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POMONA.

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What “Seasonal” Really Means

A short, honest explanation of the word every fruit shop throws around.

By The OrchardMay 20266 min read
A flat lay of assorted fruits in season
Contents
  1. 01Available is not the same as in season
  2. 02The calendar, not the marketing team
  3. 03Why we say no

Seasonal does not simply mean available now. It means the fruit grew in the conditions it evolved for and was picked at the exact moment it was ready to be eaten.

Available is not the same as in season

Almost any fruit can be made available in any month, if you are willing to grow it under lights, fly it across the world, and hold it in cold rooms. Availability is a logistics question. Season is a flavour question.

The calendar, not the marketing team

When we say a fruit is seasonal, we mean growers are picking it right now. The list changes with the harvest, and sometimes it is short. That honesty is the point.

Fruit arranged by season on a table
Each fruit has a few weeks of glory and we structure the shop around them.
We would rather wait for the right season than pretend every fruit is at its best all year round.
The Pomona Kitchen

Why we say no

Saying no to an out-of-season fruit is a quiet promise: when we do stock it, it will be worth the wait. That is what seasonal means to us.

seasonalsourcing

End of story

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