Lesson video

Hello, thanks for choosing this lesson.

My name's Mr. Ballam, and today we're going to learn about seasonal fruits and vegetables.

So what are we going to learn? What am I gonna be able to do by the end of the lesson? Well, you'll be able to name different fruits and vegetables for the four seasons in the UK.

Sounds good, doesn't it? So let's get started, shall we? And what we're going to do is to look at three keywords that we're going to cover in today's lesson.

And the first one is seasons.

And these are the four parts of the year.

So we have winter, spring, summer, and autumn.

You've probably heard of those before.

The next keyword is seasonal, which sounds very much like seasons, doesn't it? And this is relating to the seasons in the year.

And the third word is climate.

And this is the weather conditions in an area.

So we're gonna look at these three words as we go through the lesson today.

So let's start with the first part of the lesson, which is all around the seasons.

So in the UK we have four seasons, which divide the year.

Now let's name the seasons together, shall we? Now look at the photograph and think about what season you think it is.

So the first one? Yes, that's right.

Winter.

The next one? Springtime.

The next one? Summer.

Well done.

And that means the last one is autumn.

Brilliant work.

So these are the four seasons that we have in the UK.

And how would you describe the weather in these different seasons? So how would you describe winter? It looks cold, doesn't it? How about spring? Well, it looks quite sunny, doesn't it? But not very hot.

And the summer, well, hopefully lots of sunshine and it'd be nice and warm as well.

And the autumn, it's getting colder, isn't it? But not like winter, but it's getting colder.

And you can see here the leaves are falling off the trees.

So the weather is different in each of the four seasons.

So each season has different weather that we've just looked at, but also different daylight hours, the hours change.

So you might think about perhaps in the summer when it doesn't get dark until very late in the evening, but in the winter it gets dark very early.

And this can all affect how our plants grow and therefore what's in season.

And this is because of the Earth's changing position to the sun.

So for example, it is warm and lighter in the summer, but colder and darker in the winter.

And this is just the way that the Earth's position is.

And this is all linked to the Earth orbiting the sun.

So in these different seasons, different fruits and vegetables can grow.

And do you grow any fruits and vegetables? Maybe you've got a small garden or perhaps an allotment.

Or perhaps you can grow fruits and vegetables in a window sill, or perhaps you'd like to grow herbs.

So there's lots of different places we can grow fruits and vegetables, and it's fun too.

So there are three months in each season.

So here's one season, two, three, and four.

Now what I want you to do is, can you name the months in each season? Hmm? What would you say? How about winter? What would be one of the winter months? Can you tell me? Yes.

One of them is December.

So December, January and February.

These are seen as the winter months.

And spring? Brilliant.

Yes.

March, April, and May.

And summer.

June, July, and August.

So that means, yes, that's right.

September, October, November.

So these are the months which are linked to each of the four seasons.

Well done.

So let's have a quick check for understanding, shall we? So how many seasons are there? A, B, C, D.

Great, well done.

Yes, there's four seasons, I thought you get that right.

Great work.

And the UK seasonal fruits and vegetables in the winter include things like this: So they might include leeks, for example, or it might be potatoes or Brussels sprouts.

Hmm, not sure if I like Brussels sprouts, but I know I usually get them at Christmas.

Or things like carrots, for example.

Or apples, pears, butternut squash and also red cabbage.

So these are the types of fruits and vegetables that are in season and grow in the UK at wintertime.

How about springtime? What are the UK seasonal fruits and vegetables here? Let's have a quick look at some, shall we? Well, it could be things like spinach, for example, or cauliflower, asparagus, kale, pak choi, rhubarb, gooseberries and strawberries.

Some very young strawberries here at the end of the springtime.

So these are eight different types of seasonal fruits and vegetables that go in the springtime in the UK.

And they look quite different, don't they? To those things that are grown in the winter.

So let's have a quick check for understanding, shall we? So when is this vegetable in season? Is it A, B, C, or D? Yes, well done.

It's a winter, isn't it? Brussels sprouts are usually in season in the wintertime.

Great work.

So how about fruits and vegetables that grow in the UK in the summer? Let's look at some more examples together, shall we? So things like courgettes, or broccoli, peppers and tomatoes, they all look delicious, don't they? Really colourful and bright.

Things like strawberries as well, and plums, cherries and raspberries.

So again, these are different types of fruits and vegetables that grow in the summer.

And did you notice that the strawberries were in the summer as well as the spring? And that's because they're in season in different months.

So sometimes we get fruits and vegetables that are in season in more than one season across different months.

And lastly, let's look at autumn.

