Winter fruits in season (2023)

Who doesn't like a great piece of juicy ripe fruit; Like when you bite into that perfectly ripe pear and the juice starts trickling down your chin? Or this clementine that's so cute you'll grab another and another. There's an abundance of colorful winter fruits to snack on or spice up your smoothies, salads and recipes.What fruits are in seasonI bet you can guess.

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While these fruits overlap with other seasons, their peak season is winter. Winter fruits are bright, colorful, and super nutritious.

Why eat seasonal produce?

• Eating seasonal fruit gives you the best choice of fresh and naturally ripened produce, perfectly suited for consumption.
• Most fruits are available year-round, but by eating seasonally, you're guaranteed to get the best the fruit has to offer in taste, texture, and nutritional value.
• Buying seasonal fruit is cheaper because there is more of it.
• If you buy fruit from your local farmer, you can buy or pick fruit at the peak of its maturity. Plus, buying local supports farmers in your area.

December and January are the months for citrus fruits

• Grapefruit- red, pink and white and grapefruit - this super nutritious fruit has the most water of any fruit. Choose the heaviest of these fruits for the best flavor as there is more sugar to give a sweeter fruit.
• Lemons -Did you know that lemons come from limes?There are 25 types of lemons, but the Eureka, Lisbon and sweeterMeyer lemons with their floral flavor are the most popular and all very nutritious.
  • Look for thin-skinned lemons for a juicier fruit.
  • Even though you can buy lemons all year round, they taste best in the winter months.
  • Be sure to check out this helpful posthow to freeze lemons.
• Lemons -Limes have the most acidic of all fruits and are prized for their flavor of juice and zest. Try adding lime juice to drinks, and the juice and zest to Asian, Mexican, and Indian dishes.
• oranges- Cara Cara, blood oranges and navel oranges are all valued for vitamin C and minerals. Eat all types of oranges during their peak season from December through April for the sweetest, juiciest fruit. Oranges have so many uses.
  • Oranges are the best snack ever. Just peel and eat!
  • Make orange juice to brighten up your mornings.
  • Grate the zest and add to all types of baked goods and recipes.
  • Make candied orange peel for a sweet dessert.
  • Homemade orange marmalade is easy to prepare.
• tangerines- Sumo, Satsuma, Clementines, Tangelos, Mandarins - Think Snack!!!! These easy-to-peel citrus fruits make a perfect grab-and-go snack, pop a few in your lunch box. These super cute tangerines are kid friendly too!
• Kumquats -I know you're asking what is a kumquat? About the size of an olive, these tiny orange fruits are slightly tart. You can even eat the kumquat whole, or we love slicing it up and adding it to salads.

The colors of the citrus fruits

When are pears in season?

You can start buying seasonal pears from late September through January. While pears can be bought year-round, they are at their best when bought in season.

• Rote D'Anjou-Birnen -These sweet dark red pears taste both firm and soft, try them in salads or on a cheeseboard.
• Birnen Forest -have that lovely long neck and a bronze cinnamon color with a crisp texture. Great poached and baked, these pears offer a tangy honey flavor.
• Anjou pears -a real winter pear with the well-known green skin that does not change color during ripening. This is one of the best snack pears due to its wonderful citrus flavor and juiciness.

Make sure you bake thesePear appetizersfor your next meeting. They're so easy to make with puff pastry for a delicious bite-sized snack.

winter pears

Persimmon

This unique orange or yellow fruit is round with a pointed end and is available from October to January. Fuyu and Hachiya are two common varieties and are a valuable fruit as you can only get them in winter.

TheHachiya Persimonehas an orange-red color. This fruit is initially very hard and then matures into an almost jelly-like texture that is deliciously juicy and tastes similar to an apricot or peach. Just make sure they are very ripe when you eat them.

Thefuyu Persimonehas more of a yellowish color and is slightly smaller. Eat this persimmon when it's firm and crunchy, you'll enjoy that pear-like flavor and this variety is best for cooking and baking.

Late season apples in December and January

These apple varieties are picked in the fall but remain fresh by being kept in very cool temperatures throughout the winter. These apples are perfect for baking and we love them in itApple Pecan Tart recipe, and also for breakfast if we make it creamyApple Cranberry Oatmeal.

• Braeburn Apples -This is an all-around great apple for eating, baking, or making applesauce. Note the skin mottled with red, yellow and orange on this medium-sized, slightly sweet and slightly tart-scented apple.
• Cortland apples- These bright red New York apples are a variety of Macintosh apples that make great baking apples and are also delicious on salads and cheese boards. Cortlands have dense flesh and do not brown when cut, but should be eaten or used soon after picking as they do not keep well.
• Fuji apples- This is one of the largest apple varieties originating in Japan and was released in stores in 1962. This sweet and very crunchy apple has dense flesh that has a long shelf life and is one of the most popular apple varieties in the world.
• Honey crisp apples- This fairly new variety of apple was developed in Minnesota and hit stores in 1991 and has grown in popularity. Honey crisps have a firm texture and are both sweet and tart, making them a perfect edible apple. This apple keeps its beautiful golden-red color and stores well.
• Pink lady apples- the first apple to be called by its brand name and variety name is Cripps Pink. This Australian apple was developed in the 1970s. To get the classic Pink Lady apple color, these apples need to be grown in a warm climate with a long growing season.
• Rome beauty apples- these large round apples have a hard red skin which is great for roasting as they keep their shape well. Bite into this crunchy apple that has a whitish-green flesh and a juicy and slightly tart flavor for a wonderful taste. Rome Beauty apples are also known as Rome Reds
• York apples- This long-loved Pennsylvania crooked apple is crunchy and sweet. Apples from York make savory pies or applesauce.

pomegranate

These heavily pitted fruits are available from October to January and are perfect for adding to all kinds of desserts and savory dishes. we love thatPomegranate Fruit Saladall winter long for a colorful and healthy salad. The pomegranate seeds (the seeds) can also be crushed into a highly nutritious juice.

Winter-Obstschale

Cranberries, oranges and pomegranates

Try these one hot oven recipes with winter fruits

• Mandarin Orange Cream Caramel
• Mandarin orange Bundt cake
• Lemon Ricotta Muffins
• Lemon Lime Tart
• Apfel Cranberry Galette

Need helpful fruit kitchen gadgets?

To get the juice from citrus fruits there are three types of reamers, aHand Citrus Reamer, this tool is perfect for quickly adding citrus juice to a recipe. Aanimal numberworks well when juicing a few pieces of fruit and onElectric citrus pressis perfect for those batches of lemonade.

Life in California offers us an amazing variety of fruits. The lemons and grapefruits shown are from my backyard trees. It's so nice to just walk out my door and pick fruit. The apples and pears come from local orchardsApfelbergin Camino, California.

There are so many amazing fruits grown worldwide with different growing seasons. Be sure to check what fruits are available seasonally, where you live, and visit your local orchard or farmers markets.

Great recipes to make yourself

First published: January 26, 2018... Last updated: January 3, 2023

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About Jere'

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to attending cooking school in California, my passion for food never ends. I turn on my oven to bake something for friends and family, and I'm excited to be here on One Hot Oven, sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.