British seasonal food in January - what to eat now

Let’s ring out the old, and ring in the new British seasonal ingredients for January 2026. It’s good news for anyone whose New Year resolution is to eat healthier, fresher food this year.

The UK’s home-grown ingredients tend to be less varied this month, but they’re good for filling and often healthy dishes such as casseroles, stews and soups. Imported fruits brighten things up.

Look out for star ingredients such as forced rhubarb, leeks, greens and root vegetables, and a wide range of fish and seafood. Here are the fruits, vegetables, herbs, fish, meats and cheeses at their peak right now.

Fruit in season in January

It’s not an abundant month for home-grown fruits by any stretch of the imagination, but you might be able to find the first few sweet and tender stems of forced rhubarb.

Otherwise you’re looking at stored apples and pears, or making the most of imported fruits.

British-grown fruit in January

Apples (from store)
Pears (from store)
Rhubarb (very early forced)

Imported seasonal fruit: January

Blood oranges
Clementines
Dates
Passion fruit
Pineapples (Caribbean)
Pomegranates
Seville oranges
Tangerines

Nuts in season

Hazelnuts (from store)
Walnuts (from store)

Vegetables in season in January

British seasonal vegetables in January UK veg — Clockwise from top left: Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, swedes, Brussels sprouts tops

Your best options for British vegetables in January are the brassica family (cabbages, cauliflowers and so on), leeks, and hearty root vegetables that can survive a frost.

British seasonal veg: January

Brussels sprouts & their tops
Cabbages (Savoy, other winter)
Cauliflower (winter varieties)
Celeriac
Chicory and radicchio
Jerusalem artichokes
Kale
Leeks
Parsnips
Purple sprouting broccoli (very early types)
Salsify
Scorzonera
Swedes

You should also be able to find:

Leafy crops grown under cover (endive, lamb’s lettuce, mustards and other winter salad leaves).
Stored pumpkins and winter squash.
Roots that can store in the ground or boxed in sand (beetroot, turnip and winter radish).

Available most months in good condition: broccoli, button mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, maincrop potatoes, onions, rocket.

Recommended veg cookbooks

FREE!!

UK fruit and veg calendar

Herbs in season in January

Chervil (grown under cover)
Winter savory

Always available:

Chives, coriander and parsley grown under cover.
Older leaves of hardy perennials like bay, rosemary, sage, thyme.

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Foraged / wild foods in January

British seasonal food January wild food foraged ingredients UK and imported — Left to right: White truffle (Italian), black truffle

It’s a very quiet month for wild and foraged food, but the weather probably won’t be very pleasant for foraging either.

Truffles (mostly imported)

[Take great care when foraging. It’s very easy to confuse edible and poisonous ingredients.]

Recommended foraged & wild food books

Best British fish and shellfish in January seafood UK — Clockwise from top left: pollock, scallops, haddock, Dover sole

January is a great month for many different types of seafood, especially white meaty fish such as pollock, haddock and whiting. The cooler waters mean that fewer fish are spawning, including all the varieties of flatfish, and shellfish will be in better condition too.

However, the weather’s often rough at this time of year so fishing can be hit and miss. You might want to consider farmed fish and rope-grown mussels as well.

Fish stocks change from year to year and vary around different parts of the UK’s coastline, but here’s a rough guide to the latest information.

Sustainable British fish: January

Brill
Clams
Cockles
Dab
Flounder
Gurnard (grey, red)
Haddock
Hake
Halibut (farmed)
Mackerel
Monkfish
Mussels
Oysters
Pike
Pollock / pollack
Pouting / bib
Prawns
Sole (Dover / common, lemon, witch / Torbay)
Spider crab
Sprat / whitebait
Trout (rainbow)
Turbot (wild)
Whiting

[To the best of my knowledge, the list above excludes critically endangered fish, but this can change at short notice. Visit The Good Fish Guide from the Marine Conservation Society for latest lists.]

You should also be able to source most of these fish listed below from a responsible fishmonger in January.

Less sustainable UK fish: January

Cod (line caught)
Halibut (wild)
Langoustines / scampi
Razor clams
Scallops (king, queen)
Seabream / black bream
Squid
Whelks

Available most months in good condition: arctic char, herring, farmed sea bream and turbot, megrim sole, sustainably-fished monkfish, rope-grown mussels, prawns, rainbow trout.

Recommended seasonal fish & shellfish books

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UK fruit and veg calendar

Meat, poultry and game in season in January

British seasonal food January meat game poultry in season UK — Clockwise from top left: guinea fowl, venison, pheasant, partridge

The wintery months are still good for wild game options, as well as farmed guinea fowl. January marks the last month for many game birds.

UK meat, poultry & game: January

Capercaillie
Duck (wild)
Goose (wild)
Guinea fowl
Mallard
Partridge
Pheasant
Snipe (common)
Teal
Venison (fallow, red hinds, roe doe, sika)
Widgeon
Woodcock

Always available in good condition: beef, chicken, pork, rabbit, farmed venison, wood pigeon.

Recommended meat, game & poultry books

Cheese in season in January

British seasonal food in January cheese in season UK and imported — Clockwise from top left: mature farmhouse cheddar, mature Stilton, Gruyère, etxra mature Comté

Many quality cheeses are seasonal. It depends on the animals being milked, their grazing and reproductive cycles, the way specific cheeses are made, and their time to mature.

By January cheeses will have had longer to develop their textures and flavours. In particular, look out for longer-aged goat and sheep cheeses, vintage hard cheeses, and long-matured (6+ months) blue cheeses.

Stilton isn’t just for that Christmas cheeseboard, it’s great in January too, as are a number of other tangy and mature blue cheeses.

Here are the best seasonal offerings from home and abroad.

Best British cheeses: January

Extra mature cheddars (e.g. 18-month Montgomery)
Mature blue cheeses (Colston Basset Stilton, Stichelton)

Best imported cheeses: January

Comté, extra mature
Gouda
Gruyère
Mont d’Or Vacherin

Remember: many quality mature cheeses are available year-round, especially hard cheeses.

Recommended cheese books

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What we’re eating here this January

Don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some lighter bites this month. Lots of soups, and some winter salads with chicory and celery will be on the menu here.

I’m also planning an easy pasta bake with seasonal leeks and blue cheese, and a few leaves of fresh thyme from the kitchen garden. It’s comfort food, especially with some seasonal greens on the side, and it makes great leftovers.

However, it’s the tropical and Med imports that really turn my head most in January, so we’ll be having blood oranges and pomegranate to brighten up our salads, and maybe some passion fruit or pineapple for dessert.