December is the big month for traders here - all fully stocked and ready to go.

It goes without saying that you'll find all the festive classics: sprouts and tops, cranberries, chestnuts, parsnips, clementines - even bunches of Mistletoe. 

This is a wonderful month for citrus. Leafy clementines are at their best. Other lines include Amalfi lemons, cedro, bergamot and more specialist citrus such as yuzu. Blood oranges from Sicily will also start this month, but it takes a month or so for them to gain full colour. These are sensational Italian kumquats, with the sweet-and-sour contrast of sweet skin and sour flesh.

The photo below shows Buddha's Hand.

English apples are still eating well. Main UK varieties are Cox, Braeburn (pictured), Bramley and russets. 

Conference and Comice pears are both available. Pomegranates are excellent at this time of year. Quince are in season and make for a leftfield addition to the Christmas roast. 

Yorkshire forced rhubarb will start later this month. Cross your fingers for some heavy frosts in the fields up there as the climate is posing a challenge for the remaining grower of this wonderful product. 

Want to see something unusual? This is a Zucciolo, which is a cross between a cucumber and courgette. 

These colder months are the time for bitter leaves to shine. For salads, there are all the radicchios (Tardivo, precoce, pink, Castelfranco). Also chicories from Belgium and puntarelle and Cime di Rapa from Italy. 

This is the month for all the roots: bunches of carrots (including the mini Chantenay), parsnips (incl. Piccolo), beetroots and more niche ones such as chervil root. The photo below shows Jerusalem artichoke. 

Look at these beautiful purple cauliflowers, grown in France. 

Tonnes of sprouts are ready and waiting. 

Winter squashes are fully cured and will last into early spring.   

Artichokes are in season in Spain and Italy. 

For wild mushrooms, Chanterelle are your best bet at this time of year. 

See you in 2026 for our next Market Report.