This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
When winter is over, the reserves of conservation vegetables are exhausted and they leave plenty of room for the first spring products, those called early vegetables. Fiddlehead is (usually) the first to be sold on market stalls, followed by radishes and asparagus. Then there is rhubarb, spinach and peas. Discovery of these fresh products that add color to our plates on the first days of good weather.
“So-called early vegetables are those that arrive before the main season,” explains Lauriane Bordes, co-owner of the Microferme des Petits Pouceux, in Sainte-Hénédine, very close to Quebec. I see it like a Gaussian curve: early vegetables are at the bottom of the curve, before it explodes in summer and drops back down in autumn. »
These vegetables have a short production cycle, meaning there are only 25 to 35 days from planting to harvest. They are also resistant to the still cool temperatures of April and May. “We will grow them outside under floating cover, in the open field or in a greenhouse,” adds the market gardener. The early harvest lasts two or three weeks, but we have been thinking about it and planning it since December. »
The allure of novelty
In the most famous kitchens in the province, chefs whose dishes are based on new seasonal arrivals impatiently await these first deliveries. This is the case of Noé Lainesse, chef at the O’Thym restaurant in Montreal, whose “99% local” menu consists of a variety of small dishes to share.
“My favorite early vegetables are certainly early radishes, asparagus and fiddleheads. The first carrots are also fabulous. The first peas are also always an event at the restaurant. All these vegetables excite me! » he explains, visibly animated by the possibility of renewing his card with fresh products.
What distinguishes early vegetables, in addition to their precocity, is their refined flavor. “The first of the season are super sweet,” explains the chef, citing spinach, carrots and radishes as examples. “The hotter it is, the more spicy they develop,” he continues.
In order to let his customers delight in all the subtleties of freshly picked vegetables, the chef will often offer them as simple raw vegetables. A craze in the dining room which is just as present as in the kitchen. “The first week we add early vegetables to the menu, they sell like crazy,” he exclaims. There will be asparagus on every table! »
Same observation for Lauriane Bordes, who offers the “most impatient” of her subscribers to her summer baskets the opportunity to bring their season forward by two weeks with new products.
Its customers will then be able to enjoy vegetables grown in greenhouses (tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, celery, beans) and in the field (bok choy, radishes, rabioles, green onions, carrots with leaves and kale).
“We don’t plant earlier to have early fruits,” she notes, “these are just our first vegetables! »
Early spring
Climate change is obviously forcing farmers to question their planting schedule. “This is our eighth year as market gardeners, and it’s the first time we haven’t had snow in March,” points out M.me Borders. In previous years, she estimated she could access her field at the end of April. However, she believes that in 2024, this will be possible from 1er of the month.
“Yes, spring is earlier, but we wouldn’t take the risk of moving forward with our planting in the field because of that,” she says. At least, not yet. Because, despite everything, planning their gardening season is not done based on snow cover, but rather is based on the last frost on the ground, which always occurs at the end of May.
It is also at this time that the early produce season ends and producers plant all their vegetables, thus announcing the summer abundance.
Umami dip from chef Noé Lainesse
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.