British seasonal food in October – what to eat now
Here’s the latest comprehensive guide to the best British seasonal food in October. The leaves are turning red, yellow and brown, the nights are drawing in, and the temperature’s starting to cool.
October’s hearty star ingredients are perfect for comfort food when it’s cold and rainy, lending themselves to soups, stews, pies, crumbles, baked fruits and any main course served with mashed potato and gravy.
Here’s what’s in peak condition at the market, on your allotment, in your delivery box or on the supermarket shelves this month.
Fruit in season in October
Apples and pears are the big crop this month, but also look out for ripe figs and the last few berries.
Home-grown British fruit
- apples
- blackberries
- figs
- grapes
- pears
- plums
- quinces
- raspberries
Best imported seasonal fruit
- figs
- grapes
Nuts in season in October
- cobnuts and hazelnuts
- sweet chestnuts
- walnuts
Recommended seasonal fruit & preserves books
Vegetables in season in October
There’s still lots of choice among the vegetables, with kale, pumpkin, and more on offer.
- aubergine
- autumn cabbage (green, red)
- broccoli (calabrese, autumn sprouting)
- brussels sprouts
- cardoons
- celeriac
- celery
- chard
- chicory
- chillies
- courgettes
- cucumber
- endive
- fennel (Florence)
- Jerusalem artichoke
- kale
- kohlrabi
- lettuce
- leeks
- marrow
- pak choi
- parsnips
- peppers
- pumpkins and winter squashes
- radishes (summer, winter)
- salsify
- scorzonera
- spinach
- spring onions
- swedes
- sweetcorn
- sweet peppers
- turnips
- tomatoes
- watercress
[Available most months in good condition: button mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, maincrop potatoes, onions, rocket.]
Recommended seasonal veg books & box delivery
Herbs in season in October
- chervil
- chives
- coriander
- dill
- fennel
- lovage
- marjoram
- mint
- oregano
- parsley
- rosemary
- sage
- sorrel
- summer savory
- thyme
- winter savory
[Always available: chives, coriander, parsley grown under cover; older leaves of hardy perennials like bay, rosemary, sage, thyme.]
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Wild / foraged food in season in October
It’s a great month for wild food and foraged ingredients. In particular, look out for a wide variety of wild mushrooms.
- bullaces
- crab apples
- damsons
- elderberries
- samphire (rock)
- sloes
- wild mushrooms (ceps / penny bun, chanterelles, field, horn of plenty / black trumpets / trompettes, puffball, truffle and many more)
[Take great care when foraging as it’s very easy to confuse edible and poisonous ingredients.]
Recommended foraging & wild food books
Fish in season in October
October is one of the best months of the year for seafood as cooler seas arrive, including most shellfish, white fish and flat fish. Stars of the season include mussels, haddock, and sustainably caught cod and squid.
Seasonal fish varies greatly around the UK, and from year to year, but here’s a rough guide to what’s on sale now:
Sustainable types of fish & shellfish
- brill
- clams
- cockles
- coley / saithe
- crab (spider)
- dab
- flounder
- gurnard (grey, red)
- haddock
- hake
- herring / sild
- langoustine / scampi
- lobster
- mackerel
- monkfish
- mussels
- oysters (native)
- plaice
- pollock
- pouting / bib
- prawns
- sardines / European pilchard
- scallops
- sole (common / Dover, lemon, witch / Torbay)
- sprat / whitebait
- trout
- wild turbot
[To the best of my knowledge the list above excludes critically endangered fish, but this information is subject to change. Visit The Good Fish Guide from the Marine Conservation Society to check their latest lists.]
Fish in season, less sustainable
Some of the fish in the ‘less sustainable’ list below are fished responsibly in certain areas of the UK, so you should still be able to source them from a reliable fishmonger.
- Atlantic cod
- john dory
- red mullet
- squid
- whiting
- wild seabass
- wild seabream
- wild sea trout
- whelks
- winkles
[In good condition almost all year: herring, farmed arctic char, farmed halibut, farmed rainbow trout, farmed sea bream, farmed turbot, megrim sole, sustainably-fished monkfish, rope-grown mussels, prawns.]
Recommended seasonal fish & shellfish books
Meat, poultry and game in season in October
- capercaillie
- goose
- grouse (black, red)
- guinea fowl
- hare
- lamb (hogget, late season)
- mallard
- ptarmigan
- snipe (common)
- teal
- partridge (grey, red-legged)
- pheasant
- venison (fallow buck, red stag, roe buck, sika stag)
- wigeon
- wild duck
- woodcock
[Always available in good condition: beef, chicken, pork, rabbit, farmed venison, wood pigeon.]
Recommended meat, poultry & game books
Cheese in season in October
The cheeses made from rich late spring and summer pasture milks are starting to mature and become stronger in flavour this month.
UK-made cheeses
- short-matured blue cheeses such as Dorset Blue Vinny or Pevensey Blue
- Caerphilly
- Pennard Ridge red cheese
- Rosary Ash goat cheese
- Wensleydale
- vintage cheddars
Imported seasonal cheese
- Brillat Savarin triple cream cheese
- Saint-Nectaire
- first Vacherin
[Many quality mature cheeses are available year-round, especially hard cheeses.]
Recommended cheese & wine books + delivery
Enjoyed this guide? You may also like:
- British seasonal food in September
- British seasonal food in November
- Grow your own fruit & veg on a budget
- Christmas prep in October – get organised
What we’re eating at Golightly Gardens
We managed to grow a few Sweet Dumpling mini pumpkins this year, and they’ve been sitting on a bright windowsill maturing since being cut from the vines. These are small enough to cut in half, remove the seeds and stuff with garlic and herbs before roasting in the oven for a seasonal treat.
I’ve also decided that October 2024 is going to feature an amazing cheeseboard, including a creamy Brillat Savarin and a couple of British cheeses. Probably an Ash Rosary goat cheese and some Caerphilly or Wensleydale. Plus walnuts, pear slices, grapes, fig preserve, crusty bread and crackers.
There are some blackberries in the freezer too, so they’ll be going into a blackberry and pear crumble over the weekend. It’s definitely crumble weather.
Recommended seasonal inspiration books
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Have any of the ingredients from British seasonal food in October list caught your eye?
What’s your favourite recipe for this time of year? Let us know in the comments below.
