North of the equator
In season in October
What is at its best this month, and the dishes built on it. Seasons shift with latitude and weather, so take this as a guide, not a rule.
Persimmon
Loved in Japan, Korea and China, eaten crisp or soft, and dried for winter.
Pomegranate
Central to Persian cooking, in fesenjan and on the Yalda table, and scattered over chiles en nogada.
Goes into: Lobio, Chiles en nogada
Quince
Too hard to eat raw. Cooked into membrillo in Spain, jams, and stews in Iran and Morocco.
Goes into: Chicha morada
Grape
Harvested for the table and for wine. Twelve are eaten at midnight on New Year in Spain.
Goes into: Wine, Port wine, Vinho Verde, Ouzo
Apple
The autumn fruit of temperate lands, for pies, strudel, cider, and dipping in honey at Rosh Hashanah.
Goes into: Choucroute garnie, Apple pie, Apple strudel, Tarte Tatin
Cranberry
A North American bog berry, harvested in autumn and cooked into sauce for Thanksgiving turkey.
Goes into: Cranberry sauce
Yuzu
A fragrant Japanese and Korean citrus used for its zest and juice, in ponzu, tea and hotpots.
Goes into: Zōni
Pomelo
The largest citrus, shared at the Mid-Autumn Festival and tossed in Thai and Vietnamese salads.
Papaya
Eaten ripe at breakfast across the tropics, and shredded green for the salads of Thailand and Laos.
Date
Harvested across Arabia, Iraq and North Africa. The fruit that breaks the fast in Ramadan.
Goes into: Sheer khurma, Rakı, Kahk, Zaazaa
Custard apple
Called sitaphal in India, eaten with a spoon and made into ice cream and rabdi. Cherimoya is its Andean kin.
Passion fruit
Sharp and scented, for juice in Brazil and Colombia and on top of pavlova in Australia.
Feijoa
An autumn fruit loved in New Zealand, scooped out with a spoon and baked into cakes and crumbles.
Aubergine
Roasted for baba ghanoush and baingan bharta, layered in moussaka and parmigiana, braised in China.
Goes into: Ratatouille, Moussaka, Khoresh bademjan, Riz gras
Pumpkin and winter squash
Stored through winter. Goes into pie in North America, soup joumou in Haiti, and tempura in Japan.
Goes into: Thanksgiving dinner, Hāngī, Manti, Pumpkin pie
Sweet potato
Roasted on winter streets in Japan, China and north India. Baked into pie in the American South.
Goes into: Thanksgiving dinner, Hāngī, Naengmyeon, Shōchū
Yam
The king of crops in West Africa, honoured at harvest festivals and pounded smooth to eat with soup.
Goes into: Jolpan, Amala, Pounded yam, Laplap
Cassava
A staple root of Africa and South America, made into gari, fufu, farofa, tapioca and cassava bread.
Goes into: Bubble tea, Carimañola, Papadam, Fufu
Plantain
Harvested all year in the tropics. Fried green as tostones, ripe as dodo and maduros, or boiled and pounded.
Goes into: Pastelón, Fufu, Bandeja paisa, Pabellón criollo
Taro
A starchy corm pounded into poi in Hawaii, simmered in Japan and Korea, and fried as arbi in India.
Goes into: Hāngī, Khanom mo kaeng, Zongzi, Kulolo
Lotus root
Dug from ponds in autumn and winter. Sliced into soups and stir-fries in China, Japan and Kashmir.
Napa cabbage
Harvested in late autumn, when Korean families gather to salt it into kimchi for the winter.
Goes into: Kimchi, Sukiyaki, Buddha's delight
Cabbage
The keeping vegetable of winter, for sauerkraut, stuffed cabbage rolls, colcannon and coleslaw.
Goes into: Borscht, Shawarma, Sauerkraut, Smörgåsbord
Kale
Sweeter after frost. Shredded into caldo verde in Portugal and cooked with sausage in north Germany.
Goes into: Colcannon, Ribollita, Caldo verde
Leek
The emblem of Wales, in cawl and cock-a-leekie. In France it goes into vichyssoise and vinaigrette.
Goes into: Tofu skin roll, Ukha, Ghormeh sabzi, Pot-au-feu
Carrot
The red carrots of the north Indian winter are grated and cooked in milk for gajar ka halwa.
Goes into: Borscht, Pilaf, Goulash, Olivier salad
Water chestnut
Singhara in India, sold fresh in early winter and ground into flour for fasting days.
Goes into: Thapthim krop
Chestnut
Roasted on street corners from Lisbon to Seoul, candied in France, and cooked with rice in Japan.
Goes into: Zongzi, Stuffing, Roast goose
Walnut
Fresh in autumn. Ground into Georgian sauces, Persian fesenjan and the white sauce of chiles en nogada.
Goes into: Baklava, Turkish delight, Kahwah, Samanu
Almond
Harvested in late summer. Green almonds are eaten whole with salt in spring across the Middle East.
Goes into: Baklava, Sheer khurma, Kahwah, Amygdalota
Pistachio
Picked in Iran, Turkey and Sicily in early autumn, for baklava, ice cream, kulfi and halva.
Goes into: Baklava, Turkish delight, Sheer khurma, Kheer
New olive oil
Olives are picked and pressed in late autumn. The new oil is green and peppery, poured over toast and beans.
Goes into: Ratatouille, Hummus, Paella, Pesto
Saffron
The crocus flowers for a few weeks in autumn in Iran, Kashmir and La Mancha, and is picked by hand.
Goes into: Paella, Jalebi, Kahwah, Zereshk polo
Truffle
White truffles from Alba in autumn, black from Périgord in winter, shaved over eggs, pasta and risotto.
Chanterelle
Golden forest mushrooms, picked across the Nordic countries and fried in butter on toast.
Porcini
The cep of autumn woods, grilled, stirred into risotto and pasta, or dried for the year.
Matsutake
The pine mushroom, the scent of autumn in Japan and Korea, steamed with rice or in a clear broth.
Oysters
Native oysters are eaten in the months with an R. Opened by the dozen in France at Christmas.
Goes into: Po' boy, Oyster omelette
Mussels
Best in the cold months. Steamed with wine and served with chips in Belgium and northern France.
Goes into: Moules-frites, Clambake
Crab
Brown crab in a British summer, blue crab in Chesapeake Bay, and hairy crab in Shanghai in autumn.
Goes into: Jaffna crab curry, Arròs negre, Po' boy, Chilli crab
Hilsa
The monsoon fish of Bengal, steamed in mustard or fried. Catching it is banned while it spawns.
Mackerel
An oily summer fish, grilled, smoked or soused. Cured with vinegar for sushi in Japan.
Skipjack (katsuo)
The first katsuo of early summer is a Japanese treat, seared over straw. Dried, it becomes dashi.
Pomfret
The prized fish of Mumbai and the Konkan coast after the monsoon, fried whole or cooked in curry.
Game
Venison, pheasant, grouse and wild boar are hunted in autumn, for roasts, stews, pies and ragù.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; credits on the sources page.