In season in December

Guava

Eaten with salt and chilli in India and Mexico, and cooked into paste and hot punch in Latin America.

Goes into: Galette

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

Quince

Too hard to eat raw. Cooked into membrillo in Spain, jams, and stews in Iran and Morocco.

Goes into: Chicha morada

Cranberry

A North American bog berry, harvested in autumn and cooked into sauce for Thanksgiving turkey.

Goes into: Cranberry sauce

Orange

The winter fruit of the Mediterranean, Florida and Nagpur, for juice, marmalade and salads.

Goes into: Mulled wine, Negroni, Rooh Afza, Calisson

Mandarin and clementine

The easy-peel citrus of winter, given at Chinese New Year and tucked into Christmas stockings.

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.

Mustard greens

The winter green of Punjab, cooked slowly into sarson ka saag and eaten with maize flatbread.

Goes into: Caldo verde, Saag

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.

Daikon and winter radish

Simmered in oden in Japan, salted into kimchi in Korea, and stuffed into mooli paratha in north India.

Goes into: Kimchi, Sashimi, Miso soup, Naengmyeon

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

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

Purple yam

Ube in the Philippines, for halaya and ice cream. In Gujarat it goes into the winter pot of undhiyu.

Goes into: Ube halaya

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

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

Date palm jaggery

Nolen gur, tapped from date palms in the Bengal winter, for sandesh, payesh and rice cakes.

Sugarcane

Cut in the cool season, pressed for juice, boiled into jaggery, and chewed at Pongal and Chhath.

Goes into: Grogue, Sugarcane juice, Arrack, Aguardiente

Truffle

White truffles from Alba in autumn, black from Périgord in winter, shaved over eggs, pasta and risotto.

Fenugreek leaves

Fresh methi, a winter green in India, kneaded into thepla and paratha and cooked with potatoes.

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

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.