January
Generally
Forgot the doom and gloom about "the gluttony of Christmas" - January is one of the best months for fresh produce.
Highlights: British-grown vegetables, fish and shellfish from home waters, imported exotic and citrus fruits.
Vegetables
Commentary Root vegetables are at their best. Quality and abundance depend on the weather.
You must try Jansson's Temptation for supper one night - just very thinly sliced potatoes and onions layered with black pepper, double cream and fillets of tinned anchovy in a gratin dish. Brush the top with melted butter and back in a hot overn for an hour (30 mins with foil, 30 mins without, to brown).
Take care with frost-nipped produce. Tell-tale signs are dark, waxy, slimy areas. Avoid.
Shopping List Avocados, beetroot, sprouts, chicory, cabbages, carrots, celeriac, fennel, garlic, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, okra, onions, parsnips, potatoes, shallots, swedes, turnips. Also, imported: courgettes, calabrese
Fruit and Nuts
Commentary The last good month for fruit until summer.
Shopping List Almonds, apples (esp Cox and Bramley), Asian pears, Brazil nuts, chestnuts, clementines, lychees, pears (esp. Conference and Comice), pineapples, pomegranates, rhubarb, satsumas, Seville oranges, walnuts.
Fish and Seafood
Commentary NOTE: All comments on fish are subject to caveats about choosing fish that are not in danger of disappearance through over-fishing.
Beware disruption through holidays and bad weather. But fish is very good at this time, esp. those from colder waters.
Shopping List Brill, cod, coley, conger eel, Dover sole, flounder, gurnard, haddock, hake, halibut, herring, huss, John Dory, lemon sole, ling, mackerel, mussels, oysters, plaice, scallop, skate, smelt, sprats, turbot, whiting.
Meat, Poultry and Game
Commentary There's a lack of interest in poultry after Christmas, but red meat is good and relatively inexpensive.
Shopping List Beef, chicken, goose, guinea-fowl, hare, lamb (mature), pigeon, pork, rabbit, turkey (phew), venison.
Cheese
Shopping List Appleby Cheshire, stilton, Boudard de Neufchatel, Bresse Bleu, Cantal, Chaourice, Explorateur, Pont l'Eveque, Roquefort, Vacherin Mont d'Or.