Seasonal food choices in March

It’s March, when the southern hemisphere season turns from summer to autumn and it’s time to consider the advantages of seasonal food. This month we will be focusing on #SimpleSwaps! Our theme will highlight the versatility of some of the much-loved ingredients that sit in our fridge and provide simple recipe hacks to inspire you to use them (instead of making unnecessary purchases), helping you to reduce the food you waste and save money.

That means apples, berries and pears will be abundant on the fruit shelves while broccoli, all sorts of cabbage, pumpkin, capsicum and root vegetables will start to come into their own.

But did you know that the seasons aren’t always necessarily measured as starting from the first of the month?

Historically, the astronomical autumn is defined by the Earth’s axis and orbit round the Sun. This is called the equinox and marks the point when days and nights are roughly the same length. That date this year is 21 March.

But it has become a convention in recent years to measure the start of autumn as being 1 March – one theory being that the NSW Corps aka the "Rum Corps", the permanent regiment in charge of the fledgling penal colony of NSW, changed from their summer to winter uniforms on the first of the month.

Whether you count the start of autumn as 1 March or 21 March, be sure to take advantage of the change in seasons to get good deals on seasonal produce. It will often be cheaper and generally keep fresher for longer, so good for the wallet and the tummy.

Happy swapping

Mark H

Love Food Hate Waste team

PS We will also share ‘seasonal swaps’ that showcase Autumn alternatives, as well as farewelling some of our summer favourites. Download our free seasonal food guide to find out what's in season now.