What's in Season in December?

What will go into the Christmas Stocking,
While the clock on the mantlepiece is ticking.
An orange, a penny, Some sweets, not too many,
Another of fun, And it's very nearly done.

Eleanor Farjeon, Christmas Stocking

December's clear, cold air delivers a promise of the best winter has to offer: the first snow, the twinkling lights and the many jubilant Christmas gatherings. December also brings a season of bright, colourful foods that capture nature's richest tastes and warm us from the inside.

It is a time to gather family and friends together and to put on a display of warmth and feasting to show that winter cannot last and that the old year will soon give way to the new. Kitchens are cosy places to be as food is prepared for the feasts to come. Comice pears should have ripened late last month, just in time for Christmas eating. Brussels sprouts and chestnuts should be in top form for their role in the traditional dinner, while fresh dates and pomegranates (imported admittedly) come into the shops now, as do clementines and tangerines.

Produce in Season this month:

Oh My Darling Clementine!

Tangy-sweet, vibrant orange clementines are the perfect fruit to brighten up dark days of winter, and luckily that's just when they're around. These golf-ball-size members of the mandarin orange family have loose-fitting skins that peel off almost as quickly as you'd like to pop their bursting, seedless sections into your mouth. The clementine's brilliant orange flesh is very juicy when ripe, and its skin is almost as thin as the peel of its tangerine cousin. Clementines are grown primarily in the semitropical climates of Spain and Northern Africa and imported.

Their season starts in late November and lasts all through the winter months, and they are becoming more and more widely available throughout the country. Pick clementines with shiny, waxy, orange skin. They shouldn't feel too soft to the touch. Clementines keep for up to two weeks unrefrigerated and always seem to disappear too fast. Pile dozens of these tiny, tangy citrus jewels high for an elegant edible centrepiece to light up your dinner table, section them into a salad of baby salad leaves and raspberry vinaigrette, or just carry a few in your pocket for a sweet, sunny treat.

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire ...

Roasting on an open fire, puréed and swirled into a pumpkin soup, or candied and tumbling over vanilla ice cream, chestnuts are a sure sign of winter warmth. This starchy, sweet, ancient nut is very much in season and in demand as a cold-weather delicacy. Roast or boil them whole, remove their dark brown, hard shell and leafy thin, bitter inner membrane, and preserve, glaze, candy, or cream their meaty flesh for countless uses.

Fresh chestnuts are, for the most part, imported, the sweetest variety being Italian. They are available from late September until February. Look for firm, ample-size nuts with unblemished shells. Store whole chestnuts in a cool, dry place and shelled nuts covered and refrigerated. When they are out of season, look for dried, canned, and puréed chestnuts, along with chestnut syrup and chestnut flour, in speciality food stores.

Humble Beetroot

The hearty, humble garden beetroot is, simply put, a wonderful root. It's rich in many nutrients and it is succulent, versatile, and beautiful. Most commonly a velvety deep-burnished red, but ranging in colour from white to almost purple, beetroots are a round root vegetable with edible leafy greens. They are available year-round but are especially sweet during winter harvests. Choose smooth-skinned beetroots that are heavy and firm, and store them in plastic bags, refrigerated, for up to three weeks. In general, the smaller the beetroot, the more tender it is.

Beetroots should not be peeled until after they have been cooked, so as not to lose flavour and colour. (For the same reason, when washing beetroots one should be careful not to perforate the skins.) Beetroot greens should be removed to one inch (2-3 cm) from the root upon purchase, as they feed on the beetroots' moisture and will dry them out. If beetroot greens are being served, they should be very fresh (crisp, bright green). They can be prepared as you would cook spinach, and are very nice tossed with cooked beetroot.

A creamy Russian borscht (served hot or cold) or a salad of crunchy cold beetroots, goat cheese, and orange wedges are just a couple of colourful ways to enjoy the sweet garden beetroot.

Brussels Sprouts for Christmas

A member of the cabbage family, Brussels sprouts are best eaten when young. They are best eaten when young and they should be firm, round and about the size of a walnut. As they are in season during the winter months, when other green vegetables are scarce, and contain a fair amount of Vitamin C, they are a useful vegetable.

To cook them, they should be washed well with any discoloured leaves removed. Some people like to cut a little cross in the base of the stalk to enable it to cook more quickly, although the usefulness of this is debatable. They should be cooked in boiling salted water until they are just tender for 10 to 20 minutes. Drain thoroughly and then return them to the pan and re-heat with salt, pepper and a knob of butter. our own favourite or family recipes to add to the story!