Where in the world is a lot of fruit in season now (Jan., Feb...)?

[garyb]

Where in the world is fruit in season during the winter months?

We'd like to go somewhere during the next three or four months (Jan., onwards) where we can get a lot of RIPE, in-season fruit.

Some places we are considering are: Brazil or Argentina, South Africa...

Where in the world can we find in-season fruit now?

Thanks!

[Veganforlife]

Maybe these web sites will have something?

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/fruits_region_frameset.htm

http://www.wisebread.com/fresh-fruits-and-vegetables-by-the-month

[Revvell]

I understand it's summer in New Zealand now.

Revvell (http://www.Revvellations.com/shopping)

[klomasius]

Come to Australia!

We have lots of fruits in season now and early next year. Cheap mangoes, stone fruits, pineapples, you name it, most of it grown here.

We are heading way up north to the tropics in a couple of weeks time, GREAT for all sorts of weird and wonderful fruits (bad for weather though, rainy season, and the beaches are full of jellyfish) but everywhere else is fine.

Have a lovely holiday wherever you go!

[Ilse W.]

In the Southern hemisphere. The closest place to us is probably from Southern Mexico on down. Great place to go is Costa Rica.

[garyb]

Klomasius,

Australia sounds fascinating. Can you tell me more?

Is there celery there? Is it sweet or bitter?
Is there Rose Apple (http://tinyurl.com/428kef)?
Peaches?
Blueberries?

Thanks for the reply!

[zinny]

South Africa, esp Cape Town! There is very little produce imported to SA--nearly everything is local and in season. I buy most of my produce weekly from this organic co-op: www.ethical.org.za

[klomasius]

Sorry Garyb,

I'm on holidays in tropical far north Queensland at the moment and only just got to a net computer,

Yes we have celery (haha, doesn't everyone?) I guess it's sweet, never had bitter celery before. :)

We have peaches and all kinds of stone fruit in season now, the blueberry season will finish about the end of this month, but in the tropics (i.e. Queensland) many of the tropical fruits are just coming into season. Fruit here in Australia seems to taste better to me than it did when I was in US of A. But we mainly had conventional there so not sure what the organic is like. Also, we have stricter rules when it comes to organic growing and even what chemicals can be used on produce than America (but still not as strict as Europe, they are the best).

We visited a tropical fruit farm yesterday and we were in heaven. Jackfruit, rollinia, mamey sapote, snake fruit, apiu, tropical passion fruit, soursop, etc.

Check this out:

http://www.capetrib.com.au/

Even in plain old Melbourne we can get all sorts of fresh fruits and veg, the markets are really good.

For raw food communities, try Raw Pleasure, Raw Power and other veg boards have raw section or raw posters.

Hope this helps a little, I'm back to see if I can harvest a jackfruit on a tree near the resort's pool!

[garyb]

klomasius, thanks for the info! We're in Australia now. We're buying a motor home and will travel from Perth to the east coast, eating great fruits and veggies along the way. We're loving the food here. Seems pretty expensive, but tastes good. Many things are larger here. Big mangoes, huge celery, watermelons, grapes, cucumbers and so on. Maybe it's the fertile soil.

[garyb]

Zinny, South Africa sounds good. We'd like to visit when we can. I looked at the website. The prices seem quite reasonable. Are they higher in grocery stores or farmer's markets, or about the same?

[klomasius]

Oh gary good on you!!!

Please tell me when you will be here in Melbourne if you are coming here! Maybe we can arrange a meet up. I can tell you where all the best produce is to be gotten as well as all the health food shops. We have an active raw meetup community here with regular raw vegan potlucks. I haven't been to one in ages as I'm so busy but I'd definitely make an exception!

We aren't as lucky as you guys in the US for raw cafes and restaurants, we don't have any, not even places that have raw dishes besides salads! But we have some raw packaged products available.

If you are in Queensland, don't forget to visit Raw Pleasure and Raw Power for hints and tips from the locals about where to get fresh stuff. If you are in QLD, you must try macadamias straight from the shell, they are native to QLD!

Have a wonderful holiday!!!!

[bird]

garyb, if you're in perth on the 7th of feb, there is a rawfood picnic meet up - you can reach the info from here: http://www.rawhope.org/

a friend of mine started it and everyone is always welcome. i'm going for the first time in feb, please come along if you are free + in the area.

[Azaria]

If you are in Queensland, don't forget to visit Raw Pleasure and Raw Power for hints and tips from the locals about where to get fresh stuff. If you are in QLD, you must try macadamias straight from the shell, they are native to QLD!

Ah, I love it when someone recognises that Qld isn't completely and totally backwards! We have Raw Energy too which has some fantastic options. And yes, the macadamias straight from the shell....

[zinny]

Zinny, South Africa sounds good. We'd like to visit when we can. I looked at the website. The prices seem quite reasonable. Are they higher in grocery stores or farmer's markets, or about the same?

Sorry never came back to this thread! In case you didn't get around to buying tickets yet... The prices at this co-op are comparable or slightly higher than organic in the stores, but the overall quality is much better, and almost everything is organic (though often not certified). Finding organic in the shops is more of an ordeal--Pick n Pay and Woolworths are the two big chains with some decent organic options. If you don't mind conventionally grown, you can get fresh produce for a lot less and with more variety.
Some things that are very pricey in other parts of the world--avos and mangoes and pineapples--are quite cheap. You can get dried mango at any gas station with a little shop attached.

Unfortunately the US-style farmer's markets aren't really available in SA--they tend to have a lot of home made prepared foods, eg artisan breads, cheeses, etc, but little produce.