Britain's veg crisis: how well do you know your seasonal fruit and veg?

[Dani ♡]

 

t's a crisis we haven't seen the likes of since the National Biscuit Shortage of 2016. Just weeks after our supermarket shelves were left depleted of courgettes, big name chains have been forced to deploy a fresh veg quota in their stores. Tesco and Morrisons have introduced a cap of three lettuces per buyer, in a bid to maintain stocks of the leafy salad favourite. The latter is also rationing the amount of broccoli that customers can buy. A spokesman for Tesco blamed the shortage on severe weather in the Mediterranean: "Due to bad weather conditions in Spain, we are experiencing some availability issues, but are working with our suppliers to resolve them as quickly as possible." "To make sure none of our customers miss out, we are asking them to limit the number of iceberg lettuces they buy to three." Other foods affected include baby spinach, rocket, lollo rossa, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, and cucumbers.

The crisis began in mid January, when some supermarkets raised the price of courgettes after unexpectedly cold weather in Spain and Italy, where European supplies of the vegetable are grown, affected the harvest. Speaking to the Guardian, Jordi Vorderman, the UK distributor at Dutch vegetable supplier Valstar Holland, said courgette prices had almost quadrupled since the summer: "The main issue is that supplies are low because of cold nights in Spain and Italy. The cold affects courgettes a lot."He added: "Prices are very high – they are above £20 for a 5kg box. So what retailers are probably doing is that they are not buying at these prices and would rather go empty in the stores than buy at these silly levels. During the summer prices are between £4 and £6."Fans of the vegetable took to Twitter to complain about the shortage, apparently not realising that the UK courgette season doesn't begin till June. The reaction is indicative of a widespread attitude about the availability of fresh produce. A 2014 study found that the British public are "ignorant about seasonal fruit and veg" – 90 per cent or more of those asked struggled to name the correct months when certain foods are in season.

Writing in the September issue of BBC Good Food Magazine, investigative food journalist Joanna Blythman said: "The supermarkets' obsession with stocking every fruit and vegetable grown on the planet, every day of the year, makes it hard to detect the ebb and flow of seasonal produce." So, how well do you know your seasonal fruit and veg? Take our quiz to find out ...