Use These Three Flavors To Get Through November

As we approach the end of October, some of the lines begin to blur between the seasonally appropriate flavors of fall and winter. While we’re technically still a good ways away from the end of fall, people are already preparing for the holidays. And with that excitement comes an early jump on all of the festive flavors. At least if you’re in the United States we still have Thanksgiving as a defining quality of November, but beyond Thanksgiving there are other seasonal flavors that we think deserve their own special spotlight in November, too.

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I mean, it’s not called the fall harvest for no reason at all. There’s a lot to love from November produce. You see, some of the best and most succulent crops are flourishing in both flavor and seasonal appropriateness in November. But they’re just not getting the recognition they deserve. Today, we just wanted to give a little shoutout to these flavors, and hopefully you will integrate them into more of your November cooking.

These are not only deeply versatile ingredients, but they give us a little bit of a more gradual transition into deeply winter flavors rather than jumping headfirst into peppermint the day after Halloween. These are the three flavors and ingredients we think you should keep at the forefront of your mind as the seasons change.

Pomegranate

Of the succulent, jammy flavors that feel inherently autumnal and winter-esque, I think pomegranate is by far most underrated. You see, not only is it rich in deep complex flavor, but pomegranate juice itself is eternally delicious, and versatile. Pomegranate juice can be used as a liquid when you’re boiling down your homemade cranberry sauce, or in a pomegranate, red wine reduction (come on, doesn’t that sound superb?). But it shouldn’t just be used to complete savory dishes. It could be used in sweet capacities as well, like by using the seeds as a pop of brightness in a trifle or made into a simple jelly by boiling pomegranate juice with pectin.

Regardless of how you choose to use it, pomegranate compliments almost every traditionally fall in winter dish that you would think of. It has the same tartness and bitter complexity as cranberry, and yet it’s still a more nuanced take on what’s seasonally abundant and complementary to fall flavors. That’s not even to mention all of the opportunity to use it as a tart, rich addition to any themed beverages. Instead of seeing another rosemary or maple infused cocktail this November, let’s see some pomegranate spritzes instead.

Walnuts

This certainly isn’t anything revolutionary, but I think it’s nice to give walnuts a good shoutout every now and again in November since pecans somehow always steal the show. Sure, pecans are delicious. But walnuts are like their edgy, bitter sister with way more nuance. I’ll be honest though, the main reason I bring up walnuts for you to keep in mind this November is actually because of a different food trend that we’re seeing take place during this year’s fall/winter season that is deeply complementary to the walnut: coffee.

If you’ve ever read Niki Segnit’s The Flavor Thesaurus (a great read if you haven’t, any food lover should indulge in her scrumptious prose), then you might remember seeing her little note on the coffee and walnut pairing to which she referred to them as inherently complementary due to the slight tobacco-like flavor of walnuts. And thus, “a partial substitute for a cigarette and coffee is a large slice of coffee and walnut cake.” Walnuts are kind of like the culinary way to enter into all of these trending seasonal flavors and habits, but in a super low-key way that is delicious, and fabulously in-season.

Claire Saffitz’s Coffee Coffee Cake is a necessary bake for me every fall/winter and would be the perfect thing to have out Thanksgiving morning for everyone to snack on. The coffee, walnuts, and warming spices in the cake come together in a way that is far from too sweet and feels deeply celebratory of November. Give it a try, I insist.

Citrus

Maybe you know this, but I feel like it’s all too common of a misconception that citrus is a summer harvest. It is, in fact, actually a winter harvest. It feels like a little gift for something so bright and vibrant to be ripe and blooming in these cooler months, and we intend to make to most of it. Starting November we really start to see the truly perfect citrus come out, and it’s a ritual of mine to buy fresh, on the branch clementines every year at the holidays.

Aside from just stocking up on citrus while it’s good, we couldn’t recommend utilizing it in your cooking more. Oranges specifically are obviously fabulous for seasonal baking with pairings like cranberry or pomegranate (see above), but oranges are our favorite citrus to use in savory applications in November, too. Pretty much any time you’re making anything that needs acid in it, we’re subbing in orange. From salad dressings to marinades, it’s an overwhelmingly delicious decision and tastes distinctly celebratory of the seasonal flavors.