Well & Whole
The Winter Kitchen: A Whole-Foods Guide to the Season's Best Produce
Winter is when the produce aisle gets interesting. Squash, sweet potatoes, citrus and pomegranates are at their best right now, and most of them keep for weeks. Here's how to choose them at the store, keep them fresh at home and get them on the table.
The Wasatch Front's gardens are put to bed for the season, but the grocery store isn't. The cold months bring sturdy vegetables built for storage and bright fruit that peaks in the dead of winter. They're also some of the most affordable whole foods you can buy.
For each food below, you'll find what to look for at the store, how to store it, a few easy ways to cook it and why it's worth adding to your cart. Each one also has a short how-to video.
Winter squash
Butternut, acorn, spaghetti, kabocha and delicata squash fill the bins this time of year, and they're among the longest-keeping vegetables you can buy.
At the store: Choose squash that feels heavy for its size, with a firm, dull rind and no cracks, soft spots or moldy stem. A bit of stem still attached helps it keep longer.
At home: Store whole squash somewhere cool, dry and dark, like a pantry or basement, not the fridge. Keep it away from apples and pears, which give off a gas that shortens its life. Butternut keeps two to three months, and hubbard and kabocha can last up to six. Once cut, wrap it and refrigerate.
In the kitchen:
- Roast it: Halve, scoop the seeds, brush with olive oil and roast cut-side down at 400°F until a fork slides in easily.
- Make soup: Simmer roasted squash with onion, garlic and broth, then blend.
- Swap the pasta: Roasted spaghetti squash pulls into noodle-like strands with a fork.
Why it's worth it: Winter squash is an excellent source of vitamin A and fiber. As a rule, the darker the skin, the more beta-carotene inside.
Watch: How to peel and cut a butternut squash
Video is about 1 year old.
Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are cheap, filling and endlessly flexible. They work at breakfast, in a weeknight dinner or on the holiday table.
At the store: Look for firm, plump sweet potatoes with smooth, unblemished skin. Pass on any with soft spots, wrinkles or sprouts.
At home: Keep them in a cool, dark, well-ventilated spot, and don't wash them until you're ready to cook. Skip the fridge until they're cooked. Raw sweet potatoes stored below about 50°F can develop a hard center and an off flavor. Cooked leftovers go in the refrigerator like any other. Skip plastic bags too, since trapped moisture leads to rot. Stored this way, they keep for a few weeks.
In the kitchen:
- Bake them whole: Prick with a fork and bake at 400°F for 45 minutes to an hour, until soft. Top with black beans, salsa and a spoonful of Greek yogurt for an easy dinner.
- Roast in cubes: Toss with olive oil, salt and smoked paprika for a sheet-pan side.
- Make breakfast hash: Dice small and brown in a skillet with onions, then crack eggs on top.
Why it's worth it: Sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene and fiber. Eat the skin, too. It's where much of the fiber is.
Watch: Whole baked sweet potatoes in the oven
Video is about 2 years old.
Citrus
Citrus hits its peak in the coldest months. Beyond the everyday navel orange, look for Cara Caras, blood oranges, mandarins, clementines and grapefruit.
At the store: Pick fruit that feels heavy for its size, which means more juice. The skin should be firm and smell fresh, with no soft or moldy spots. A little green on an orange is normal and doesn't mean it's unripe.
At home: Citrus is fine in a fruit bowl for several days, but it lasts weeks loose in the refrigerator crisper drawer. Bring it back to room temperature before juicing to get more out of it.
In the kitchen:
- Eat it as is: Peeled mandarins and orange segments are the easiest whole-food snack there is, especially in school lunches.
- Build a winter salad: Slice oranges or grapefruit over greens with sliced red onion, a few nuts and olive oil.
- Finish with zest: Grated peel brightens roasted vegetables, fish, oatmeal and baked goods.
Why it's worth it: Citrus is a top source of vitamin C, and it comes with fiber that juice leaves behind. Vitamin C breaks down with heat, so fresh citrus delivers the most.
