What Fruit Is In Season

What Fruit Is In Season Now?

We set your region and month automatically from your device. Change either one to check any location or any month.

• AppleFuji, Pink Lady, Braeburn
• PearBosc, Comice at their best
• Grape (late)Very sweet, all varieties
• Fig (late)Very soft and sweet
• PersimmonSoft = sweetest
• Pumpkin (early)For cooking
• Pomegranate (early)Juice-filled seeds
• QuinceFragrant
• Stone FruitQuality very poor

Seasons shift by a few weeks depending on region and weather. Queensland runs ahead of Tasmania, and southern England runs ahead of Scotland. A few fruits, including papaya, passionfruit and grapefruit, are listed as available all year in Australia, so they don't get a month of their own below.

January: citrus up north, a crowded fruit bowl down south

North of the equator, January belongs to citrus. GoodtoKnow's seasonal calendar has oranges, lemons and clementines at their best, with pears and pomegranates still around. Kiwifruit joins in from mid-month, and rhubarb starts turning up, pink and slightly ridiculous against the grey.

In Australia it's a different kind of month. Mangoes, lychees, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, berries, melons and passionfruit are all on the Australian January list at once. If mangoes are your priority, our guide to when mangoes are in season sorts out the varieties.

February: a quiet month up north, grape season starting down south

February in the north is mostly a continuation of January. Citrus, kiwifruit, pomegranates and passion fruit are still available, and rhubarb is at its pinkest.

Australia's peaches, nectarines and plums are at their juiciest, mangoes and melons are still going, and grapes and figs arrive for the first time. The first pears show up too. If you're trying to work out which mango deserves your money, we compared Kensington Pride, R2E2 and Calypso by sweetness.

March: thin pickings north, autumn arriving south

Not much is new in the northern fruit bowl this month. Kiwifruit and rhubarb carry most of the load, and the last oranges and lemons are near the end of their main season.

Australia's autumn fruit begins to appear. Early apples and pears turn up alongside grapes and figs, and the more unusual fruit follow, including persimmons, pomegranates, feijoas and nashi pears. Mangoes are on their way out, with the last of the season's mangoes still around.

April: rhubarb and kiwifruit up north, mandarins arrive down south

Northern April is rhubarb, kiwifruit and the first apricots, though asparagus gets most of the attention.

In Australia, Imperial mandarins arrive, and apples and pears are in full swing, with lemons and strawberries looking good too. Quinces, persimmons, pomegranates, custard apples and feijoas round out the month.

May: cherries begin, mandarins peak

Cherries and apricots start showing up in the north, and the kiwifruit keeps going. Rhubarb is coming to the end of its run.

In Australia, mandarin season is properly underway, and Victoria is harvesting Pink Lady apples. Custard apples, pears, quinces and feijoas fill out the stalls. Fruit that looks a bit odd on the outside, like custard apple, tends to be very good inside.

June: summer in earnest up north, winter citrus down south

June is when northern berries begin. Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries start to ripen, and cherries and apricots are around too.

Down south it's winter, and the fruit reflects that. Navel oranges, mandarins, lemons and grapefruit lead the way, with kiwifruit, apples, pears and custard apples alongside. New-season Queensland strawberries and Coffs Harbour blueberries also appear in June, which surprises people who assume berries only belong to summer. Our guide to strawberry season explains the Australian pattern.

July: peak summer up north, mandarin season down south

Up north, July is when the sun takes things personally. You walk to the shops and come back feeling like a slab of pork belly that only needs a sprinkle of cumin. The only sensible response is a lot of fruit, cold and slightly excessive, and July has plenty.

Watermelon comes first. It's about 91 to 92 per cent water, so a few wedges are closer to a drink than a snack. The red flesh also carries more lycopene than a raw tomato on average, according to USDA researchers. I eat mine at room temperature, partly because a fridge-cold slice tastes less sweet. Look for an even shape, a good weight for its size and a creamy yellow patch where it sat on the ground. Around 200 to 300 grams a day is plenty.

Lychees are the fruit I have to count. Per 100 grams they carry about 72 mg of vitamin C, against roughly 53 in an orange. They're also very sweet, so five to eight at a sitting is my limit before it stops being fun.

