What is in season in Cape Town. and what to order when the market changes.

Spring

  • Waterblommetjies: The Cape pond weed flowers from late May and runs to about mid-October. Spring is the tail of the season, and it is the last chance for a proper waterblommetjiebredie with lamb and sorrel.
  • Asparagus: Western Cape asparagus, both green and white, lands at the Oranjezicht City Farm Market and the greengrocers from September through November.
  • Strawberries: Stellenbosch and Elgin berries arrive from late September. Farm stalls on the R44 sell them by the punnet and the city's pastry counters build tarts around them.
  • Artichokes: Globe artichokes turn up on Cape menus through September and October, usually grilled over coals and dressed with lemon and olive oil.
  • Snoek: The snoek run builds from April and holds into spring. Kalk Bay harbour sells it off the boats, and the standard treatment is a whole fish braaied with apricot jam.

Summer

  • West Coast rock lobster: The recreational crayfish season is set around 15 November to 15 March. Hout Bay and the West Coast towns are where it is eaten simplest, split and grilled with garlic butter.
  • Stone fruit: Peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots come off the Ceres and Robertson orchards from November to February. The apricots become the jam that ends up on the braai.
  • Figs: Black and green figs run from December to February. They go onto cheese boards across the Constantia and Franschhoek wine farms while they last.
  • Yellowtail: Summer is the yellowtail run off Cape Point. It is the city's most-served line fish from December to March, usually grilled whole or cut into thick steaks.
  • Hanepoot and table grapes: Muscat d'Alexandrie, known locally as hanepoot, ripens in January and February alongside the table-grape harvest in the Hex River Valley.

Autumn

  • Wine harvest: Picking runs across the Cape from February to April. Constantia, Durbanville and the Winelands hold harvest festivals, and the first juice is tasted straight from the tank.
  • Pine ring mushrooms: Saffron milk caps push up under the pine plantations of Constantia Nek and Tokai after the first autumn rain, usually from March to May.
  • Quinces: Cape quinces ripen in March and April. They go into quince paste for the cheese board and into the slow lamb bredies the cold months call for.
  • Olives: The Western Cape olive harvest runs from March to May, and the new season's oil from Paarl, Tulbagh and the Swartland reaches the markets by late autumn.
  • Pomegranates: Pomegranates come in from March to May, and Cape Malay kitchens use the seeds to finish rice dishes and salads through the turn of the season.

Winter

  • Snoek: The main snoek run sits between May and August. Kalk Bay and Hout Bay harbours sell it whole off the boat, smoked for snoek pate, or salted and dried as bokkoms.
  • Waterblommetjies: The buds are ready in the southern midwinter, with July and August the peak. Waterblommetjiebredie, stewed with lamb neck and sorrel, is the dish of the Cape winter.
  • Black mussels: West Coast black mussels are at their best in the cold months and are pulled from the rocks along the Atlantic seaboard under permit from June to August.
  • Naartjies and citrus: Naartjies, navels and lemons arrive in June and hold through August. They are the winter market fruit and the base of the city's marmalade.
  • Root vegetables and bredies: Cauliflower, turnip, pumpkin and waterblommetjies feed the winter bredie, the slow Cape stew that gives the season its cooking.

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