Yayyy to progress….
Oh my word, the journey, to catalogue, standardize, document Nigerian cuisine never stops! After four years of cataloguing what’s in season and when across Nigeria, I’ve finally put together the first version of the first ever seasonal produce calendar for Nigerian fruits and vegetables. This is one of the tenets of the New Nigerian Kitchen.
Many thanks to Ramon of Observation in Progress for the numerous conversations and attempts. It is done!
What’s the fuss?
Nigerian cuisine is highly seasonal. Fruits and vegetables in season are at the peak of their nutritive value and often are much cheaper, thus more accessible for more. This calendar is a great guide to what’s in season and when.
- It shows that some fruits and vegetables have multiple harvest seasons, like Soursop
- That Agbalumo first appears in the dry season/ harmattan and lasts through the first wet season
- It also highlights – not yet documented, similarities in fruit seasons across the globe, particularly and understandably in the Tropics
What’s the aim?
Well, historically, most fruits are eaten out of hand. The aim – in the midterm – for the calendar is:
- to be a rallying point around which Nigerians share other fruits and vegetables, including those not yet captured
- check regional variations across Nigeria, if any
- develop recipes and resources around each ingredient from name, to provenance and culinary possibilities
Free Download – Full Calendar
You are free to download this calendar and share widely – A Seasonal Guide to Nigerian Fruits & Vegetables.
You can use/ embed in your features – please do not modify in anyway and do not trim off the Kitchen Butterfly logo. Thank you
Next Steps?
I hope to update the calendar every month – or every quarter – I’ll have to see what works. The updated version will be based on observations and additional information and I will publish.
How you can help?
If you know any fruits and vegetables to add, dates to adjust, have ideas, think you can do a better job designing it, or anything else, please share below
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This is an amazing list. Was wondering about avocados.
Again, we’ll done.
Thank you!
Check out this post with the updated version. It covers avocados. https://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/2018/version-1-3-nigerian-seasonal-produce-calendar-2/
Well done for this excellent job. I was just thinking of going on holiday to Nigeria sometime this year 2023, then I couldn’t remember which fruit will be season, I thought of asking a friend or family, then, I said in fact let me check Google and behold I found this your well planned piece of research.
More grace my dear.
You’re welcome. I’m glad it helped!
I was just reading through old blogs and thinking of you. Hope you and your family are well. 🙂 We are back in the States now (sniff), and our kids are now almost 8, 5 and 2.
And this seasonal chart would’ve been handy to have when we lived there! Nice! 🙂
Thinking of you!
Christie
Well done Kitchen Butterfly! This is very good and useful. Future generations will thank you. Even present ones. Double thumbs up!
Thank you! I hope so
It’s amazing the work you do. Congratulations!!!
Thank you so much!
Downloaded!!! I was eagerly looking out for my special small fruits and they were not left out ?. Now, I can wait for agbalumo next year. This is ?????