Seasonal and regional – at a glance

Fresh fruit and vegetables land on our plates every day: an apple for breakfast, grilled vegetables for lunch, a banana as a snack. Not all fruits and vegetables come from Austria – some have traveled a long way before arriving in our kitchen.

A look at supermarket shelves shows a wide variety of products available almost all year round: tomatoes in winter, berries in every season, steaks from Argentina... the list is long. Tons of food are flown in every day – with enormous energy costs for transport, refrigeration and heated greenhouses. Our tip: always check the origin when shopping. Buying directly from farmers makes it easy to identify seasonal and local products. In the supermarket, focusing on regional produce usually also means choosing seasonal products.

When people think of “seasonal and regional,” fruit and vegetables often come to mind first. But regionality is just as important for other food groups such as meat, fish, grains and dairy products. Even the issue of live animal transport shows how crucial this topic is.

3 reasons to choose regional and seasonal products

1) Taste and health

Everyone knows the difference between fresh Austrian tomatoes in summer and pale, watery tomatoes in winter. It’s not just the taste that suffers – nutritional quality does as well. Because of the long transport routes, produce is often harvested unripe and treated with chemicals, which reduces the vitamin and micronutrient content.

2) Environment

By shopping consciously and not expecting all foods to be available year-round, we can reduce greenhouse gases and contribute significantly to climate protection. A seasonal calendar can be a useful guide when shopping.

3) Local economy

Buying Austrian products strengthens the local economy. Farmers’ markets also give small-scale producers the opportunity to bring their goods directly to people.

Seasonal and regional at Marienkron

At Marienkron we place great importance on sourcing regional products, always giving preference to local over imported goods. We use tofu from Frauenkirchen, lentils from Nickelsdorf, rice from Wallern, honey from Jois and, in season, asparagus from Halbturn and Illmitz. To preserve seasonal produce, we prepare jams from plums, apricots and strawberries in summer, make large batches of tomato sauce, and ferment vegetables using lactic acid.

Our clear recommendation: flaxseeds instead of chia seeds, rapeseed and sunflower oil instead of coconut oil, blueberries instead of goji berries – and so on.