Make the most of this 'season of mellow fruitfulness' by devouring Britain's bounty of seasonal fruit and vegetables.  The autumn months provide a bumper crop of British root vegetables, which include carrots, onions, turnips, swedes, potatoes, garlic and of course, being October, pumpkins.

Root vegetables are vegetables where the edible part is the root.  They are satisfyingly sweet, low in saturated fat and cholesterol and packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals.  Another reason to buy British is that the fresher they are the more vitamins and minerals are retained.  The urban myth that carrots help you see in the dark may not be so fantastical.  In fact the British developed high-carotene carrots during World War II in order to enhance pilots' night vision. A large parsnip can provide 24% of a woman's daily fibre requirement.  Beetroots are hard to 'beet' for iron content. Potatoes have had a poor press recently due to low-carb diets but  they actually contain more potassium than bananas, spinach or broccoli and in these colder months the carbohydrates will give you the energy you need to keep warm.  If your waistline is a worry then a medium sweet potato is packed with vitamin A and has only 103 calories. There is also medical evidence that this family of vegetables provides an important compound that seems to offer cancer protection by stimulating enzymes that deactivate carcinogens.

In addition to all the health benefits there are also enormous environmental advantages.  The average supermarket fresh food product has travelled 1,000 miles.  Buying locally-grown or even growing your own root vegetables greatly reduces the environmental and financial costs. Especially during winter months, root vegetables are generally low-cost options. Buy carrots, potatoes, beetroot, swedes, celeriac and radishes should have firm, heavy flesh and wrinkle-free skin; avoid any with soft patches or sprouting; carrots should have fresh-looking, leafy tops, with no discolouration or wilting; potatoes should be firm and well-shaped with no eyes or green patches. Keep your root vegetables in a  perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, with the exception of radishes and turnips which last a week and carrots which last up to two weeks. Just make sure you start off with fresh, firm roots with no signs of withering.

Above all, root vegetables taste utterly delicious.  There are many ways to serve them; roasted; or as the base of a soup, stew or casserole; mashed and served alongside some British sausages; or slowly baked to bring out a wonderful sweet flavour.  A splash of orange or lemon juice adds a refreshing flavour when the vegetables are steamed or microwaved. You can even use root vegetables in your baking.  Harry Eastwood, has recently published a cookery book, called Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache, in which the butter and occasionally flour in cakes is replaced with vegetables such as butternut squash and beetroot.  The beetroot brownies are definitely one to try.  As we enter the winter months, nothing tastes more wholesome or provides more comfort than British root vegetables.

For an Autumn Vegetable Medley recipe [click here]
For a delicious root vegetable based Julienne Soup recipe [click here]
For a selection of root vegetable recipes [click here]
To purchase or read more about Harry Eastwood's vegetable cakes [click here]