Seasonality and where ingredients come from
Food in season is usually cheaper, tastes better and travels less far.
Part of your national curriculum
- Cooking and nutrition: Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients
Key learning points
- • Seasons in the UK
- • Food miles and trade-offs
- • Provenance labels
This lesson at a glance
- 25 minutes
- 16 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 16
Visual introductionPicture this
Seasonality and where ingredients come from
Food in season is usually cheaper, tastes better and travels less far.
In a nutshell
Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 16
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Seasons in the UK
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 16
Learn
Seasons in the UK
Asparagus and strawberries are early summer; apples, squash and blackberries are autumn; leeks, kale and swede carry the winter. Out-of-season produce is stored, imported or grown under heat.
Reset break
Part 4 of 16
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 16
Learn
Food miles and trade-offs
Air-freighted produce carries high emissions, but a heated UK greenhouse can be worse than an open field abroad. The honest answer needs the whole picture, not just distance.
Quick check
Part 6 of 16
Quick check
Part 7 of 16
Reset break
Part 8 of 16
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 16
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Provenance labels
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 16
Learn
Provenance labels
Red Tractor, organic and Fairtrade marks each guarantee different things — welfare, growing method or price paid to producers. None of them means all three.
Quick check
Part 11 of 16
Reset break
Part 12 of 16
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 13 of 16
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 14 of 16
Game · Recall cards
What does 'seasonality' mean for an ingredient?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 15 of 16
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Seasonality and where ingredients come from
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What does 'seasonality' mean for an ingredient?
2. Why might parsnips taste sweeter in winter?
3. What does 'food miles' measure?
4. Which is a UK autumn crop?
Lesson round-up
Part 16 of 16
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
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Ask LunaPart 1 of 16 · Watch & discover
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Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients