seasonal produce guide for switzerland: may
APPLES
I love the crunchiness of apples and the surprises they hold — sometimes they’re sweet, sometimes they’re more sour. Depending on the varieties you pick, some apples are great for sweet desserts and breakfast foods while sourer versions are perfect for salty dishes, like stuffing chicken or including in a salad. I cook a lot with apples, with my favorite way to use them being in muffins, cakes and breads.
Best way to store: In the fridge inside a vegetable drawer, covered in a slightly wet paper towel
Shelf life: 3 to 5 days on the kitchen counter, 3 to 4 weeks in the fridge
Apple recipes found on Savormania:
Apple recipes found elsewhere:
- Countryside Cravings: Apple peanut butter granola sandwiches
- My Kitchen Craze: Apple coffee cake
- Recipe Renovator: Apple-spice paleo mug cake
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ARUGULA
I can’t believe I still haven’t posted a single recipe with arugula, given that I always have some in my fridge to include in my salads. With its pungent, peppery taste, arugula is a great addition to salads and contains an incredible amount of vitamin A and vitamin K, all while being extreme low-cal. I love adding arugula to a mozzarella and tomato salad, or serving it as a salad tossed with toasted pine nuts, balsamic vinegar and tomatoes. Recipes will come, I promise!
Best way to store: If your arugula comes with roots, wrap them in a slightly wet paper towel and keep in a plastic bag in the fridge’s vegetable drawer. If your arugula comes just with the leaves, store in a plastic bag in the fridge’s vegetable drawer.
Shelf life: 2 to 3 days
Arugula recipes found elsewhere:
- Food Fanatic: Arugula blackberry salad
- Kara Lydon: Asparagus and brie grilled cheese with arugula pesto
- Veggie And The Beast: Almond arugula white bean hummus
ASPARAGUS
I’ve only recently began to like asparagus, my favorite way being stir-fried with an Asian sauce, but they can also be eaten steamed, boiled or roasted. Asparagus is packed with vitamin A and C as well as iron, potassium and calcium. When choosing your asparagus at the supermarket always look for firm tips and shoots.
Best way to store: Wrap the ends in a slightly wet paper towel and store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Shelf life: 3 to 4 days
Asparagus recipes found on Savormania:
Roasted white asparagus with mustard-dill vinaigrette
Asparagus recipes found elsewhere:
- Cooking Up Clean: Feta and asparagus crepes
- Feasting At Home: Spring egg puff
- Flavor & Savour: Dairy-free creamy asparagus soup
BEETS
Beets have been in season since February, but I still haven’t had a chance to cook with them. They’re great in salads or juices, and can be combined with salty or sweet ingredients! I promise I’ll get to cooking with them one day, but for now here are some great recipes from other food bloggers.
Best way to store: Cut the leaves from the beets and store them unwashed in separate plastic bags in the fridge’s vegetable drawer
Shelf life: Leaves are good for 2 to 3 days, the beets for 2 to 3 weeks when refrigerated
Beet recipes found elsewhere:
- Cooking Melangery: Beet tower salad with goat cheese
- Leigh and Ollie Interiors: Ruby red sipper juice
- We Recipes: Beetroot raita
BOK CHOY
Bok choy, also known as pak choi, is a Chinese cabbage that you’ll mainly find added to Asian stir-fries. It has a spinach-like flavor and is just as delicious steamed as it is stir-fried. To pick the best pak choi, look for firm stems and unblemished leaves.
Best way to store: Refrigerated in a plastic bag, unwashed until ready to use
Shelf life: 3 to 4 days
Bok choy recipes found elsewhere:
- Cooking Up Clean: Sesame citrus bok choy
- Running In A Skirt: Garlic & sesame baby bok choy
- The Cookie Writer: Shanghai bok choy
CARROTS
Carrots are one of my favorite vegetables to cook with! They’re great puréed in soups for their sweetness and consistency, and are so deliciously crunchy in salads. I use them in a wide variety of recipes ranging from Spanish cuisine to Asian. They can be kept for 3-4 weeks in the fridge, which makes them the perfect vegetable to have on hand to quickly add to a recipe.
Best way to store: In the fridge
Shelf life: 3 to 4 weeks
Carrot recipes found on Savormania:
Chinese stir-fried vegetable rice
Carrot recipes found elsewhere:
- Cooking Onions: Carrot cake protein bites
- The Gourmet RD: Grilled carrot fries with chipotle lime aioli
- The Swirling Spoon: Curried carrot fritters
CELERY ROOT
I’m becoming more and more fond of celery root, using it in salads and to include in my mashed potatoes. Adding celery root to mashed potatoes gives it a pungent taste and more texture; if you haven’t done so already you should definitely try it! I have yet to add some of my favorite celery root recipes to the blog, but they’re sure on my list!
Best way to store: Refrigerated in a plastic bag
Shelf life: 2 weeks
Celery root recipes found elsewhere:
- Every Last Bite: Celery root & apple salad
- Jasmin Cookbook: Baked celery fries
- PDXfoodlove: Kale & celery root purée
CHIVES
Chives have a delicious onion flavor, making them great additions to bring extra punch to a dish. Their vibrant green color automatically dresses up a recipe as well, and turn them into perfect garnishes for soups, salads and quiches. I always have dry chives in my pantry, but love to buy fresh chives whenever they’re in season.
