Fennel

Fennel is a vegetable with a lot going for it. It’s crunchy and sweet when tossed raw into a salad, and once cooked it becomes silky soft. 

Jerusalem Artichoke
Sweet and quite delicate, the crisp, white flesh has a sweet, fresh nutty taste with subtle hints of artichoke heart, salsify and water chestnuts. 

Kale
The flavour is rich, intense and slightly sweet, and it’s one of the few vegetables where the flavour is improved when plants are ‘kissed by frost’, making winter the perfect time to enjoy kale. 

Swiss Chard
Silverbeet, often called Swiss chard or chard, is a dark leafy green with a thick stalk which can be an array of colours from white to pink or orange. 

Spinach

Spinach is every chef’s best friend when catering for a crowd or a cabinet. It makes a substantial filler in filo or pie mixes and especially salads. 

Truffle

Truffles truly have the unique ability to enhance savoury and even sweet dishes to gourmet status. The pungent aroma and subtle flavour can turn any traditional dish into a gourmet taste experience.

Celeriac
Not as familiar in our kitchens as some of its winter cousins, knobbly, odd-shaped celeriac is a type of celery, cultivated for its root.

Kohlrabi

Contrary to what it looks like, kohlrabi is not a root vegetable. Instead, as a form of cabbage, it’s a member of the mustard family. Kohlrabi taste and texture can also be likened to broccoli stem, with a sweet yet mild, peppery bite—a little like radish.

Yam
Most commonly recognised as sweet, pink-red tubers that are small, often about the size of a thumb and have a slightly shiny and ribbed surface. Sweeter, slightly smaller varieties, coloured yellow, apricot and golden are also now available in New Zealand.

Cabbage
Such a versatile vegetable, cabbage offers a variety of flavours and textures depending on cooking technique. Grown year round but at their cheapest and best during winter, cabbage is not just good for our health, but also great for our food cost. 

Persimmon
Prized in Asia, the persimmon, shaped like a large tomato and with a silky, slippery texture, has a very unique flavour. The ripe fruit has a high glucose content and is sweet in taste. 

Tamarillo
A relative of the potato, tomato, eggplant and capsicum, tamarillo, otherwise known as the ‘tree tomato’, is native to Central and South America.

Citrus

If you ever needed proof nature knows best you just have to look at citrus. As the cold months of winter descend and we are in need of immune boosting vitamin C, citrus fruits burst to life.  

Lemon

It’s hard to beat lemons for versatility and usefulness. Not just useful for their juice—the zest contains lemon oil, which is where you’ll find the most flavour-bang for your buck.

Mandarin
In China mandarins are considered symbols of abundance and good fortune. They are given as gifts and used for decoration during the Chinese New Year. 

Orange

While juice is the number one use of oranges around the world, there are so many more ways to enjoy this popular fruit.

Grapefruit
Grapefruit’s refreshing, tart flavour makes it a superb companion to fish; it’s also very good with chicken and pork. Spices that marry well with grapefruit include cardamom, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

Lime
Limes are valued for both their acidity of their juice and the floral aroma of their zest. Limes have lower acid and sugar content than lemons, and really pack a punch in the flavour stakes.
 

Swede

Surprisingly, Swede's are said to taste better after a frost, so they won’t let you down in winter. The leaves can be eaten and compared to kale; however, in New Zealand it is the root of the plant that is readily available.

Celery
One medium stalk of celery contains just six calories, no fat or cholesterol and barely any sugar or carbohydrates, making it extremely healthy. Dieting myth says it takes more energy to chew a stalk of celery than the calories it contains!

Asian Greens
You don’t have to be an Asian-leaning restaurant to use this diverse group of greens. Swap green cabbage for wong bok, use gai lan where you would broccolini, or use Shanghai pak choy instead of spinach. Their versatility and adaptability make Asian greens a no brainer for your menu.

Parnsip
Parsnips pair particularly well with other root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, celeriac and turnips. They’re also frequently served with red meat like a pot roast or corned beef but equally delicious with port, duck and venison.

Rhubarb
Like tomatoes are technically a fruit, rhubarb is technically a vegetable, although often mistaken for a fruit due to the abundance of baking and dessert recipes. The culinary use of rhubarb gained popularity 200 years ago but has been used medicinally for 5,000 years.