier said then done as our school system has utterly failed in teaching us about harvest times.

No worries, I’ve got your back. Observe, below are charts on seasonal produce. I want you to use them to find out which fruits and vegetables are in season this month (April), answers at the bottom.

Any luck? Here’s some help.

Vegetables

• Zucchini
• Cucumber
• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Snap Peas
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Celery
• Leeks

Fruits

• Avocados
• Guava
• Kiwi
• Pineapple

Thanks to thesweettooth blog for making these, you can buy one HERE.

Be good to each other.

-J. Iufer