How to Find Garden-Fresh Vegetables

A glance at the calendar used to be an adequate guide for choosing fresh vegetables. Naturally, there would be English peas in spring, sweet corn in summer, and squash in fall. But with fava beans coming from Chile in January in addition to its traditional annual spring debut, hard-and-fast rules go out the window.

Like any product, buying quality produce depends on knowing what fresh looks, feels, smells and tastes like, as well as the origin of the fruits and vegetables. Some of the criteria are the same from vegetable to vegetable: Clean, crisp, bright and smooth are qualities that all vegetables should possess. But if you want the best, more knowledge is required. And, sometimes what is "best" comes down to dollars and cents; there are times when buying certain vegetables can undermine your profitability.

Some vegetables should not be eaten out of season; however, many of the same vegetables purchased out of season can often vaguely resemble the taste of the same varieties purchased in season. Tomatoes in a caprese salad during the winter are bound to be hard and flavorless. But other vegetables, like asparagus and broccoli are good all year around. Needless to say, produce at the height of a season not only means better flavor, but better pricing. Just check your produce invoice for asparagus from April and compare it with the same vegetable purchased in September. Still not convinced? Compare the prices for sweet corn in August against November.