This is what Wikipedia has to say about it.
Learning new things every day to help my family live healthier is one of the things I love most about my experience in Germany. Somehow I never felt very close to nature in the States. Strange, considering I'm from rural Michigan and we always had a garden growing up. Somehow I got used to having any vegetable or fruit I wanted, any time I wanted. Strawberries in winter? No problem!
In Germany, it is possible to tell the seasons just from the produce aisle. This used to bother me ("This is the 20th century! Why the hell can't I find fresh raspberries in January!? "). Now I really enjoy it. Nobody in their right mind here would ever consider buying a punnet of strawberries before May. "Das schmeckt nicht" - "That doesn't taste good" they claim - and they are right. Why waste a lot of money to transport bland, unripened berries from Morocco to me?
Slowly, I have gotten used to telling the seasons from what is locally fresh . This week, it is wild garlic, which can be had for free and makes a yummy pesto. Next week, it is white asparagus, the vegetable of the gods. White asparagus (incredibly phallic "white gold") will be around until the beginning of June, and is the beloved darling of dinner parties and brunches. After that it is GONE, not to be back until next Spring. I'll know Fall is on its way when Claudia calls me to go elderberry collecting with her.
Maybe that is what the 21st century is all about.
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