April

April is the most climatically unpredictable month of the year, so menus need to be as flexible as possible. For holiday meals there is plenty of poultry and a fat capon is a good buy for a long weekend. Egg dishes also make a welcome change from meat recipes on spring days. Root crops dwindle this month but there is an increasing supply of spring vegetables. With luck we should find sprouting broccoli, young spinach, excellent cauliflowers, spring onions and the first radishes to indicate that summer is on its way. Watch out for supplies of outdoor-grown rhubarb which build up this month. These early samples are particularly good for preserving.