In season in October

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, Güllaç, Dabeli

Fig

A Mediterranean late-summer fruit, eaten with ham or cheese, baked in tarts, or dried.

Goes into: Rakı, Ma'amoul, Charoset, Picarones

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, Coleslaw

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, Ma'amoul, Hamantash

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.

Spinach

A cool-weather leaf for palak paneer, spanakopita and Persian borani.

Goes into: Pakora, Ravioli, Börek, Japchae

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, Samsa

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, Bubur cha cha, Tsukune, Amala

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, Bhaji, Bandeja paisa

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, Stamppot

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

Cauliflower

A winter vegetable in north India, for aloo gobi and stuffed paratha. Baked with cheese in Britain.

Goes into: Pakora, Khichdi, Maqluba, Aloo gobi

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

Beetroot

The root behind borscht across eastern Europe. Pickled, roasted, or grated into salads.

Goes into: Borscht, Raita, Silpancho, Vinegret

Fennel

A winter bulb in Italy, sliced raw with orange in Sicily or braised and baked with cheese.

Goes into: Akvavit, Ouzo, Merguez, Porchetta

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, Songpyeon

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.