Seasonal Calendar

Using ingredients at peak season maximizes flavor and minimizes cost. This calendar covers Northern Hemisphere availability.

Monthly Availability Chart

Fruits

Fruit	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Strawberry	—	—	—	◐	●	●	◐	—	—	—	—	—
Raspberry	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	●	◐	—	—	—
Blueberry	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	●	—	—	—	—
Blackberry	—	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	●	—	—	—
Cherry	—	—	—	—	◐	●	●	—	—	—	—	—
Peach	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●	●	◐	—	—	—
Nectarine	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●	●	—	—	—	—
Apricot	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	—	—	—	—	—
Plum	—	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	●	—	—	—
Apple	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●	●	●	◐
Pear	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●	●	●	—
Fig	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	—	—	—
Grape	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	●	—	—
Cranberry	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●	●	—
Persimmon	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	●
Pomegranate	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●	●	◐
Quince	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	●	●	—	—
Rhubarb	—	—	◐	●	●	●	—	—	—	—	—	—

● = Peak Season | ◐ = Available | — = Out of Season

Citrus

Citrus	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Orange (navel)	●	●	●	◐	—	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●
Blood orange	●	●	●	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	●
Grapefruit	●	●	●	●	—	—	—	—	—	—	●	●
Lemon (Meyer)	●	●	◐	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●
Lime	◐	◐	◐	●	●	●	●	●	●	◐	◐	◐
Mandarin	●	●	◐	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●
Kumquat	●	●	●	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	●
Yuzu	●	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	◐	●

Tropical (Import Availability)

Fruit	Peak Import Season	Notes
Mango	Apr–Aug	Alphonso: Apr–Jun
Passion fruit	Year-round	Peak: Mar–Sep
Papaya	Year-round	Consistent
Pineapple	Mar–Jul	Peak sweetness
Coconut	Year-round	Consistent
Banana	Year-round	Consistent
Guava	Nov–Mar	Limited availability
Lychee	May–Jul	Brief window

Spring (March–May)

Featured Ingredient	Recipe Ideas
Strawberry	Strawberry balsamic gelato
Rhubarb	Rhubarb sorbet, strawberry-rhubarb
Meyer lemon	Meyer lemon curd gelato
Blood orange	Blood orange sorbet
Honey	Honey lavender

Flavor Profile: Bright, fresh, floral, awakening

Summer (June–August)

Featured Ingredient	Recipe Ideas
Peach	Brown butter peach
Cherry	Chocolate cherry, cherry vanilla
Raspberry	Raspberry ripple, chocolate raspberry
Blueberry	Blueberry lemon, blueberry lavender
Apricot	Apricot almond
Blackberry	Blackberry vanilla bean
Nectarine	Nectarine sorbet
Mango	Mango chili, mango lassi
Watermelon	Watermelon mint sorbet
Basil	Strawberry basil
Mint	Mint chocolate chip

Flavor Profile: Vibrant, fruity, refreshing

Autumn (September–November)

Featured Ingredient	Recipe Ideas
Apple	Apple cider sorbet, apple pie
Pear	Pear gorgonzola, pear ginger
Fig	Fig honey mascarpone
Grape	Concord grape sorbet
Pumpkin	Pumpkin pie, pumpkin brown butter
Persimmon	Persimmon sorbet
Pomegranate	Pomegranate sorbet
Cranberry	Cranberry orange
Quince	Quince membrillo gelato
Maple	Maple walnut
Cinnamon	Cinnamon brown sugar

Flavor Profile: Warm, spiced, comforting, earthy

Winter (December–February)

Featured Ingredient	Recipe Ideas
Citrus (all)	Citrus trio, orange chocolate
Chocolate	Peppermint chocolate, Mexican hot chocolate
Gingerbread	Gingerbread, ginger molasses
Peppermint	Peppermint stick, candy cane
Chestnut	Chestnut rum, Mont Blanc
Eggnog	Eggnog custard
Cranberry	Cranberry swirl
Coffee	Espresso, affogato
Caramel	Salted caramel, bourbon caramel

Flavor Profile: Rich, warming, festive, indulgent

Herbs by Season

Herb	Peak Season	Best Pairings
Basil	Jun–Sep	Strawberry, peach, lemon
Mint	May–Sep	Chocolate, lime, watermelon
Lavender	Jun–Aug	Honey, lemon, blueberry
Rosemary	Year-round	Lemon, olive oil, honey
Thyme	May–Oct	Peach, honey, lemon
Sage	Year-round	Brown butter, apple, pear
Tarragon	Apr–Sep	Apricot, peach
Lemon verbena	Jun–Sep	Berry, citrus

Planning Your Production Calendar

Monthly Focus

Month	Primary Focus	Secondary
January	Citrus, chocolate	Comfort flavors
February	Chocolate, citrus	Valentine specials
March	Early rhubarb, citrus	Transition flavors
April	Strawberry begins, rhubarb	Spring flavors
May	Strawberry peak, cherry start	Herb infusions
June	Stone fruit begins, berry peak	Summer transition
July	Stone fruit peak	Berry continuation
August	Late stone fruit, fig	Tropical
September	Apple, pear, grape	Autumn transition
October	Pumpkin, apple, pear	Fall spices
November	Cranberry, persimmon	Holiday prep
December	Peppermint, citrus, chocolate	Holiday flavors

Preserving Peak Season

Methods for Year-Round Use

Method	Best For	Shelf Life	Quality
Freezing (IQF)	Berries, stone fruit	12 months	Excellent
Purée and freeze	All fruit	6–12 months	Very good
Jam/preserves	Berry, stone fruit	12+ months	Good (cooked flavor)
Dehydrating	Citrus, apple	12 months	Concentrated
Freeze-dried	Berries	12+ months	Excellent

Batch Preparation Strategy

Season	Preserve	Quantity Suggestion
June	Strawberry purée	5–10 kg
June–July	Cherry (pitted, frozen)	3–5 kg
July	Raspberry purée	3–5 kg
July–Aug	Peach purée	5–10 kg
Aug	Blackberry purée	3–5 kg
Sep–Oct	Apple cider	5–10 L
Nov	Cranberry purée	2–3 kg
Dec–Feb	Citrus juice/zest	Freeze zest

Regional Variations

West Coast (US)

Fruit	Season Shift
Strawberry	Year-round (California)
Citrus	Peak Dec–Apr
Stone fruit	2–4 weeks earlier

Northeast (US)

Fruit	Season Shift
Berries	Peak Jul–Aug
Apples	Outstanding Sep–Nov
Stone fruit	Peak Aug

Southern Hemisphere

Seasons reversed—useful for importing counter-seasonal produce:

Chilean berries: Dec–Feb (their summer)
New Zealand apples: Feb–Apr
Australian stone fruit: Dec–Feb