British seasonal food in March
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If you’re looking for British seasonal food in March, it’s often thin on the ground so you need to know what to look for. We’re now at the start of the ‘hungry gap’ in the UK, that awkward time when many seasonal foods have finished and other crops are yet to start growing. However, you can find the first few green shoots of the Spring bursting through such as wild garlic, and many types of fish and shellfish are coming into season too.
As the home grown list is relatively small in March, this country also relies heavily on imported fresh ingredients for volume and variety. In the last few days the UK has experienced shortages of several of these foods, with some types of fruit and vegetables being rationed to one per customer at supermarkets. The causes are complex, but it’s down to far more than ‘bad weather in Morocco’ so I’ll do my best to keep this information updated as the situation unfolds.
What’s good to buy, pick, cook and eat this month? Here it is, as long as you can find it in the shops…
Fruit in season in March

British-grown seasonal fruit
- apples (from store)
- rhubarb (mostly forced)
Best imported seasonal fruit
- blood oranges
- clementines
- passion fruit
Recommended seasonal fruit inspiration:

- The Last Bite: Desserts Through the Year – Anna Higham
- River Cottage Fruit Every Day – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
- Pam the Jam: The Book of Preserves – Pam Corbin
- Jams With a Twist: 70 Deliciously Different Recipes – Kylee Newton
Vegetables in season in March

- cabbage (green, Spring greens)
- celeriac
- chard
- chicory
- kale
- leeks
- parsnips
- purple sprouting broccoli
- seakale
- spring onions
You can also find leafy crops grown under cover (leaf beet, oriental greens, winter salad leaves), plus stored vegetables like beetroot.
[Available most months in good condition: broccoli, button mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, maincrop potatoes, onions, rocket.]
Herbs in season in March
- chives
- coriander
- parsley
[Older leaves of hardy perennials like bay, rosemary, sage, and thyme are available too.]

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Recommended seasonal veg inspiration:

- The Magnificent Book of Vegetables – Alice Hart
- The Complete Vegetable Cookbook – James Strawbridge
- RHS Step-by-Step Veg Patch – Lucy Chamberlain
- Abel & Cole organic fruit & veg box deliveries
Wild / foraged food in March

- nettle tops
- wild garlic (aka ramsons)
[Take great care when foraging as it’s very easy to confuse edible and poisonous ingredients.]
Foraged & wild food inspiration:

- The Forager’s Calendar: A Seasonal Guide by John Wright
- Food for Free: 50th Anniversary Edition – Richard Mabey
- Wild Food: A Complete Guide for Foragers – Roger Philips
- Concise Foraging Guide – Tiffany Francis-Baker
Fish in season in March 2023

Fish stocks change from one year to the next, influenced by marine stewardship, local environmental conditions, and fluctuations in weather conditions. Here’s a rough guide to what’s available now.
Sustainable British fish
- brill
- clams (farmed Manila)
- dab
- gurnard (red & grey)
- halibut (farmed)
- herring / sild
- lobster (European)
- monkfish
- mussels
- oysters
- pollock
- prawns (Northern)
- scallops
- sole (lemon)
- spider crab
- sprat / whitebait
- trout (rainbow)
- wild turbot
[To the best of my knowledge, the list above excludes critically endangered fish. Visit The Good Fish Guide from the Marine Conservation Society for latest lists.]
Fish in season in March, less sustainable
You may still be able to source some of the fish below via a responsible fishmonger.
- brown shrimp
- elvers (endangered, avoid completely)
- langoustine / scampi
- wild salmon
- whelks
[In good condition almost all year: herring/sild, farmed salmon, farmed sea bream and turbot, common/Dover/megrim sole, sustainably-fished monkfish, rope-grown mussels, prawns, rainbow trout.]
Recommended fish & shellfish inspiration:

- Fish & Shellfish: The Definitive Guide – Rick Stein
- Fish for Dinner: Delicious Seafood Recipes – Nathan Outlaw
- The Seafood Shack – Kirsty Scobie & Fenella Renwick
- Fish – Sophie Grigson & William Black
Meat, poultry and game in season in March
As you can see, there’s only one thing in season this month.
- venison (wild red deer)
[Always available in good condition: beef, chicken, pork, rabbit, farmed venison, wood pigeon.]
Recommended meat, poultry & game inspiration:

- Tom Kitchin’s Meat and Game
- Lidgate’s The Meat Cookbook
- Game: River Cottage Handbook No.15
- The Meat Cookbook: Know the Cuts, Master the Skills
Cheese in season in March

British-made seasonal cheese
- Cotherstone (crumbly, fresh cows’ milk cheese)
- ewe’s milk cheeses
- Stilton
Imported March cheese
- Coulommiers (young/fresh)
- Morbier
- Valençay
[Many quality mature cheeses are available year-round, especially the harder cheeses.]
Recommended cheese & wine inspiration:

- A Cheesemonger’s Compendium of British & Irish Cheese – Ned Palmer
- World Cheese Book – DK & Juliet Harbutt
- Which Wine When: What to drink with the food you love – Claire Strickett
- CheeseGeek seasonal cheese subscriptions & gifts
You may also be interested in:
- British seasonal food in February
- British seasonal food in April
- Grow your own fruit & veg on a budget
Favourite British seasonal food in March
It’s been a cabbagey few days here, with spring greens and pointed cabbage on the menu. Some’s been steamed and served alongside a Sunday roast, some’s been shredded and thrown in a stir fry, and the rest has been chargrilled with oil and chilli. I fancy a change now, and will be picking some kale out of the kitchen garden soon and buying some celeriac to make mash.
On the sweeter side of things, we’re making the most of the seasonal apples and rhubarb, with a pie and a crumble in our near future
What are you going to be buying or cooking from this list of UK seasonal foods in March? Leave a comment in the box below and let us know.
Recommended general seasonal inspiration:

Useful, keep up the good work.