So we have things like cabbage, pumpkin, beetroot, and sweetcorn, as well as things like pears, damsons, apples, and plums. So again, different types of fruits and vegetables that are in season and grown in the UK.

So how about this fruit that you can see on the screen? When is this one in season? A, B, C, or D? Yes, that's right.

It's C, isn't it? It's summertime.

Raspberries are in season and grow in the UK in the summer.

Great work.

Well done.

So we're all encouraged to eat more seasonal fruits and vegetables from the UK.

And we can swap ingredients in recipes to use more seasonal fruits and vegetables.

So for example, here, just like Alex has got, he's using different seasonal vegetables in things like soups or stews and stir fries.

So he can take the recipe and swap the vegetables that are in season.

It's a great idea, isn't it? So let's have a go at this task, shall we? So I want you to create a chart showing two seasonal fruit and two seasonal vegetables for each season.

Good luck to you.

Remember to pause the video.

So how did you get on? There's lots to choose from, isn't there? Let's look at some examples.

You may have got some of these, but I'm sure you did brilliantly, whatever you've put.

So here are some seasonal fruits and vegetables that you could have put.

So fruit, for example, in the winter could be apples and pears.

Or in the spring, it could be strawberries and rhubarb.

In the summer, it could be cherries and strawberries, and then the autumn, plums and pears.

So these are all different types of fruits, which we can get in the four different seasons.

And how about the vegetables? Well, in the winter, we can have leeks and carrots, or in the spring, spinach and cauliflower and the summer peppers and broccoli.

And then lastly, in the autumn, we can have things like cabbage and pumpkin.

So you can see here there's a wide variety of different types of fruits and vegetables that we can get throughout the year, they're in season, in different months.

Brilliant work, well done to you.

So now we're gonna move on to the second part of lesson, which is all about seasonal food and climate.

So different fruits and vegetables grow in different climates, so they're really in different seasons.

The climate or the weather affects what is grown.

So it's good to try and eat fruits and vegetables that are in season because usually they're healthier for us, they're at their best and things like they've got great flavour, but also they can be cheaper as well because there's plenty available.

So Luca's got a question for you here.

So why might some fruits and vegetables grow only in one season? Why do you think that might be? Yes, that's right, isn't it? It's because of the weather, the climate.

It might be that some fruits and vegetables just can't grow in the winter if it's too cold, or perhaps they just don't grow in the summer 'cause it's too hot.

So different types of fruits and vegetables grow in different climates, in different weather.

So let's have a go at this check for understanding, shall we? So true or false: Different fruits and vegetables grow in different climates, so are ready to eat in different seasons? Yes, that's true, isn't it? And why is that? Well, the climate affects what's grown, and different fruits and vegetables grow in different climates.

So they're ready to eat in different seasons.

Great work, well done.

So when seasonal fruits and vegetables from the UK are available, they tend to be fresher and cheaper.

And eating more seasonal fruits and vegetables from the UK is also better for the planet.

And this is because there's less travel and storage from the farm through to the fork.

So here's an example.

We've got apples that are growing in Kent, but somebody living in Birmingham is going to buy the apples to eat them.

So how many miles do you think these apples travelled? Hmm, I suppose you could pause the video and check, but let's have a quick look.

It's about 175 miles.

So they're picked in the UK in an area called Kent, and then they travel all the way to Birmingham for someone to buy them and eat them; 175 miles.

But fruits and vegetables may also be grown in plastic tunnels or glass houses in the UK.

And this means the food can be ready at different times than they would be if they were growing outdoors.

So therefore they might be ready in different seasons.

And when fruits and vegetables are not in season in the UK, we might import them or buy them from other countries.

And the climate, the weather and the seasons, in other countries will be different at that time to the UK.

And remember, the climate affects what and where the food is grown.

So it might be, for example, when it's cold and wet in the UK and we can't grow certain fruits and vegetables, it's sunny and hot in other countries around the world and they can grow those fruits and vegetables.

So we import them for people to use.

So why do you think we import food from other countries? Well, there could be lots of different reasons, couldn't there? So it might be that people just like the taste of them, or it might be that they want that fruit and vegetable when it's not in season in the UK.

Or perhaps the food doesn't grow in the UK.

So things like bananas and rice.

So therefore we import it to add variety to our diet.

So let's see what Sam and Aisha are saying to each other, shall we? Let's read it together.

So Sam's saying, "I've heard that seasons do not matter.

We can always buy lots of different fruits and vegetables in any season." "Yes you can, but they might have to be imported from other countries.

They cannot grow in the UK in certain seasons.