Yangmei, sold as red bayberry or waxberry, has a window of only a few weeks. The main commercial harvest runs from mid-June to early July, and the deep red-purple colour comes from anthocyanins. It bruises fast and barely travels, so if you see it, eat it that week. I give them ten minutes in salted water first, the old-fashioned way to coax out any tiny grubs. To my tongue they taste sweeter afterwards.

Peaches, nectarines and flat peaches hit their stride in the northern summer, although in the UK they only start arriving in July. Choose one with even colour and a proper peachy smell that gives slightly under your thumb. Keep it on the bench until it softens.

Grapes are worth eating whole. Resveratrol, the compound people get excited about, sits mainly in the skins and seeds, so peeling every grape is wasted effort. The amounts in a bowl of grapes are modest though, so don't expect miracles. Rinse them well and stick to a small bunch of 100 to 150 grams. Blueberries get the same rinse and a small handful.

At the tropical end, mangosteens are in full flow through the northern summer. Judge them by the cap, which should be fresh and green, with a slight give when you press the shell. A rock-hard one has been in cold storage a while. Two or three is plenty. Longan, the "dragon's eye", is harvested from late June to late August in Thailand and from late July to late September elsewhere in East Asia. Yangmei and longan rarely travel far, so if they're not at your market, the peaches will do fine.

Down south, July is winter fruit at its most reliable. Imperial and Ellendale mandarins, navel oranges, lemons, grapefruit and pomelo fill the stalls. Custard apples are ready if you like your fruit to double as dessert, and apples and nashi pears are crisp. Pineapple and papaya are there too, according to the July list. Queensland strawberries and Coffs Harbour blueberries have hit their stride, so the berry punnets are worth a look.

August: stone fruit up north, late-winter citrus down south

Northern August is the month of blackberries, peaches and nectarines, with melons, blueberries and raspberries still on the stalls. Cherries and strawberries are finishing, and kiwifruit is nearly done.

Australia's late-winter fruit bowl is still mostly citrus, with blood and navel oranges, Murcott and Imperial mandarins, grapefruit, pomelo and tangelos. Pineapple and papaya are around too. In some years the first mangoes show up surprisingly early, so keep an eye out.

September: apples arrive up north, strawberries and pineapple down south

Northern berries wind down in September, and apples, pears, plums, figs, grapes and blackberries take over. Peaches are finishing.

Australian spring brings strawberries, pineapple, papaya and Valencia oranges. The NSW Health spring list also includes apples, avocados, bananas, pears and watermelon. If avocados are what you're after, our guide to avocado seasons covers Hass and Shepard.

October: figs and pears up north, strawberries and pineapple down south

Apples and pears are the mainstay of the north in October, alongside figs. The last grapes and plums are finishing, and cranberries begin.

In Australia, strawberries, pineapple and papaya stay on the stalls. Loquats show up, along with the first mangoes and the last of the Valencia oranges and grapefruit.

November: clementines up north, cherries and mangoes down south

November in the north is apples, pears and cranberries, with clementines and passion fruit arriving just before the festive rush.

Australia's cherry season is back, and mangoes, lychees, melons and loquats are all around. Strawberries still hang on. It's the start of the summer fruit run, and it's easy to overbuy.

December: pomegranates up north, everything at once down south

Clementines, pears, Bramley apples, passion fruit and pomegranates are the northern December fruit bowl. Cranberries are on their way out.

Down south, Christmas fruit is an embarrassment of riches: cherries, mangoes, lychees, rambutan, berries, apricots, currants, watermelon, rockmelon and passionfruit, according to the December list. If you're feeding a crowd, a big bowl of ripe cherries and mango does most of the dessert work.

Making seasonal fruit last

In-season fruit is cheaper because there's more of it, and it's also the point where you're most likely to buy more than you can eat. Freezing surplus berries and stone fruit is one option, and blitzing the fruit that's looking tired into a smoothie is another. Our guide to wasting less food has more ideas, and the ripe fruit guide covers what to check before you buy.

Eating with the seasons also has a side effect. You end up eating a wider range of plants across the year without trying very hard. If you like counting, our 30 plants a week tracker is a good way to see how varied your week actually is, and the PickFresh app can score a piece of fruit's freshness from a photo while you're standing at the stall.

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