Kitchen

Seasonal food calendar

What’s in season in Turkey, month by month: vegetables, fruit, fish, wild greens and mushrooms. What’s in season tastes better and costs less.

Based on Istanbul and Marmara markets; depending on the weather and the year, things can shift by a few weeks.

January

Vegetables

  • Cabbage
  • Black cabbage
  • Leeks
  • Spinach
  • Celeriac
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Beetroot
  • Radishes
  • Brussels sprouts

Fruit

  • Oranges
  • Mandarins
  • Grapefruit
  • Lemons
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Quinces
  • Kiwis
  • Pomegranates

Fish

  • Anchovy
  • Horse mackerel
  • Whiting
  • Turbot
  • Grey mullet
  • Striped red mullet

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Wild chicory (radika)

February

Vegetables

  • Cabbage
  • Black cabbage
  • Leeks
  • Spinach
  • Celeriac
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Radishes
  • Chard

Fruit

  • Oranges
  • Mandarins
  • Grapefruit
  • Lemons
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Kiwis

Fish

  • Anchovy
  • Horse mackerel
  • Whiting
  • Turbot
  • Grey mullet

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Wild chicory (radika)
  • Nettles

March

Vegetables

  • Spinach
  • Chard
  • Spring onions
  • Lettuce
  • Artichokes
  • Broad beans
  • Radishes
  • Leeks
  • Cauliflower

Fruit

  • Oranges
  • Lemons
  • Grapefruit
  • Kiwis
  • Apples

Fish

  • Whiting
  • Turbot
  • Grey mullet
  • Horse mackerel

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Nettles
  • Mallow
  • Wild chicory (radika)

April

Vegetables

  • Artichokes
  • Broad beans
  • Peas
  • Asparagus
  • Lettuce
  • Green garlic
  • Spring onions
  • Spinach

Fruit

  • Green plums
  • Green almonds
  • Lemons
  • Apples

Fish

  • Whiting
  • Turbot
  • Grey mullet

The commercial fishing season closes on 15 April; turbot fishing in the Black Sea is banned until 15 June.

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Sorrel
  • Mallow
  • Nettles
  • Morels
  • Wild asparagus

May

Vegetables

  • Artichokes
  • Peas
  • Broad beans
  • Asparagus
  • Courgettes
  • Cucumbers
  • Green beans
  • Purslane

Fruit

  • Strawberries
  • Green plums
  • Loquats
  • Green almonds
  • Cherries

Fish

  • Farmed sea bass
  • Farmed sea bream

The commercial fishing ban is on (15 April–31 August); most fish on the counter is farmed.

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Morels
  • Sorrel

June

Vegetables

  • Courgettes
  • Green beans
  • Cucumbers
  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Aubergines
  • Purslane
  • Fresh borlotti beans

Fruit

  • Cherries
  • Sour cherries
  • Strawberries
  • Apricots
  • Mulberries
  • Loquats
  • Peaches

Fish

  • Farmed sea bass
  • Farmed sea bream

The commercial fishing ban is on (15 April–31 August); most fish on the counter is farmed.

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Samphire

July

Vegetables

  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Aubergines
  • Courgettes
  • Green beans
  • Okra
  • Corn
  • Cucumbers
  • Fresh borlotti beans

Fruit

  • Apricots
  • Peaches
  • Watermelon
  • Melon
  • Sour cherries
  • Plums
  • Mulberries

Fish

  • Farmed sea bass
  • Farmed sea bream

The commercial fishing ban is on (15 April–31 August); most fish on the counter is farmed.

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Samphire

August

Vegetables

  • Tomatoes
  • Aubergines
  • Peppers
  • Okra
  • Corn
  • Green beans
  • Courgettes
  • Fresh borlotti beans

Fruit

  • Watermelon
  • Melon
  • Figs
  • Grapes
  • Peaches
  • Plums
  • Blackberries

Fish

  • Farmed sea bass
  • Farmed sea bream

The commercial fishing season opens on 1 September.

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Samphire

September

Vegetables

  • Tomatoes
  • Aubergines
  • Peppers
  • Corn
  • Okra
  • Green beans

Fruit

  • Grapes
  • Figs
  • Melon
  • Pears
  • Apples
  • Blackberries

Fish

  • Bonito
  • Young bluefish (çinekop)
  • Sardines
  • Red mullet
  • Striped red mullet
  • Horse mackerel

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Chanterelles

October

Vegetables

  • Pumpkin
  • Leeks
  • Spinach
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Celeriac
  • Carrots
  • Aubergines

Fruit

  • Pomegranates
  • Quinces
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Grapes
  • Persimmons
  • Chestnuts
  • Cornelian cherries

Fish

  • Bonito
  • Bluefish
  • Young bluefish (çinekop)
  • Horse mackerel
  • Red mullet
  • Sardines

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Chanterelles
  • Saffron milk caps (kanlıca)

November

Vegetables

  • Pumpkin
  • Leeks
  • Spinach
  • Cabbage
  • Black cabbage
  • Celeriac
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Radishes
  • Beetroot

Fruit

  • Pomegranates
  • Quinces
  • Persimmons
  • Mandarins
  • Oranges
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Chestnuts
  • Kiwis

Fish

  • Bluefish
  • Bonito
  • Large bonito (torik)
  • Anchovy
  • Horse mackerel
  • Whiting
  • Grey mullet

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Saffron milk caps (kanlıca)
  • Chanterelles

December

Vegetables

  • Leeks
  • Cabbage
  • Black cabbage
  • Spinach
  • Celeriac
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Radishes
  • Pumpkin
  • Brussels sprouts

Fruit

  • Mandarins
  • Oranges
  • Grapefruit
  • Pomegranates
  • Quinces
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Kiwis
  • Persimmons

Fish

  • Anchovy
  • Horse mackerel
  • Bluefish
  • Whiting
  • Turbot
  • Grey mullet

Wild greens & mushrooms

  • Wild chicory (radika)

Notes

Before you shop

  • Fish: Turkey’s commercial fishing season closes on 15 April and reopens on 1 September (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Communiqué 6/1). In between, most fish at the market is farmed sea bass and sea bream.
  • Wild mushrooms only from someone who knows them. Buy them at the market from foragers you trust, or go out with an expert.
  • Greenhouse produce is on the shelves all year; this calendar is for what grows in the open field and at sea in its own time.

Kastamonu Market in Kasımpaşa → Mushroom hunting in Şile →

Contact

One address for everything:

iletisim@sinanhamamsarilar.com

Contact page →