We should try and eat more seasonal food from the UK." So true or false: In the UK, we can grow all fruits and vegetables in all the seasons? Yes, that's false, isn't it? And why is that? Well, only certain types of fruits and vegetables can grow in certain seasons, and at other times, the food might be imported from other countries.

Great work.

Well done to you.

So other countries can grow food when we cannot get it in the UK at certain times of the year.

So for example, when it is winter in the UK, it's summer in Peru.

However, the fruits and vegetables need to travel further and stored for longer, from farm to fork.

So here's our asparagus, which is growing in Peru, and then it's transported to the UK for us to cook it and eat it.

But how many miles do you think the asparagus has travelled? Can you guess? I bet some of you might pause the video to check, but it's gonna travel just over 6,000 miles.

So that asparagus has travelled a long way, hasn't it? But also it might be that some foods are not easily grown in the UK.

So things like, for example, bananas and oranges, they're usually imported from other countries.

So there, we've got bananas growing in Costa Rica and then they're transported or imported to the UK.

And it might be you have them with breakfast, like here, on top of a porridge or perhaps it's things like oranges.

And we've got oranges growing in Spain and then we buy them in the UK and we juice them to make delicious orange juice for breakfast.

So how many miles do you think these travelled? Can you guess? Well the first one, the bananas have travelled over 5,282 miles.

That's quite some way.

And how about Spain? That's nearer the UK, isn't it? Yes, that's just over 1000 miles.

So you can see here that food has to travel around the world at quite long distances.

And when we buy fruits and vegetables, we can check where they come from.

We can read the label.

So here for example, here are two different types of vegetables.

Now look closely at the labels.

Can you tell me where they're from? How about the first one? The peppers on the left hand side.

Look really carefully.

What country are those peppers from? Yes, that's right, they're from Spain.

It's there on the label.

How about the onions? Yes, that's right.

The onions are from the UK.

So the food labels help us know where the food comes from.

So let have a quick check, shall we? So where do these peppers come from? A, B or C? Yes, that's right.

It's C, Spain.

Well done.

So I've got a task for you here and what I want you to do, for each food, I want you to calculate the approximate distance to the UK in miles.

And I want you to state when each food is in season in the UK.

So for example, the first one, we've got beetroot and it's from Russia.

So how many miles is Russia to the UK? How far does it travel? But also when is beetroot in season in the UK? And just fill up the chart in that way.

I'm sure you'll do brilliantly.

I'm sure you'll need to have a map or use the internet to find out the distances, but I'm sure you'll be fantastic.

So pause the video and we'll come back very soon to see how you got on.

So how did you get on? I bet you did well, didn't you? Let's look at some examples together.

So the first one was beetroot, and this has travelled 3,486 miles, roughly.

It depends where in Russia we're measuring from.

So you might have a little bit less than that or a little bit more.

And that food is in season in the UK in the autumn.

How about cherries? Well, these are from Spain, these ones, and it's 1068 approximately.

So again, you might have a number that's slightly more or slightly less, but that's a rough estimate.

And in the summer they're available in the UK.

Butternut squash.

Well, this one's from Mexico.

And these are just over 5,200 miles.

So again, it might be a little bit more, a little bit less, depending on where in Mexico they've been grown.

And then shipped or flown to the UK.

And these are usually available in the UK in winter.

And the next one, tomatoes.

Well, these ones come from Morocco, which is in North Africa.

And these have travelled 1,639 miles approximately.

Again, you might have a little bit more or a little bit less.

And these are usually in season in the UK in the summer.

And the last one is asparagus, and this is from Peru.

And this has travelled over 6,000 miles to come to the UK.

And asparagus is usually available in the spring.

I bet you did really well and I hope you've enjoyed learning about where our food comes from around the world in different seasons and just how far it has to travel.

We've learned so much, haven't we? And the first thing is that in the UK we have four seasons, which divide the year.

So we have winter, spring, summer, and the autumn.

Also, we know that different fruits and vegetables grow in different seasons.

Do you remember? We looked at all the different types that were available.

We also learned that different fruits and vegetables grow in different climates, so are ready to eat in different seasons.

Do you remember? Each season has a different climate or weather.

We've also learned when seasonal fruits and vegetables from the UK are available, they tend to be fresher and cheaper too.

And lastly, when fruits and vegetables are not in season in the UK, they might be imported from other countries because they might be in season in that country.

Well, I hope you've really enjoyed the lesson today.

We've learned so much about seasonal fruits and vegetables, what we grow in the UK, but also what we can get from around the world too.

And I hope you come back very soon for another cooking and nutrition lesson with me.

Thanks a lot.

Take care.

Bye.