Seasonal Food in Burlington VT: Maple, Apple

What is in season in Burlington, and what to order when the market changes.

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20-21 Mar 2027Maple syrup, sugar on snow

Spring

Maple syrup and sugar on snow: Peak boil mid-March through mid-April; the Vermont Maple Open House Weekend (next edition March 20-21, 2027) opens 80-plus sugarhouses for tours and sugar-on-snow tastings.
Fiddleheads (Matteuccia struthiopteris): May through early June; foraged from Vermont riverbanks. Fiddlehead Brewing in Shelburne takes its name from them; Misery Loves Co. and Honey Road work them into the seasonal menu.
Ramps (wild leeks): Mid-April through late May; foraged from northeastern Vermont woods. Pickled and folded into Hen of the Wood's mushroom toast and the farm-to-table menus across Church Street.
Vermont asparagus: Mid-May through June; sold by every Saturday vendor at the Burlington Farmers Market on Pine Street.

Maple creemees: Soft-serve made with Vermont maple syrup; Palmer Lane Maple, Morse Farm and the Skinny Pancake all serve canonical versions. Peak season June-August.
Lake Champlain perch and walleye: Caught from the Burlington shore through summer; Splash at the Boathouse and seasonal lakefront restaurants run them as specials.
Vermont strawberries and blueberries: Strawberries late June; blueberries July-August. Pick-your-own farms ring the Champlain Valley.
Heirloom tomatoes: Late August through September; the Saturday market on Pine Street is the source.

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Vermont apples and cider: September through October; Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury (cider donuts) and Citizen Cider on Flynn Avenue are the Burlington-region anchors.
Vermont cheddar (peak season): All year, but September is when the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival lands at Shelburne Farms (Sept 20, 2026) and the Cabot, Jasper Hill, Shelburne Farms cheesemakers show their full range.
Hunter's pumpkin and butternut squash: Mid-September through November; folded into pies, soups and the November Thanksgiving plate.

Cabot 'aged' cheddar and Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue: The Vermont cheese plate runs all winter; City Market and Shelburne Farms shops sell the older wheels.
Maple-glazed everything: Maple turns up in cocktails, glazes, brown butter and breakfast plates all winter; the canonical use is on a fresh-baked biscuit at August First.
Winter farmers market preserves: The Winter Farmers Market at Burlington Beer Company runs twice monthly November through April; root vegetables, pickles, jams, cheese, meat and maple.