Best way to store: wrapped in a slightly wet paper towel and kept in a plastic bag in the fridge
Shelf life: Up to 2 weeks
Chive recipes found on Savormania:
Goat cheese and sun-dried tomato quiche
Chive recipes found elsewhere:
- Eat Well 101: Radishes with chive butter
- Jennifer Medhurst: Lemon chive popcorn
- The Fig Tree: Spring salad with lemon chive vinaigrette
CUCUMBER
If I had to pick my favorite vegetable above all, it has got to be cucumber. I love chopping it up and including it in a salad, and adore it even more just cut in sticks and seasoned with salt. Cucumbers are praised for their myriad of health benefits, as they protect your body from many nutritional deficiencies. They’re packed with vitamins, C, K and B, as well as manganese, copper and potassium.
Best way to store: In the refrigerator in a plastic bag, unwashed until ready to use
Shelf life: 1 week
Cucumber recipes found on Savormania:
Cucumber recipes found elsewhere:
- Hell Natural: Fresh-pressed cucumber lime margarita
- My Plant Based Kitchen: Cucumber avocado basil vegan gazpacho
- Spicy Southern Kitchen: Southern creamy cucumbers
KOHLRABI
Available in green or purple varieties, kohlrabi can be eaten raw or cooked and tastes slightly like broccoli as it is part of the same family as other brassicas, such as cauliflower and cabbage. You’ll generally find sliced kohlrabi in a raw vegetable platter served with a dip, but it is also a good vegetable to steam, roast or boil. I haven’t cooked with kohlrabi yet, so here are a couple of delicious recipes below from other food bloggers to try!
Best way to store: Refrigerated in a plastic bag
Shelf life: 4 to 5 days
Kohlrabi recipes found elsewhere:
- Dishing Up The Dirt: Kohlrabi chips with hippie ranch dip
- Noshed: Kohlrabi and root veg salad with a miso dressing
- Strawberry Plum: Kohlrabi & apple slaw
LEEKS
Leeks are my new favorite substitute for onions! Belonging to the same family as onions, leeks have a slightly stronger taste that becomes sweeter the longer you cook them for. Only the white part of the leek can be eaten, which means that this is a vegetable that requires quite a lot of prepping. Cleaning leeks is also of utmost importance, as dirt lodges itself in between the leaves. The best way to clean leeks, in my opinion, is to slice them in half, part the leaves and let them sit in cold water for 15 minutes. The dirt will easily drop to the bottom of the bowl.
Best way to store: In a plastic bag in the fridge, unwashed until ready to use.
Shelf life: 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge
Leek recipes found on Savormania:
Crispy cauliflower cashew soup
Leek recipes found elsewhere:
- Bibby’s Kitchen: Pear, brie and leek soup
- Chop Chop Nom: Leek & feta gözleme
- Plant A Ful: Creamy mushroom and leek risotto
LETTUCE
Just like arugula, lettuce is a vegetable that I almost always include in salads. Lettuce comes in a myriad of varieties, ranging from curly to flat and from green to red. Always choose lettuce with leaves that aren’t wilted or browned.
Best way to store: Refrigerated in a plastic bag, unwashed until ready to eat
Shelf life: 1 week
Lettuce recipes found on Savormania:
Green salad with orange vinaigrette
Lettuce recipes found elsewhere:
- Gluten Free With L.B.: Peanut asian chicken lettuce wraps
- Oh My Dish: Vegetarian rice paper rolls
- Snixy Kitchen: Little gem spring salad
ONION
Onions are in season all year round in Switzerland, which is great news given that I cook with them 90% of the time. Onion gives my dishes great flavor and can be used in a variety of cuisines. They come in red, yellow and green varieties which can all be used in different ways. I tend to cook with yellow onion the most often, reserving the red and green onions for salads. There are exceptions to this and I often experiment with cooking with red and green onions too!
Best way to store: in the pantry or in the fridge, but keep them far away from the potatoes! Their rot much quicker when placed next to each other
Shelf life: 2 to 3 months in the pantry or in the fridge
Onion recipes found on Savormania:
Onion recipes found elsewhere:
- Builicious: Scallion pancake quesadillas
- Kitchen Mason: Caramelised onion and rosemary quiche
- My Fruity Kitchen: Healthy caramelised onion hummus
PARSLEY
Parsley is one of my favorite ways to top a dish — it brings texture and color while intensifying and balancing the flavors of a dish. There are are two types, flat-leaf (more intense in flavor) and curly (less bitter), with the first variety used more to balance out dishes while the second is used more for decorative purposes.
Best way to store: Trim the ends, place in a glass of water, cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate. Change the water when it becomes cloudy.
