Spring – the season pantries and larders traditionally run bare, and due to our long winters, it’s still a lengthy wait until local produce is available.
Or so we think.
Spring is actually an excellent season to enjoy local food. It may start out slow, but by the time the ground wakes up, a ton of variety becomes available. Vibrant color, freshness, and nutrition all factor in, making local spring fare exceptional quality.
Let us share just some of what you’ll find in our area during the spring.
Maple Syrup – Spring starts off with the maple sap flowing, usually by the end of March. If you have a maple tree in your yard, it’s a great time to try making your own syrup, which consists of tapping trees, collecting sap, and then boiling it down. Raw sap can also be enjoyed as a refreshing drink – both cold or in tea. If you can find a local source to purchase syrup, you are definitely in for a sweet treat. Not only delicious, maple syrup is also wonderfully high in minerals and antioxidants.
Greens and Herbs – Greens, like lettuce, kale, beet leaves and spinach, generally have a short growing season and you can find local sources early in the year. Onion greens are also quick to mature and a flavourful spring treat. Herbs, like parsley and cilantro, often grow well in cooler weather, and make zesty flavour for all your spring dishes.
Wild Edibles – Foraging for wild edibles early in the season can be both enjoyable and gratifying. Some early favourites include stinging nettle and dandelion greens - both can be used in a variety of dishes as a replacement of other more well-known greens. Stinging nettle can also make excellent tea. Also make sure to pick some roots in spring – roasted dandelion roots make nutritious and delicious tea or coffee replacement. You may also want to stock up on burdock root and yummy licorice-tasting sweet cicely root. Or search out some wild mushrooms - morels and oyster mushrooms can be harvested during this time of year.
Rhubarb and Asparagus – Tender and sweet, rhubarb and asparagus poke above ground almost as the snow leaves. Although both rhubarb and asparagus produce into the summer, there is nothing like their incredible flavour and texture early in the spring.
Parsnips – Sweet and delicious in the spring, parsnips can be grown the year before, stored in the ground all winter and picked when the ground thaws. At a time when stored potatoes may be starting to sprout, parsnips become a yummy substitute.
Eggs and Milk from Outdoor-raised Animals – When chickens can free-range outdoors in spring, egg yolks transform from yellow to dark orange and the nutritional value of the egg increases in vitamins and omega 3s. The same is true for milk when cows (or goats) eat fast-growing spring grasses. Spring is a wonderful time to enjoy a local source of eggs and dairy from animals that range outside.
Along with all these delicious spring treats – the season also provides opportunity to plan ahead for local food all of summer by planting a garden, taking a course in foraging, ordering meat from a farmer next door, perhaps even buying yourself some chickens, and of course, finding a great farmers’ market to attend during the summer months.
Corner Farmers’ Market is held every third Wednesday of the month at Can-Am Corner near Stuartburn. For more details, join our Facebook group and sign up to our email list.