Watch: How to cut clean orange segments for salads
Video is about 11 years old, but the technique hasn't changed.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are a true seasonal treat. The Wonderful variety, which makes up most of the commercial crop, is in season from October through January.
At the store: Choose by weight, not color. A heavy pomegranate is full of juicy seeds, called arils. Look for firm fruit with no bruises, cracks or soft spots. Slightly squared-off sides are a sign of ripeness.
At home: Whole pomegranates keep a few days on the counter or several weeks in the refrigerator. Once opened, pull out all the arils and refrigerate them in a covered container for up to about five days. They also freeze well. Spread them on a tray to freeze, then bag them.
In the kitchen:
- Seed it without the mess: Score the skin into quarters and break the fruit apart in a bowl of water. Loosen the arils with your thumbs. They sink, and the bitter white membrane floats to the top for easy skimming.
- Top everything: Scatter arils over salads, oatmeal, yogurt or roasted squash.
- Short on time? Grocery stores sell ready-to-eat arils in tubs.
Why it's worth it: Arils add fiber, vitamin C and a burst of tart sweetness. Eat the seed inside each one too, since that's where the fiber is.
Watch: How to cut and seed a pomegranate using the water method
Video is about 11 years old, but the technique hasn't changed.
Kale and hearty greens
Kale, collards and Swiss chard are cool-weather crops, and cold temperatures tend to make their leaves sweeter.
At the store: Look for crisp, deep-green leaves with no yellowing, wilting or slimy spots. Smaller leaves are more tender. Bagged, pre-washed greens are a fine shortcut.
At home: Refrigerate greens unwashed in a loosely closed bag with a paper towel to soak up moisture. They're best used within about a week.
In the kitchen:
- Massage it raw: Strip the leaves from the stems, tear them up and rub with a little olive oil, lemon juice and salt for a minute or two. The leaves soften into a salad that holds up for days.
- Sauté it: Cook with garlic and olive oil until just wilted, then finish with a squeeze of lemon.
- Stir it into soup: Add chopped greens to bean, lentil or vegetable soup in the last few minutes of cooking.
Why it's worth it: Dark leafy greens are packed with vitamins A, C and K, plus fiber. Cooking them with a little oil helps your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins.
Watch: How and why to massage kale
Video is about 4 years old.
Brussels sprouts
If you grew up on boiled, mushy Brussels sprouts, give them another try. Roasted, they turn crisp, nutty and a little sweet.
At the store: Choose small, firm, bright-green sprouts with tightly packed leaves. Smaller sprouts tend to be sweeter. Avoid yellowing leaves or black spots. If you find them still on the stalk, they'll stay fresh longer.
At home: Refrigerate them unwashed in a bag and use within about a week. The longer they sit, the stronger their flavor gets.
In the kitchen:
- Roast them: Trim the ends, halve them and toss with olive oil and salt. Roast cut-side down at 425°F until the edges are deeply browned.
- Shave them raw: Slice thin for a crunchy slaw with apple, nuts and a lemony dressing.
- Avoid overcooking: Boiling them too long is what brings out the sulfur smell people remember.
Why it's worth it: Brussels sprouts are a good source of vitamins C and K and fiber, and they're part of the same family as broccoli and cabbage.
Watch: Garlic roasted Brussels sprouts
Video is about 7 months old.
Putting it together: one Sunday, a week of meals
You don't need a new recipe every night to eat this way. Spend an hour on Sunday and the rest of the week mostly assembles itself.
- Roast two sheet pans: cubed squash or sweet potatoes on one, halved Brussels sprouts on the other.
- Prep a bowl of greens: massage a bunch of kale, which holds up in the fridge for several days.
- Seed a pomegranate and wash a bag of mandarins for grab-and-go snacks.
From there, build grain bowls, stir roasted vegetables into soup, pile them on salads or reheat them alongside eggs, chicken or fish. Whole foods don't have to be complicated. They just have to be ready when you're hungry.
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