Shelf life: Up to one week
Parsley recipes found on Savormania:
Artichoke and sun-dried tomato bruschetta
Roasted cauliflower with lemon and parsley
Meatballs with tomato sauce and peas
Parsley recipes found elsewhere:
- Kerr Kitchen: Roast carrots with parsley
- Recipe Fiction: Artichoke pull-apart bread with spring herbs
- Thoroughly Nourished Life: Parsley, chickpea, avocado and greens salad
RADISH
Radishes are also often seen as part of a raw vegetable platter served with dips, but there are many other ways to cook this pinkish vegetable, such as roasting or stir-frying. They’re packed with folic acid and potassium, as well as vitamin B6, riboflavin, calcium and magnesium. Always look for firm radishes to get the best crispness out of the vegetable, and make sure to soak them in ice water for a couple of hours before cooking them so that their retain their texture. Radishes need to be eaten just after being sliced.
Best way to store: Refrigerated in a plastic bag
Shelf life: Up to 2 weeks
Radish recipes found on Savormania:
Radish recipes found elsewhere:
- ANNAdventure: Radish, beet and watercress juice
- Striped Spatula: Roasted radishes with tarragon vinaigrette
RHUBARB
Here in Switzerland rhubarb cake is a big deal, with many restaurants adding it to their dessert menu when it’s back in season. Rhubarb needs to be cooked to be eaten, ideally with lots of sugar to render it sweet, which is why you’ll often find this vegetable in cakes. Make sure to always remove the rhubarb’s leaves, because they are poisonous.
Best way to store: Refrigerated in a plastic bag
Shelf life: 5 to 7 days
Rhubarb recipes found elsewhere:
- Coconut and Berries: Vegan rhubarb & ginger muffins
- Cuisine Addict: Rhubarb, rose & pistachios pie
- Lexi Bites: Sparkling rhubarb and raspberry collins
SPINACH
Spinach will always remind me of Popeye, and I have to admit that I never really enjoyed it as a kid. I learned to love spinach as I grew older and tend to cook with it in many different ways. Spinach is such a versatile ingredient that can be included in salads, pasta dishes, sautés, quiches and many more dishes. Although I do prefer my spinach fresh, I always have a bag of frozen spinach in the freezer to use whenever I need it.
Best way to store: In a plastic bag in the fridge, unwashed until ready to use
Shelf life: 3 to 5 days
Spinach recipes found on Savormania:
Crispy spinach-carrot quinoa patties
Spinach recipes found elsewhere:
- Apple Of My Eye: Best-ever strawberry spinach salad with poppyseed dressing
- Bake Bellissima: Spinach quiche, 2 ways
- Marla Meredith: Green smoothie bowls
SWISS CHARD
The only time I ever eat Swiss chard is during the Jewish New Year, as it is part of the symbolic foods we eat during the holiday dinners. Swiss chard is in fact a grown like a beet, but all we eat is its delicious thick dark green leaves. It is low-cal and packed with vitamins, making it a great vegetable to add to your weekly meal plans now that it is in season.
Best way to store: In a plastic bag in the refrigerator, unwashed until ready to use.
Shelf life: 2-3 days
Swiss chard recipes found elsewhere:
- Delightful Mom: Rainbow chard soup
- Foodful Life: Crepes with Swiss chard and borage filling
- Light Orange Bean: Swiss chard lentil quinoa burgers
STRAWBERRIES
If I had to pick my favorite fruits, strawberries would be part of the top 5. Strawberries are truly a superfood; they’re high in antioxidants, boast more vitamin C than an orange, and are packed with manganese and potassium among many other goodies. I love eating them raw, including them in smoothies, and using them in cakes. I’ve cooked a lot with strawberries already on the blog and look forward to sharing even more recipes with you now that they’re in season!
Best way to store: In a container covered with plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator
Shelf life: 2 to 3 days
Strawberry recipes found on Savormania:
Big strawberry jam sandwich cookies
Strawberry recipes found elsewhere:
- Cooks With Cocktails: Strawberry pizza with fresh mozzarella, basil and balsamic reduction
- Kitchen Treaty: Strawberry jalapeño salsa
- The Veg Life: Strawberry newton minis
WATERCRESS
Just as nutritious as cabbage and broccoli, watercress is full of vitamins and can be eaten both cooked and raw. Watercress is a leafy aquatic plant which has been ranked as the healthiest vegetable in the world, as it is packed with over 15 vitamins and minerals, beating spinach in iron levels, milk in calcium levels, and oranges in vitamin C levels.
Watercress recipes found on Savormania:
Smoked salmon and watercress quiche
Watercress recipes found elsewhere:
- Beyond Sweet and Savory: Vietnamese shaking beef
- The Flexitarian: Watercress hummus
- The Wimpy Vegetarian: Cucumber-watercress soup
Are you looking for recipes with another ingredient that may not be seasonal? Check out my Recipe Index for inspiration.
Thank you so much for sharing my recipe! X 🙂
You’re welcome Serena!
Thanks so much for including my apple spice mug cake in your gorgeous roundup! What a great idea. Hi Switzerland!
Stephanie Weaver, MPH recently posted…Cookbook review: Paleo Ice Cream by Ben Hirschberg
You’re welcome Stephanie! I’m glad you liked it!